Interview: Director Raza Siddiqui on ‘We Could Happen,’ Premiering on May 17, 2016

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CHICAGO – Raza Siddiqui is a “can do” director, who not only continues his own proficiency in filmmaking, but supports all Chicago films by presenting and participating in local film showcases. He has completed his first feature film – “We Could Happen” – and it will have its premiere on May 17th, 2016, at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago. For details, click here.

“We Could Happen” is a romantic “misunderstanding” film, about Martin and Beth (Mike Schminke and Anne Acker) who are in the nether zone of break-up “closure.” When Beth seeks to get the couple-ending done, she stumbles upon Martin trying to start his career as a real estate broker. Will he close on the house? Will they close on the relationship? “We Could Happen” closes in on the answers to both questions.

Anne Acker, Mike Schminke, Raza Siddiqui
Lead actors Anne Acker and Mike Schminke, Directed by Raza Siddiqui of ‘We Could Happen’
Photo credit: We Could Happen Film

Writer/director Raza Siddiqui hails from India, where he began as a child actor. As a young adult, he began his filmmaking career there in the 1990s, as an Assistant Director and Camera Assistant, while at the same time practicing law. After coming to the States, he continued his advocation as a lawyer, but also joined in and kept working in the Chicago film scene. His first short films were “The Last Hug” in 2011, and “Crtl+Life+Delete” a year later. Siddiqui also was the producer on ‘We Could Happen,’ wrote the film in collaboration with his two lead actors, and he is an ardent supporter of the local film community. The editor of “We Could Happen” – Angelo Valencia – recently won an AICE [Independent Media] Award as “Best of Chicago.”

Two days before the world premiere of his feature debut, Raza Siddiqui talked with HollywoodChicago.com about his experiences as a filmmaker.

HollywoodChicago.com: What was the inspiration for this particular story? Did it come out of your own life or was it based on something that sparked your interest in it?

Raza Siddiqui: Honestly, it all started with what I could afford. I have always made films with my own personal money. So after burning funds on a couple of short films, I decided to take the plunge into a feature project. So everything started from that point, what can I do with this limited budget.

The biggest expense item seemed to be the locations– so I decided to use my own house in the suburbs for the project. I had a broad story concept of two people spending a day or night figuring out their relationship. So when I sat down with my lead actors and presented them with the location and story idea, we started building the rest of the story from there. So you can say that the story got created out of situations rather than any inspiration or a thought process.

HollywoodChicago.com: What fascinated you about the characters of Beth and Martin, and their relationship? Why did you think it was important for them to understand themselves again, in order to make their relationship whole?

Siddiqui: I used to practice law in India before I moved to the States and my very first case out of law school was a divorce matter for a distant relative who couldn’t afford a lawyer, but was desperate to get out of his marriage. I have sat through hundred of hours of mediation sessions between couples in divorce cases, and I have been married for more than a decade, and have gone through my fair share of the typical ups and downs of a relationship.

Nobody is perfect, and neither is Martin and Beth. Each had their own shortcomings, but there was something which was still holding them together – in the film, they’ve been separated for a year but had never gone out with anybody else. Now when Beth is making an almost life changing move, she wants to give it another shot.

HollywoodChicago.com: In the casting process, what chemistry did Mike Schminke and Anne Acker have that made them the right choices for Martin and Beth?

Siddiqui: I saw close to 50 actors for the roles. As far as I recollect, Mike and Anne never got paired together till the last session of the last call back. I kept moving them up based on their individual performances and when they finally got paired up, that was the very last session. We just relaxed and started chatting about weather, sports and everything under the sun. When I went back home that night, it didn’t take a lot of time to decide that they were the couple. There was something so natural and easy going between them, that it was hard to believe that they actually had never met each other before, even though they were represented by the same agency.

Raza Siddiqui
Director Raza Siddiqui on the Set of ‘We Could Happen’
Photo credit: We Could Happen Film

HollywoodChicago.com: Most of the movie takes place within a house that Martin is trying to sell. How did you work out the process of shooting the story, while keeping the action visually stimulating?

Siddiqui: I had done auditions for a project in 2013, where I experimented with the improv style. It clicked very well and the results were pretty amazing. That inspired to go for a 100% improvisation film. This film had no script whatsoever, we prepared an outline of what would happen on that day in the lives of Martin and Beth, and then spent a couple of days at the location just walking around and discussing the story. I could not have asked for anything better. It worked out great.

We had only one camera, which was totally handheld. We chose to keep a very minimal crew. We rolled the camera and just shot whatever came naturally to the actors – to totally lose themselves into the characters and not be conscious about the typical film setting around them.

HollywoodChicago.com: Both your short film ‘The Last Hug’ and ‘We Could Happen’ are about trying to fill a void of loss, having to do with different types of relationships. Why does this theme interest you as a writer, in the sense of that very human experience?

Siddiqui: I have difficulties in relationships in my personal life. There is a very popular Bollywood song from the late 1950’s which says ‘My broken dreams have taught me, What I found through my heart, I lost through my eyes.’ It tries to say that often times people allow you into their hearts, and then you kick yourself out through your own actions. Relationships are very complicated, whether it’s with your parents, your siblings, work colleagues, friends or love interests. It is not something taught in school or anywhere else. I feel that relationships are the basis of our existence, and unfortunately sometimes we just don’t get it.

HollywoodChicago.com: What directors inspire you, as far as how you want you visual style to be, and how do you learn from them?

Siddiqui: I have always been inspired by the films ‘Enough Said’ [Nicole Holofcener], ‘Drinking Buddies’ [Joe Swanberg], ‘Nebraska’ [Alexander Payne], and ‘I’m Not a Hipster’ [Destin Daniel Cretton], to name a few. I think filmmaking is a very tricky art form – one day you could make an awesome movie and the next one could be a damp squib. I can personally relate to it in the sense that sometimes what you think looks great on paper doesn’t turn out the same on screen, but I move on and finish the film, and hope to not repeat the same mistakes on the next one.

HollywoodChicago.com: What would be your pitch to a potential audience for the the premiere of your film on May 17th, why should they come and experience ‘We Could Happen’?

Siddiqui: The film is a sweet romantic story. The idea is that each day of our work and personal lives are built around conflicts, and as the saying goes ‘there is no drama if there is no conflict.’ But we need to hear stories of positivity and hope, and we need to sit down and watch movies that cater to our real lives, and not just the ones tuned into the whims of the festival programmers and distribution companies.

”We Could Happen” premieres on May 17th, 2016, at Landmark Century Centre Cinema – 2828 North Clark Street, Chicago. Featuring Mike Schminke and Anne Acker. Written by Raza Siddiqui, Mike Schminke and Anne Acker. Directed by Raza Siddiqui. Not Rated.

HollywoodChicago.com senior staff writer Patrick McDonald

By PATRICK McDONALD
Writer, Editorial Coordinator
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2016 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

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