Death, religion and relationships are just a few themes the new filmella Normal To Oily explores. Normal To Oily was produced, written and directed by University of Memphis associate professor Michael Schmidt and co-written and produced by David Horan, U of M photography instructor.
The filmella, a term created by Schmidt to describe a work that is somewhere between a feature film and a short film, was inspired by events in Schmidt’s life. The plot is focused on Nicholas, a young man dealing with the death of his Alzheimer’s-stricken grandmother, Sarah. At the same time, Sarah is caught in limbo after her death. This bizarre situation occurs in a telephone booth where Sarah is trying to call God, but his telephone operator is not cooperative.
Sarah is played by the late Lucille Ewing, a renowned Memphis actress, and the film is dedicated to both her and Schmidt’s grandmother.
According to Horan, Normal to Oily is a thought-provoking experience that brings up questions that each person has to grapple with.
“I think all of us, in one way or another, try to struggle with the idea of our existence, of this life and what the next life will bring,” Horan said. “We’re proposing the idea that maybe this is not all we’ve been taught. There’s something else going on.”
Schmidt said the main focus of the filmella revolves around the theme of property. Nicholas’ relatives are stealing Sarah’s furniture and other belongings which are bequeathed to Nicholas. By the end of the film, Nicholas realizes that he holds the most valued property of Sarah’s, the simple experience of knowing and loving her.
“There are people that define property as simply a possession,” Schmidt said. “There are other people in the film that literally want Sarah back. Nicholas comes to find that property can actually be life’s memories and lessons that our loved ones leave us after they are gone.”
As first-time film makers, Schmidt and Horan said they stretched the boundaries of traditional film making.
“There’s some unconventional things that we do as far as storytelling and filmically,” Schmidt said.
The two producers used digital media to film the project, and other types of visuals were added to the film during the editing process.
“We did a lot of work with visual effects, and not what you think of when you think effects,” Schmidt said. “We used a lot of work with still photography, paintings and graphics.”
Filming took place entirely in Memphis, mostly in Midtown and the High Point Terrace district. Some scenes in the film were shot here at The U of M.
“The department of Theatre and Dance let us have the run of their main stage theatre,” Schmidt said.
After showing the finished product to several people, Schmidt said he was pleased with the audience response to the film.
“Most people have said that they definitely had an emotional response to the film,” Schmidt said. “I think everyone comes away saying they have to go sit and think about it.”
Normal to Oily opens on Thursday at Studio on the Square, with showtimes at 7 and 8 p.m. The filmella will also be featured at The Memphis International Film Festival in April.
