What makes someone charismatic?
Some alchemic mix of confident, enthusiastic and funny? Talented? Compelling? It’s really hard to explain charisma, but it’s easy to spot.
You know it when you see it.
But is my version of charismatic the same as yours, or is it subjective? Is one person’s charismatic another person’s cringe? (One to ponder).
Anyway, Riley Hooper is brilliant at finding characters with exactly the right charisma to carry a short film. There’s a radiant warmth to her work, and I love how she lets people tell their stories on their own terms.
This is perfectly illustrated in Flo (2012), a jaunt round New York with photographer Flo Fox. Despite blindness, multiple sclerosis and lung cancer – and unable to hold a camera herself – Flo’s lust for her art, and her city, shine through every moment.
She has a glint in her eye and a smutty sense of humour. She’s tremendous fun, but also shares poignant reflections on disability, beauty and ageing.
She’s exuberantly, unequivocally charismatic. You know it when you see it.
I spoke with Riley over Zoom from her home in New York. You can see more of her work on her website and her Instagram.
Why did you want to tell this story?
I had a friend who was working at an art gallery that represented artists over the age of 60. That was exciting because I feel that older people have such rich stories and such wisdom to share.
I thought I was going to do a series of films about older artists. This was the second and last of that series, but I’ve made a lot of films about older people since then.
Flo’s not even that old – she is just an amazing person. She is so sassy and her work is incredible. The photos are amazing, the captions are so funny. And all of the challenges she has faced in her life, and her attitude towards them – it’s very inspiring.
There is this world of glorifying disability – like disability porn. I am more aware of that now than I was when I made this film, but I hope it doesn’t come across like that. I was just inspired by her attitude.
What were the biggest challenges?
I don’t remember a lot of challenges. It was my first real film out of college and I made it by myself with no budget. And those are challenges, but there is freedom in that. I had nothing holding me back, I just did it.
One thing I will say is that I shot this on a Canon 7D. These were the days of the 5D, but I had a 7D, and the warp stabilisation – trying to stabilise the shots when the wheelchair was going over the cracks – looks terrible. It does not hold up, so technology wise, that was a challenge.
What would you do differently if you made the film again?
Nothing and everything. Nothing because this film was successful and I think it’s really beautiful that I made it by myself.
At the same time if I made it today, I would hire a DP, get a sound person, get a colourist, and someone to do the score. It would be a completely different film, but there would be a loss in that. I kind of miss the days when I could just do something like this.
What are you most proud of?
Something that’s big for me is making creative choices that are really in line with the characters in, and the content of, the film. I think this started that for me, specifically putting the camera on her wheelchair.
I didn’t just do that because it was cool, I did it because I wanted to tell the story from her perspective. I love watching the city go by behind her in the shot, and I think it speaks to the constraints of her life and her disability.
When you’re handed certain parameters, you make something different out of them.
How did making this film change you?
It really did launch my career. It won a lot of awards and was a New York Times Op-doc. I was able to leave my full-time job at Vimeo as it got me noticed by commercial production companies.
I joke that I peaked with this because no film I have made since has been so successful. I am very proud of that but also like, what the heck…
External validation means something. It’s hard because sometimes you make something which you think is really great, and you don’t get that validation, so you can’t attach too much to it.
But it gave me a lot of early confidence. Right off the bat I was able to be like, ‘I’m a filmmaker. I make films that people want to watch.’
I really like how Riley talked about external validation. It ‘s very honest to break down that while it can be a dangerous thing to pursue – because it’s so unpredictable – there are positive things that happen when it is bestowed on a piece of work. I think creative careers need, on some level, moments where the rest of the world gives its approval.
Thanks to Riley, and to Jessica Best for editing this interview. And thanks for reading – I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments and suggestions, so please comment or reply to this email.