Q&A with Director of DUST’s Exclusive Premiere “YOYO”
Yesterday, DUST premiered its latest exclusive sci-fi short film “YOYO” directed by Nicole Delaney. Starring Sophie von Hasleberg and Martin Starr, the film premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and DUST’s Future is Female event. YOYO is set in post-apocalyptic LA after a dust storm has wiped out the planet. Caroline – a young women who can’t stand she’s a virgin – is convinced that Francis was the man sent to pop her cherry. YOYO is a heartfelt, dark comedy about finding meaning in life, even when life ceases to exist. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you’re in for a treat. Watch now.
We’re honored to have Delaney answer a few sci-fi questions so continue reading for some wonderful answers about all things sci-fi.
If the world you created in your film became a reality, is that a world you would want to live in?
Never in a million years would I want to be left alone in the world to my own devices with just a vibrator.
Who is your Sci-Fi spirit animal/spirit alien?
R2-D2. He is smart, stubborn, caring, independent, and a good friend.
In 1996, Bugs Bunny recruited Michael Jordan and Bill Murray to form the greatest basketball squad of all-time, the Tune Squad; you’re Bugs, who’s on your Sci-Fi Tune Squad?
Are Michael and Bill off the table here? I feel like Space Jam really nailed it. Also, Chewbacca for his height, agility, and overall team spirit.
Do you consider yourself part of a sci-fi community?
I consider myself to be a part of many communities that have no idea I even exist! But what I’ve always loved about sci-fi is that we get to tell conventional stories in unusual circumstances. We get to tell human stories set with backdrops that only the furthest reaches of our imagination can conceive. So yes, I think I’m both a fan and a member. If it were up to me, we’d keep making movies like E.T. and giving them Oscars for an eternity.
When your brain is in the future and your body’s in the present, is that isolating?
I think the human brain is the scariest place in the world. Sometimes it’s hard to believe I’ve written a film about a world where there is no one left in it. Apart from the current political climate, I like the present a lot.
Do you consider yourself more of an analog or digital person? What kind of balance do you strike between the two?
Definitely analog. The internet scares me. I think you find that “digital” things can make your life easier, and less stressful. I have a cell phone AND a landline. I can be very old school.
Is there a disconnect between the technology you make films about and the technology that you make films with?
Totally. But how cool that technology exists that can reflect what is in your brain. Think about the limitations on George Lucas and his first Star Wars. Their practical effects were such an achievement.
When you’re creating the props and sets that make a new world, where do you look for inspiration?
For YOYO, I actually looked to Martha Stewart and a lot of apartment-fix type of articles. Things that targeted “how-to” subject matter. Because there is no electricity or running water in this world, I wanted the audience to know that our protagonist could hotwire a car, or figure out how to have running water in her apartment. We also dressed the apartment with all kinds of art, I like to think that our girl brought the world to her, because she wasn’t very adventurous.