We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Sarrow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michael , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
“SMILE AS YOU KILL” is about a sick man–denied by his health insurance–who kidnaps an advertising director and forces him to create an online campaign for life-saving treatment.
For too many Americans, crowdfunding has become their only hope of obtaining much-needed funds for medical care. This was a topic I wanted to tackle, but I had to find a way into the story.
The home invasion scenario allowed me to put two very different characters into a suspenseful situation, which created opportunities to explore the tension and dark humor as they work against and with each other to raise the money.
By sheer coincidence, one month before our digital release of the film, the United Healthcare CEO was assassinated, highlighting the anger of this country at the health insurance industry. If anyone is confused about this widespread anger, I’d recommend that they watch the film.
Michael , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m an independent writer/director, and “SMILE AS YOU KILL” is my second feature film. I enjoy writing allegorical or slightly absurd situations with life-or-death stakes. Then I throw unique, complex characters into these situations to see if they sink or swim.
“SMILE AS YOU KILL” is an example of how I hope to mix suspense, character psychology, and dark comedy to create entertaining and thoughtful films.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
So far the most rewarding aspect of creating “SMILE AS YOU KILL” has been sharing it with film festival audiences. We picked up several awards on the regional festival circuit, and talking with audiences afterwards has been the best part.
Different audiences connect differently with the film. The film got many audible laughs during our San Antonio screening. The audience in Orlando gasped during the most suspenseful scenes and asked many plot-related questions afterwards. At San Pedro, I had several questions about the character’s beliefs and personal philosophy.
“SMILE AS YOU KILL” just became available on major digital platforms, so I’m looking forward to now sharing with the whole country. I think the film has a lot to chew on for a number of different types of viewer.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Word-of-mouth is so important for people to discover low-budget indie films like “SMILE AS YOU KILL.” We don’t have the marketing budget of a big studio film.
When viewers leave positive reviews on platforms like RottenTomatoes, IMDB, and Letterboxd, that helps people find out about our film. The film also has an active Instagram and Facebook page (@saykfilm for both), and I tweet about the film (@msarrow).
It’s great to hear from people who have enjoyed the film and want to share it with others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.smileasyoukill.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saykfilm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAYKfilm/
- Twitter: https://x.com/MSarrow
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kshlazkI_0
- Other: The film is available on Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Fandango at Home – Vudu, Microsoft, Google Play, and DVD. All links to those platforms are on the SmileAsYouKill.com site.
