Here is my interview with up-and-coming indie director Andrew Burroughs. Burroughs’ first film will be making its way to DVD soon. His first film is entitled Algeny: The Genetic Factor and it will soon be available through the film’s official site which you can check out by clicking here! The film won an HBO Award for Best Feature Length Film.

Vocab: Algeny: The Genetic Factor is a thriller full of chases, sort of an odd genre to choose for a first film. Why did you choose a thriller, when it would seem like comedies and horror films garner the most attention among the indie scene?

Andrew Burroughs: Well first off, I’m a big fan of the thriller genre. Especially the old time thrillers like Three Days of the Condor, Marathon Man, North by Northwest; you know, the good stuff. So when I came up with the Algeny concept it was a no brainer. So, no, I didn’t follow any trends, the story spoke to me and I took action.

Vocab: Where did the story for Algeny come from?

Burroughs: It came from a number of things. As a kid growing up I was never able to get the chicken pox. When my sister got it my Mother had her touch me every day but nothing. It was like I was immune to it or something. So I said there must be other people out there who for some reason or another are immune to certain viruses. So as I was researching for the film I came across an article about these sex workers from Kenya who were exposed to HIV everyday and they never got infected. Ahhh, I was right. The second piece of the puzzle was a non-fictional book I was reading by Jeremy Rifkin titled The Bio-Tech Century. It talks about how genetic engineering is going to affect the future. So with all that, plus my love for the thriller genre, Algeny was born.

Vocab: How did you find the actors that you used in your film, specifically Alfred E. Rutherford?

Burroughs: I actually first saw Al on this acting website were the actors actually perform a scene so you can see them in action. When I saw him perform he really had this strong innocent quality that I knew the character had. So I contacted him and had him come out to the audition. Even though he really fit what I was looking for I still had an audition. It was the lead character of the movie and this person had to be able to carry the film so I needed to make sure. Long story short he showed up and beat out everybody.

Vocab: Algeny features many great locations throughout. What are your methods for finding interesting locations? What exactly are you looking for?

Burroughs: I don’t know if I have an actual method. I just try to find something that is close to what’s in my head. Sometimes I’m lucky, and sometimes I’m not. I know I broke the indie rule of limited locations, but as a director I’m always fighting, trying to get those images in my head on the screen. That’s what makes me tick.

Vocab: What was your biggest challenge in making Algeny?

Burroughs: Biggest challenge? I’d have to say making sure we made the day during that rigorous shooting schedule due to having all those locations. We were averaging like three scenes a day.

Vocab: If you had to do something differently with the film, what would you do?

Burroughs: I would love to get another editing round on the film. There are some things that I would cut down. As they say, “Films are never finished, just abandoned”.

Vocab: As an indie director, the goal is always to be growing, evolving, and learning from one production to the next. What things have you learned from working on Algeny, and what things do you think you will do differently on your next project?

Burroughs: My confidence level is out the roof right now. So when it comes to making certain crucial decisions on set during crunch time, I won’t second guess that little voice inside telling me what to do. Since this film had limited resources, the crew was a mixture of professionals and friends who wanted to help me out. This mixture can cause problems on set. Next time the crew will be all professionals. My friends can still help me out, it just won’t be during production.

Vocab: Speaking of “next projects,” what is your plan for the future? Are you working on something else, or are you focusing on Algeny as a product?

Burroughs: I’m actually doing both. I’m developing my next project which is interesting because I’m kind of going in a different direction creatively. I can’t wait to see this materialize because I’m really in love with these characters and images. As far as Algeny I’m really excited because it will be released in a couple of weeks. We’re going to have this big internet marketing campaign so it should be cool. People can actually go to Netflix right now and put in their Queue. They will also be able to purchase directly from the ALGENY website.

Vocab: As I was watching Algeny, I started wondering who your influences were. I could get no specific feel for the movie. Normally, when I watch a piece of work, you can find elements of their influences within the film. Who did you try to channel director-wise for the film, and in general, who do you consider your greatest influences?

Burroughs: There’s no one specifically I tried to channel. I don’t really approach the material that way. As far as influences go there are a ton of them. But the ones that influence me the most are the ones who fully surrender to story, like Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and George Miller. Each one of these guys has influenced me in different ways.

Vocab: I can count on one hand the names of independent African American directors who are currently making films. What has your experience been like as a director?

Burroughs: It’s been tough. As an independent filmmaker I go through the same things my counter-parts experience. Although there are some big differences. Where I’m from resources are really scarce. So survival on all levels has to be dealt with. This can be extremely difficult when trying to indulge in the creative process. But you find a way.

Vocab: I often find that the biggest critics of indie films are the director’s themselves. What are your thoughts on Algeny: The Genetic Factor, and why do you think indie fans should give it a watch?

Burroughs: I am very pleased with how Algeny turned out. There may be a flaw here and there, but I consider those war scars and it’s okay. When you’re making an independent film with limited resources, it’s like you’re going to war. Audiences are very smart nowadays. So they understand that you were working under constraints. They just want to enjoy a good story and be entertained. That’s what I feel I accomplished with Algeny.

People should check out Algeny for two main reasons. Just the nature of the film will help you open your mind up to a few things. The film raises the question about these billion-dollar pharmaceutical companies and their collective role in relieving pain. Is it because there is obviously more money in treating people rather than curing them? A question that seems to get swept under the rug a lot. It’s also a film that adds variety and diversity to the indie film scene. I always felt that people appreciate when you try to give them something a little different. The cast is made up of different ethnicities which I am really proud of. It’s more then just white and black people in our country, so I wanted the film to reflect that. So from the storyline to the unique cast Algeny gives the average indie film viewer a different experience.

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