Interview: Director Tirf Alexius Advocates ‘Critical Nexus’

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CHICAGO – Director Tirf Alexius is one of the most ardent filmmakers a person will meet. He believes succinctly in his new film “Critical Nexus,” and is anticipating a sold out premiere in Chicago on Friday, September 13th. The gritty new movie thriller is a intriguing departure in the micro-budget film category.

“Critical Nexus” refers to the ultimate crossroad when uncommon elements are destined to come together. In this case it is a 16 year old video blogger, a former internet developer and a random mass killer. The film is a departure because it comments on current technologies and the “connections’ those technologies make. It speaks to how the lack of personal interaction is a dangerous and often deadly obsession.

Kiley Moore, Ron Lipski and Karmann Bajuyo of ‘Critical Nexus’ Photo credit: R-Squared Films

Tirf Alexius is a local filmmaker, who actually graduated from Chicago’s Columbia College with a drama degree. He has appeared in many area film productions and ads. He grew up in Chicago, after his family emigrated from Haiti when he was five years old. He is currently working on a documentary regarding his native country. “Critical Nexus” is his first feature film, and he has worked tirelessly on a personal marketing model that would be the envy of any aspiring filmmaker.

HollywoodChicago.com got to talk to the dynamic Alexius, a few weeks before his sold-out premiere on Friday, September 13th, 2013 – which will take place at the New 400 Theater on Sheridan Road in Chicago.

HollywoodChicago.com: What were the circumstances of you running into Todd Heller’s script of ‘Critical Nexus,’ and what motivated you to take it from page to production?

Tirf Alexius: Todd was my English Professor at Columbia College. For years, he’d been following what we’d been doing, and he had the script and sent it to us. When my producer Remoh Romeo and I read it, we realized it was something that we didn’t normally do. We had done the urban vibe before, and although this was wordier, I knew we could get the same vibe from performance, and we could do something really nice. That’s what drew me to it.

HollywoodChicago.com: This is a contemporary story, using modern tech devices as a point-of-view. How did you manufacture point-of-view, since you’re using laptop, smartphone and other screens as devices for those shots?

Alexius: I played with the idea of the web element, and I didn’t want to push it too far, as it would be cheesy and fake – I didn’t want to lose the theatrical element. We’d introduce a ‘flicker,’ and then break away from it, just to give the viewer a sense that it’s a webcam, but then following up with full resolution. We actually had lead actress Kiley Moore actually hold the camera, to capture the energy, part voyeuristic as if the audience is observing her. There were a lot of emotions using that technique.

HollywoodChicago.com: Even though the characters are desperate to make a physical connection rather than a technological one, it’s in that physical connection that the trouble begins. What are you communicating about human relationships in this film?

Alexius: We don’t spend enough time next to each other. We spend so much time texting, messaging and emailing, that we lose the value of actually sitting down and having a cold beer in the same room together. The characters want to connect with someone, anyone, who knows them. For most people, you might know what they put out there on the web, but they may not really know you.

HollywoodChicago.com: This is an example of a so-called micro budget film. What elements of this type of filmmaking is most difficult at this level, and how were you and the production team able to overcome that?

Alexius: Locations are definitely one of the challenges, we had to get really resourceful. I went through the Rolodex to pull in favors, as in who do we know and what can we do in exchange for using the locations, and so on. What we could control was performance. Despite not having a budget for big effects, we knew that at the core level if we could get our actors well rehearsed, we could actually get a great performance. That would drive it.

On the Line: Kiley Moore in ‘Critical Nexus’ Photo credit: R-Squared Films

HollywoodChicago.com: You seem particular in getting the type of actors who can handle their roles, and asked them to go a long way in characterization. How far do you think an actor should be willing to go to communicate difficult actions or emotions in this film, in your case?

Alexius: Short of actually stabbing yourself, go for it. [laughs] It’s about the trust, and the actors know if they have a bat or knife in their hand, and they’re looking into the eyes of their fellow performer, they’ll know how far to go. The victim character has to know that it won’t go too far, but give enough so that it’s realistic. Let it go, and trust each other. As a director, I want them to look their best, and I’ll do it over if that’s not the case.

HollywoodChicago.com: You are in the midst of an impressive and unprecedented self-produced marketing campaign for ‘Critical Nexus.’ Describe what you mapped out for the plan, and what are you learning about marketing that has surprised you?

Alexius: I’ve been involved in other businesses, and ironically the stuff I’ve used in those pursuits I never even thought I’d be using to sell a film. And all of a sudden, I had to think, ‘what do we want to do to capture the core of the audience we want to get?’ And how do we inject ourselves into the campaign? It is that connection, and for example we wrapped a car – the ‘Critical Nexus Batmobile’ –and that’s an easy billboard for people to see as we drive around. It’s cheaper than buying one billboard to do that. We can’t beat that.

HollywoodChicago.com: Since you were a drama major in college, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as an actor, and how do you practice that when dealing with actors as a director in your films?

Remoh Romeo, Tirf Alexius and the ‘Critical Nexus’ Batmobile Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

Alexius: It’s about commitment and preparation, after that it’s all fun. Get the lines out of the way, memorize the hell out of the lines. Then when they get to the set they can interpret things their way. I hear sometimes that an actor reads the script and complains, for example, ‘I can’t grab a cup that way.’ I always tell them that it was just how the writer wrote it, and he’s not an actor. [laughs] I find it best to let the organics develop around the technical elements of filmmaking, and playing in the moment. Committing at a high level is what matters most.

HollywoodChicago.com: Although your family comes from Haiti, you are perceived as a black man in America. We recently witnessed the Trayvon Martin verdict, and President Obama’s eloquent statements regarding his experiences as a person of color in this country. What do you think a caucasian person will never understand about being a black man in America, and how do you counteract that perception in your own life?

Alexius: In this day and age, we’ve come to a place where it is more comfortable, but the perception is still out there. Until you know what it is like to be pulled over just because you’re driving a particular kind of car, and you know you weren’t doing anything, it’s impossible to have empathy.

I was doing another film, and was walking down the street outside the set with a blonde actress, holding a prop baseball bat. I was then stormed by the police, because they saw me walking with this woman, with a bat in hand, and they feared for her. We were shooting a movie. They pulled guns on me. I am who I am, and I embrace it, and this is what it is. But if you haven’t experienced it, and think we’ve overcome everything, I’m here to say we have some work to do.

HollywoodChicago.com: Is there a specific genre of film that you’d like to tackle in your career, that you haven’t really come close to in your early filmmaking experiences?

Alexius: I’m simply a big action film guy, and that’s what I’m pursuing. I want to do a comedy, because people take me so seriously, and I don’t know why. I want to explore that. More comedies!

HollywoodChicago.com: What do your want to tell the audience about ‘Critical Nexus’ that we already haven’t discussed?

Alexius: With these type of projects, there is a sense that audiences have expectations about it. We want to give people an expansive feel about the film, and embrace the elements that we filmed at 20 locations, we have actors that are handling really dramatic monologues and poured themselves into it. At the same time, we have movement and action. it’s a riot – come along for the ride. It’s a local production, an all Chicago cast and crew. You can’t beat that!

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com