Zach Ryan Doumit – Trespassers

We had the opportunity to chat with filmmaker Zach Ryan Doumit about his film Trespassers which is an official selection of the Utah Film Festival. 

Trespassers follows David Stetson who is shaken and erratic by the months of unresolved trauma. David Stetson’s mind reels with horrific visions after the violent and tragic death of his daughter. After police investigation fails to identify her killer and his private faith in God shaken, David straddles the decision of either taking his own life, or enacting justice on the murderer himself.

What was the inspiration to make Trespassers?

Inspiration comes in many forms. I’ve always been inclined to orient my creative process in a way that draws from some truth about myself and my experiences.

I fear a lot of things and still need to work through things that I’ve gone through, and film is a helpful medium to interrogate those fears and feelings. Most inspiration boils down to asking myself “what am I scared of? How would I react in this situation?” and building a narrative around that. 

From idea to completion, how did Trespassers change?

I’m a bit too ambitious for my own good. It’s a helpful attribute in many ways because even if I’m unable to accomplish the original scope of work that exists in my head, what I produce still ends up being a more elevated production than what I would settle for if I wrote only within what I knew I could accomplish. Trespassers followed that same pattern, the ancillary story details were written and re-written between the screenplay and picture lock – but ultimately I think what is left is the best of what could’ve been.  

What was the biggest challenge in getting Trespassers made? 

The biggest challenge of making Trespassers was having the confidence that it could be made, not just in the nebulous sense of “oh making a movie is sure scary” but in the pervasive and persistent imposter syndrome that lurks in the back of the mind between every take that makes you second guess if any of it is good, or worth it, or valuable, or if you’re just wasting your time. 

What do you think is the most important takeaway from your film?

I learned so much during the production that I’ll carry into everything I make next. I think personally the most important takeaway was proving to myself and my crew that we could make something awesome with limited resources. On a more macro scale, learning importance of on-the-fly innovation when things fall through or continuity starts losing consistency is huge. 

If you could have a do over with your film is there anything that you would do differently? If so, what would that be?

If I had to do my film over I think I would’ve wanted at least one extra day to shoot. There was some incredibly fun and interesting narrative elements that were cut because of time constraints. I think had they been included, they would’ve supported the core backbone of the story in a creative and entertaining way.

What do you have next in the works?

So much is in the works. My brain will fill whatever creative boundaries I set myself and then spill over. Currently I’m working through tightening a feature screenplay I hope to direct in the near future. 

How can we learn more about you and your projects?

I’m most active on Twitter and Instagram, you can interact with me there and follow the various productions I’m involved in at any given moment.