Entered in the documentary competition of the 36th Stockholm International Film Festival, the Swedish title ILOVERUSS [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Tova Mozard
fiche film] gets its domestic premiere after opening at the most recent CPH:DOX. Director and visual artist Tova Mozard shared some thoughts about art, film and her main subject, Hollywood extra and extraordinary friend Russ Kingston.

Cineuropa: How long has this project been in progress?
Tova Mozard: I’ve been filming over some 20 years, since about 2003. But it was about two years ago when I thought I’d be able to piece something together into an actual film. My work switches between art installations and film, and this project also became an installation. When I pitched the movie at CPH:DOX in 2022, I was approached by a Copenhagen art gallery, Nikolaj Kunsthal. The installation’s quite different from the film, and it was very good for the creative process.

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You date the film’s genesis to 2003. What happened then?
I studied Fine Art Photography at UCLA and met Russ when we were both extras in a film exercise. We clicked right away. He was a professional Hollywood extra but also an actor in his own life, an extraordinary character that I wanted to highlight. I started coming to LA over the years to film him. It’s been a long time, and it’s been a luxury, to film without really knowing why you’re doing it – just being in the moment.

The film is labelled as a documentary. Is that correct, would you say?
It’s a documentary where I guide things a little. I listen to what Russ says, I interpret things beyond what he says, and then I film his reality and these places that we visit, which are his flat, the donut shop and the taco place he goes to, located right by his apartment, as well as his car. What you see in the movie is a mixture of him controlling things through what he wants and what he chooses to say, and then me sometimes asking him to repeat things he has said to me; also, sometimes we do a kind of minimalist acting exercise when he wants to recount something or he wants to try to dramatise something. But nothing is scripted; it’s all from within him.

“Over the past 14 months, I’ve worked on 178 films,” he says at one point. Has he done anything slightly bigger that we might recognise?
I’ve seen him in both movies and TV shows, like The West Wing. He’s convincing as a guy in a suit. I can’t think of any bigger things, and it’s my belief that he truly likes being an extra. To me, he isn’t a failed or struggling actor; he is the unique human being that I experience and try to depict.

The film does drift into some dark places. We hear about Russ’s estrangement from his family, and we also see him getting quite unwell, physically and mentally. Your mission as a director persists through all of this. You even become an intermediary between him and his brother at one point.
I just thought, “Okay, this is what is happening to our film now,” and kept filming. He got depressed and heard voices and stopped eating. To me, it kind of made sense: he’s very lonely, and even though he’s generally happy with that, it’s not good for you. Today, he’s better, and his brother is around to take care of him a little, so they’re in touch again. His brother has seen the film, and in a way, he's got to know Russ better through that. He was very moved by it.

Has Russ seen the film?
Parts of it. He’s not that interested – he’s more like, “Yeah, it’s cool.” That also ties in with his particular ways. What has mattered to him is the time we’ve spent together and the fact that I’m there for him. His self-worth doesn’t lie in any feature film about him or what people think about it; instead, he’ll still think what he thinks about himself and his life. He’s still alone in his flat. When I try to talk to him about the movie, he’ll say, “Yeah, but do you know what happened yesterday? I'm going to go and get myself some bananas now, with some milk.”

Why is the title of ILOVERUSS written the way it is?
I go a lot on feeling. I think the LA neon signs may have inspired me a little. And then I really liked ILOVERUSS, rather than I Love Russ, which separates us, while ILOVERUSS stands for us together, as one unit, like a slogan of sorts. It’s a seal, a stamp, an emblem, something heightened, something obvious. Someone has to love Russ; I’m the one doing it, and it’s worth shouting about.