Interview with film director Nolan Brian Rabanal Tiongco

Welcome Mr Rabanal Tiongco we are very excited to have you today and discuss about your work. Who is Nolan Brian Rabanal Tiongco and how did the passion for start ?

Nolan Brian Rabanal Tiongco is a Filipino-American writer, director, and filmmaker born and raised in Southern California. Seeing his father's name on the big screen was a cornerstone memory that gave Nolan a glimpse of what was possible. At the age of 8, Nolan conducted a winter concert that sparked an interest in the entertainment world.

Nolan first picked up a camera to create skate videos with his cousins, which grew into volunteering at the high school tv studio. In school, Nolan was given opportunities to direct and edit the school's new program, video announcements, and skits. Those experiences gave Nolan the confidence to begin pursuing a career in entertainment. For six years, Nolan worked at the Warner Bros vault as a Data Manager and Archivist.

Now, Nolan is writing, directing, and producing his own short film series. As an avid learner, Nolan saw filmmaking as a career of many disciplines. Filmmaking became the start of a journey that would be a lifelong pursuit.

Can you tell us about your previous work ?

My first short film “Pickpocket” is a story about a hungry woman who finds compassion in a city run by gangsters. “Pickpocket” became the first of three short stories set in a story world I am calling “The Syndicate Tales”. The premise of “The Syndicate Tales” story is set in a world where gangsters run a city with impunity. I always liked the idea of the gangster story and I wondered what it would be like if that was the social norm. My cousin, Oliver, worked at a company right on Hollywood blvd with a beautiful mural in the parking lot, it sparked an idea of a different side of Hollywood. There is a side that people do see and I think that is what drew me to create “The Syndicate Tales” world. I don’t think we would have been able to film this story without him. The essence of the story is about hunger and compassion, but for me, it was a story of having a creative hunger and finding a way to seek that out. One interesting story about working on this project was trying to find a way to capture the sound of a hungry character. We decided to record our own stomach growls, we would intentionally starve ourselves to make these sounds and in those moments we become starving artists. I found that very amusing.

CONVERSATION ABOUT: Carry that Weight

Talk to us about your film. How was it created and what inspired it ?

A friend and I wrote this story about five years ago and it stuck with me for so long that I knew I had to get it on the screen. "Carry That Weight" is the second in “The Syndicate Tales” series. It is about the death of a woman that weighs heavily on two strangers. One of the characters of the story draws inspiration from Fixer characters like “Mike” from the “Breaking Bad” Series and “Wolf” from Pulp Fiction. Phin and Jose do such a great job playing off one another. Phin can turn it on just like that and Jose does subtle things that convey so much. And I can not forget about Katrina, she was the emotional component of the entire story. I am very lucky to work with the cast and crew we put together. I had an opportunity to shoot this one on film and am delighted with the texture it brings to the story. It required another level of focus and planning shooting on film. I found it quite enjoyable. However, shooting on film is quite expensive and I still carry the financial weight of shooting in that medium.

 What would you describe as your directing identity style ? 

Right now I am really into telephoto lenses that flatten the images like a painting. Images that are isolated characters in a frame. There are so many directors to study but I look to some of my favorite 1960s directors for inspiration on this short Kubrick, Kurosawa, and Ozu. They are masterful in their camera work and compositions. I try to bring some of that intentionality to my work too. I really like the 60s era of filmmaking. I think that was an amazing time. It was the sweet spot between the studio system epics of the 50s and the independent era of the 70s. Where these directors were supported by the studio and had the freedom to create something uniquely them. I really enjoyed Stanley Kubrick’s use of camera moves in “A Clockwork Orange” and the way he reveals Alex and his droogs. I tried to mimic that move to reveal my character and his situation in the first image of “Carry That Weight”.

Are the characters based on actual people and is there any hidden symbolism in your work ? 

One of the reasons why I wanted to make this movie was to work through my own personal addictions. I saw making this story as a way to work through bad habits, negative thoughts, and regrets I had. It was a way to focus that energy on something expressive, creative, and positive. The spine of one of the characters was “all he wants is a cigarette, no matter what he does or what happens all he wants is to satisfy that need”. And I think that there is something poetic about him dying of a poisoned cigarette, kind of like a double death. (spoiler alert) On a personal note, the character’s death was a symbolic way to kill off that part of me that wallowed in that darkness. It sounds like something that a person would go to therapy for (hahaha), but working on a personal film like this was very cathartic for me. And at least this film will last forever.

What is the target audience of your project ? 

I would say this is a story for the old guys and a throwback to the gangster/noir genre. The type of people who enjoyed Godfather, and slow-burn crime stories. I definitely think that this isn’t your typical film festival short. It’s a story of deep regret and bittersweet melancholy. No one wins and everyone loses something. It is a story without a happy ending.

What is the message the audience should convey leaving the screening of your film? 

At the end of the day, this is a proof-of-concept short film. I tried to tell this story like an iceberg twenty percent of the story is what is shown and about eighty percent is left to the imagination. The goal of this story was to engage the audience's imagination and let them infer the characters' backstory and their situation. Let the audience decide which character they empathize with or don’t. I think the shift in feeling of who you empathize with in the story is what I like most about this story. I wanted to apply what I learned in the previous short and mark my progress as a storyteller and filmmaker. I think there is so much to improve on but there is a lot that I like about it. 

Any future projects incoming ? Along with personal aspirations.

I am always writing and always coming up with different ideas and playing around with different genres, but the “Sydnciate Tales” have been at the forefront. In total “The Syndicate Tales” is a series of three short films and a feature. “Pickpocket” was the first story, and “Carry That Weight” was the second. And the third short story is called “Oyster”. I am very eager to tell this third story “Oyster” and put it on the screen. One of the reasons why I did “Carry That Weight” first was it was financially cheaper to produce, compared to “Oyster”. “Oyster” is about a troubled young woman who escaped a terrible fate with the help of an old oyster farmer.” It is a story that is near and dear to my heart and it has a very special meaning for me. I want to make sure I tell that story correctly. The feature, “Bye Bye Blackbird” expanded on the world and some of the characters in the short films. I’m in the process of writing this one and it’s been a lot of fun discovering the story.

That was the interview with our beloved creator Nolan Brian Rabanal Tiongco. Our community is rising everyday, new talented filmakers and screenwriters get onboard. Be sure to check the rest of our interviews and why not schedule one for yourself to promote your work. To publish an interview simply submit on the INTERVIEW OF YOUR FILM category on our Filmfreeway page.