We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Seri DeYoung a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Seri, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Every time I finish a new project, I feel like I am telling the story that’s the most authentic to me. In my latest short film, Unfaithful!, which we are currently developing into a series, I got to bring many elements of my personal experience onto the screen. This might sound funny, considering it’s an early 2000’s neo-western about a host of a investigative “romantic crime” reality TV show – a troubled man who lets his delusions put his production and an innocent woman at risk.

Having come of age in the early 2000’s, I was inspired to examine this inflection point in our cultural landscape. I began my professional career in the entertainment industry in 2007. I was eighteen. If you are a woman in her mid-thirties, then I don’t need to tell you what it was like to be a young working gal at that time. I couldn’t possibly enumerate the times I was harassed by men at work. It’s been my experience since I was a teen that I illicit a feeling of entitlement from men. I know I am not alone in this. This all brings up mixed emotions for me now- anger for what I and so many others had to go through, but also so much gratitude for how much better things are now.

Using my experiences as a lens to enter the wild world of Unfaithful! was so cathartic, liberating, and tons of fun. I fully relate to both the overlooked female field producer of the show, as well as the innocent young musician that the show’s guest is harassing. The obsessed and entitled host and guest are both intimately and unfortunately familiar to me, and that translated into a super fun collaborative experience. My actors brought these roles to life seamlessly. Additionally, it was so easy to bring my department heads into my vision. When I told everyone, “hey I think this is actually a western”- they all said “yes, it is”. It is my intention to carry the cinematic references of westerns into the series as we explore themes of self-righteousness, manifest destiny, and the frontier of a dramatically shifting media landscape.

I hope when audiences watch the film, they are inspired to draw their own conclusions. How will these people justify their actions? How far should we be willing to go for the sake of entertainment? Must the show go on? Perhaps upon reflecting on a not-too-distant past, we can see our present moment with more clarity.

Unfaithful! won Best Comedy Short at the Santa Fe Film Festival and will have its West Coast premiere at Dances With Films on June 26th at the TCL Chinese Theater. Follow along for updates at @unfaithful.on.tape

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been acting, writing, and making movies since I was a kid. I was very fortunate to grow up in New Mexico and book work before moving to LA when I was 19. A few years after moving, I started writing and directing short films with the friends I’d made. Since then I’ve booked lots of TV roles and directed lots of short films plus a feature documentary- plus a slate of new projects in development.
I believe what sets me apart is that I’m multi-disciplinary. I bring an embodied creativity that I’ve developed as an actress to my writing and directing, and on the flip side I have a deep understanding of story and style that I pull from my filmmaking experience and bring to my acting work. Furthermore, I make it my business to get to know and take care of the crew. In my many years in front of the camera, I’ve watched below the line creatives get worked to the bone. It’s my mission always to make each day as easy as possible for all involved.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

When I was younger I took a lot of pride in figuring things out on my own. As I’m entering a much more busy stage in my career, not only do I value asking others for help and advice – I now know that I need to. It’s not optional. I consider this mentality aligned with being a “good villager”. I really depend on the people around me for advice and support, and I endeavor to be someone others can depend on as well.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

When I’m creating – whether that’s acting, directing, writing, or photography – I feel like I am at my most useful. Filmmaking is a team sport and there’s nothing I love more than collaborating with other artists to make something greater than ourselves. At the risk of sounding dramatic or whatever, I feel very spiritually connected to this work. To be able to create with other artists every chance I get is a gift and privilege. I want to be making cool things with cool people until the day I die – also dramatic of me to say, but it’s true and it is my plan.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @serideyoung

Image Credits

portraits by Alex Plank
film stills and bts of Unfaithful! directed by Seri DeYoung, cinematography by Carrie Morgan Glassman