Love, heartbreak and poetry are universal. In Tamara Ruppart’s beautiful short film Path of Dreams, a gallant suitor must write poetry for his beloved for 99 nights with her promise that they will create a love more beautiful than poetry.
See the World Premiere of ‘Path of Dreams’ on February 25, 2018 @9:15pm at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) as part of New York City’s 7th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival. Winter Film Awards’ Olivia Butler spoke with Tamara Ruppart about her film.
The colors in the film were incredibly vibrant and I absolutely loved it! What was the symbolism of the kimono colors?
If you look at the kimonos chronologically, they go from black, to blue, to purple, to pink, to red, and finally to white. These kimonos are the only thing that tell us we’re in a “poetic age” as the setting is ancient Japan and the language is modern Japanese. So the costumes were very important to the storytelling as far as putting us into this stylized, poetic world, as seen through Komachi’s eyes.
So the first kimono, before she meets Shosho, is dark and closed off to love. We put a rope cage over her heart to emphasize that. As we journey with Komachi through the story, she moves away from the darkness toward the light. So we see her in the blue, then the purple, then the pink (on the 50th day, halfway through the vow timeline), to red on the last night when she has surrendered to love and they should finally consummate their relationship – and lastly a white kimono/gown, which is open and sheer. That last look is the opposite of the first, black one. Also – I wanted that white look to have a ghostly feel as it was inspired by the ghost in the film Rashomon.
I read in your experiences about the man who wouldn’t release the reins. How was the issue resolved? I remember you saying it took you ten times to shoot the scene when Shosho mounts the horse.
Yes! OMG. That was crazy! We just kept requesting that he let the horse go – and finally we just asked him to do so right as the actor was getting on the horse. Basically we just guided him through it in the end.
I find the story to be very unique. Could you tell me a little about the pre-production and the idea that sparked your desire to tell the story?
I’ve been wanting to work with this writer, Velina Hasu Houston, since I first read her play Kokoro (True Heart) in college. I fell in love with her ability to juxtapose deep beauty with harsh reality. And her stories are always inspired by real women. My first professional play that I directed ended up being this play in North Carolina after Graduate School.
The producers invited Dr. Houston to attend a performance and that’s when we began our working relationship. It was such an honor to meet her 10 years after first reading her play – and I was so nervous with her in the audience that night! Luckily, she liked my work and once I returned to Los Angeles, we met for coffee. I told her that i was interested in turning her plays into films. She mentioned that she had a screenplay finished of Kokoro and that she’d love to have me direct it. But we wanted to do a short film first as a proof of concept. And that’s how the idea for Path of Dreams came about. I had directed Romulus Linney’s play Three Poets in Graduate School – each act focuses on a female poet from a different country and Act III is about Komachi – and fell in love with her poetry. So I told Velina about the legends of Komachi. We researched them, came back with our favorites, included our favorite poems of hers, and created the story for Path of Dreams together. It’s such a simple, timeless love story that I felt would shine as a short film.
Your resume/bio is very impressive. Did you always want to be a director?
I started out wanting to be an actor, but found my voice as a director in college. I realized that directors have to be able to take a step back and look at everything from the audience’s perspective – the music, the rhythm, the colors, the textures, the acting, etc. And I felt like that really combined all of my interests. I played classical piano for 20 years, sung in multiple choirs, taken studio art classes, and acted – so I liked all of the elements at my disposal as a director.
Upon second viewing, I realized I missed the foreshadowing from the opening scene! I felt differently about Komachi, knowing what will happen. Was this an intent or goal of yours or happy accident?
Yes – you’re not alone! It seems that a lot of people forget about that scene. We wanted to open the story at “the present” – and then flashback to moments of her journey with Shosho. So yes, it was our intention.
On a random note – the way that the film is put together is now like a single day – as we meet her before sunrise (on day 99), then see her in the morning before she meets Shosho, then the afternoon when he comes to see her, then the evening as she waits for him, still evening as we see the argument, then night as she waits – and finally dawn. I did this because I wanted the film to feel like a cycle had come and gone – like the seasons – and like life.
Do you have any advice for those, women specifically, who want to pursue filmmaking careers?
No one is going to hand it to you, but people will help you. It’s a very difficult climb – so you have to really want it and be prepared to be dedicated and diligent.
How and when did your passion for films begin?
It’s really stems from wanting to work with Velina Hasu Houston. My love of storytelling comes from theater. It’s my home and my comfort zone. But in Graduate School I was told that I had to find a way to stand out – and that I had to be specific in what I wanted to say as a director – and Dr. Houston’s stories are what inspire me. Her plays and operas are performed all around the world – so I thought film might be a good platform for helping to share her artistic voice.
Were there any other challenges in the making of “Path of Dreams”?
This film took about 6 years to make and there were many times that I thought i would fail. Raising the money was the hardest part. Even applying for grants was challenging as we didn’t fit into the boxes they wanted.
Getting people to see and believe in my vision was paramount – and ultimately we received two generous grants – one for pre-production from the Aurora Foundation in Los Angeles, and one for post from the Global Film Network in New York.
This really was a labor of love for everyone involved – and everything fell into place at just the right time. Right before the shoot, my day job was on the CBS show Mike & Molly. I had been there for 4 seasons so everyone on the cast and crew knew I had been working on the film for years. Over the years on the show, I had gotten camera advice from the DP, sound advice from the Boom Ops, and supports of various kinds from cast and crew alike.
When we finally had our shoot date, three team members from the show wanted to help! From the show, Path of Dreams got a props master, a costume designer and an assistant cameraman! We were so fortunate to have them – along with props donated by Warner Brothers. Our blended crew of Americans (from Eleven Arts, Minx Pictures, USC, Mike & Molly, etc.) and Japanese worked beautifully together for 75 hours over 4 days to bring this Japanese story to a global audience.
I know you mentioned the cultural differences between raising funds in the U.S and shooting in Japan and how challenging it was. Could you go further in detail with other examples?
There aren’t too many tall, blonde, American women making Japanese films right now. So there isn’t really a “path” for me to follow. Luckily, I have Japanese producer, Ko Mori, on my side, and there’s is no way I could have navigated the entertainment world in Japan without him.
We did three location scouting trips and his team in Japan set those all up for me. The second trip took us Akita, Japan where Ono No Komachi was born. We attended the Komachi Festival held annually at the Komachi Temple in the countryside of Akita. It was a beautiful experience seeing all the “local Komachi beauties” chant their poetry while wearing the traditional Komachi straw hats and kimonos. It was like moving art – and I actually found one of those hats on eBay and used it in the film as a nod to Akita and that festival.
Japanese funds typically go to films with Japanese directors and American grants typically go to films about the USA. It was hard to express the beauty and detail of the Japanese story that I wanted to tell to Americans. And it was hard to convey the respect and passion I have for Japanese language, culture and history to the Japanese. Not only was I trying to blend the two cultures within the film itself, but I was having to do it also in the making of the film.
What do you want the audience to know about “Path of Dreams”?
I want them to recognize the beautiful poetry that Ono No Komachi left us – and to see how deeply she loved. Even though this story is inspired by a Japanese legend, love is universal and we can all relate to Komachi’s heartbreak.
Olivia Butler
Olivia is a senior at SUNY Purchase and getting her undergraduate degree with the intention of getting an MFA in Screenwriting within the next five years. She is lover of filmmaking with a specific passion in screenwriting. She’s a jack of all trades but aspires to be a master of one.
About Winter Film Awards
New York City’s 7th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival runs February 22-March 3 2018. Check out our jam-packed lineup of 93 fantastic films in all genres from 31 countries, including Animation, Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Documentary and Music Video. Hollywood might ignore women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone!
Winter Film Awards is an all volunteer, minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the NY State Council on the Arts.
