Thu. November 1, 2012
Chicago, IL -
Shortly after turning 25 this year, Kyle Thomas was named one of the Windy City Times' 30 Under 30 for his work as the film director and openly-gay president of the burgeoning Chicago-based multimedia company Hesperidian Productions. Incorporated in 2011, Hesperidian is in a phase of major transition and development, having already established itself with the production of two short films, a fashion webseries and several events in Chicago, and big plans for feature full-length films and a growing music department in the near future.
The ambition and drive of Hesperidian can be traced to its founder, who seeks to create art that he says "doesn't just imitate life, but is life." A native of Milwaukee, Thomas wrote his first novel at age 14 and spent much of his youth pursuing his interest in the arts -- painting, writing and even acting in independent films from a young age.
"I've been working in the arts my whole life -- I've always been inspired by expression and emotion and people," Thomas told ChicagoPride.com. "I was constantly bringing people together, which has always been something that I felt like was a big strength of mine. I love to just work and collaborate with people that are both like-minded and have ideas of their own and will make whatever we're working on something bigger and grander -- something that I may not have originally conceived it to be."
Thomas attended school at Loyola and later the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying playwriting and psychology. It was here that he began experimenting with short films and making music videos for friends, which helped him realize a future for himself as a director. The business-savvy Thomas then educated himself on the film world and consulted financial advisors and lawyers, seeking a way to pursue his art that was financially secure, long-lasting and allowed room for growth.
After graduating, Thomas moved to Chicago, where he attended a film discussion and met Jane Morson, a Philadelphia-native who, at the time, had written the better part of two novels in a trilogy and had a background in fundraising and marketing for nonprofits.
"I've always loved Chicago and I wanted to meet other professionals in the city that were doing it and succeeding at it," Thomas said. "Jane and I really bonded about our love for collaboration and the types of stories that inspire us -- we're both really attracted to myth and to archetype and are also inspired by psychology."
The duo utilized the best of what each had to offer, like Morson's experience with administration and financial planning, Thomas' filmmaking knowledge and their shared creative ambition, and wrote up a business plan. Together, they sought to use film, fashion and music, which they see as interlocking mediums that extend from a point of self-expression, to build a "tribe" that identifies with the Hesperidian aesthetic, which centers around reimagining and recontextualizing -- taking something which has been before and recreating it in a modern context.
"Fashion is definitely something that people do mindfully, others not all the time, and that's a form of self-expression," Morson told ChicagoPride.com. "And then with film or music, we identify with the pieces that we really like, so its unifying. We'd like to create the idea of community or a tribe -- hopefully as we grow and produce more that will grow as well."
The name Hesperidian is inspired by the Hesperides of Greek mythology: beautiful nymphs who live on a island at the edge of world, guarding a tree that bears the golden apples of immortality. Thomas and Morson both loved this image as a representation of creativity and art and the way it can affect the world long after we're gone, so much so that they used it as the basis of their first project together.
Thomas describes "Awakening" as more of a branding piece than an actual short film; it's a visually dynamic, post-apocalyptic retelling of the Hesperides myth that gave the production company the splash logo they now attach to everything Hesperidian. The piece culminates in the seemingly magical growing and leafing of a giant tree, which tested Thomas' dedication to his artistic vision against Morson's ability as producer to turn his dreams into a reality. While Morson and the crew suggested using a holographic tree, Thomas insisted on the real thing.
"Usually for each film there's like one thing that's the hardest thing that you have to get and for me, getting it and succeeding at it is really important because it impresses the audience," Thomas said. "It's something they can really remember and it has that sort of majesty that represents so much to the film and to the vision that I will not reconsider anything going against that."
"Awakening" was a great success, both critically -- it was named the Winner of Excellence in Filmmaking at the 2012 Canada International Film Festival -- and by bringing people into the production team that are still involved in Hesperidian today. In choosing their next project, the team once again sought inspiration from the past and together Thomas and Morson conceptualized a contemporary story told in the style of film noir, a genre whose visually bold, vintage style is completely apropos for their company's aesthetic.
"Stiletto" was co-written by Morson and Mikal McLendon, a Chicago-native who graduated from UIC for creative writing and has had several theatre pieces produced in the city. McLendon was chosen through a screenwriter competition, but he and Thomas actually met years ago at Milwaukee's PrideFest.
"We originally didn't have a working capacity, although we were both in school and we both had artistic aspirations," McLendon said. "Over time we solidified a friendship as well as a respect for each other as artists and we've collaborated on different projects over the years. I helped him with some of his early film work and I even gave him his first camera, a little Sony handheld."
McLendon was interested in creating a story in the vein of genre-bending film noir like "Chinatown" and "Double Indemnity," in which the hero and femme fatale are complicated, flawed characters with weaknesses and baggage. "Stiletto" tells the story of a District Attorney who accepts help from an old flame, the madame of the city's high-end brothel, in attempting to prosecute an Archbishop for the sexual abuse of a child. The film is shot entirely in black and white and with all of its swirling cigarette smoke, heavy drinking and dramatic lighting, could easily be mistaken for a classic piece of film noir if it weren't for the very modern theme and the fact that both leads are played by African Americans.
"When you write something you have an idea of what its gonna be like in your head, but ultimately a script is a blueprint -- it's just a document upon which the film will be made... which is such a collaborative thing that there's no way that what you have in your head is ever going to be what actually manifests," McLendon told ChicagoPride.com. "The nice surprise is when it's so much more than what you thought it could be... these are the words that I wrote, but I had no idea that it would look this good. I was blown away."
In addition to film, Hesperidian also has a growing fashion department that currently centers around a webseries in which fashion director Michelle Sam travels to boutiques, resale shops and other unique stores that offer a variety of designer, vintage or recycled fashion and gives advice about how to put things together.
"We're really defining what the Hesperidian aesthetic in fashion is and trying, through our web series, to help people find something that is more individual in terms of how they express themselves through fashion, how to put things together and where to find things," Morson said. "Not just going and getting something that a million other people can find in the store."
The fashion department has also been involved in several of the events that Hesperidian has put on in Chicago in an effort to, as Thomas puts it, "bring the art to the people." Hesperidian events are produced as a unifying aspect to bring people together, integrating the varied components of the multimedia production company and other art forms to immerse attendees in a world of expression and beauty.
The first major event Hesperidian put on was the "Awakening Arts Festival," held last November at the Flat Iron Arts Building in Wicker Park, home to several art galleries, the CollaborAction theatre company and Hesperidian's office. The festival was a free afternoon that treated guests to a screening of "Awakening" and featured performances by several Chicago theatre troupes and musicians, which were inspired by the idea of "awakening," as well as the chance to walk through open galleries.
"Stiletto" screened as the feature film for two "RAW:natural born artists" events, one held at the Double Door in Wicker Park in May as part of THE BLEND showcase and another at the Majestic Theatre in Madison, Wis. in June as part of the SOLSTICE showcase. RAW recently chose Hesperidian as one of Chicago's top independent filmmakers and is screening "Stiletto" for the public at the Double Door on Thursday, November 15, to compete for the title of Chicago's Best 2012 RAW Filmmaker and the chance to go to nationals.
In less than two years Hesperidian Productions has grown tremendously and accomplished much in making a name for itself, but Thomas insists that it's only just the beginning. The next big thing for Hesperidian is the addition of a music department, which Thomas was reluctant to speak of in detail before Hesperidian makes the official announcement.
"In our music department we have been working with a very talented and successful individual who has a very extensive list of famous previous projects that he has been a part of," Thomas teased to ChicagoPride.com. "He is inspired by what we're all doing with Hesperidian as a brand and we've always felt like music was a vital part of that, so we're going to be bringing him into the company and we will be launching the department in 2013."
In addition to launching its music department, Hesperidian is currently working on the script for its first full-length feature film, a romantic comedy focusing on a musician's rise to fame and the effect it has on his long-term relationship. Thomas envisions the romantic comedy being shot unlike any typical film of the genre, utilizing color in a unique way like he did with "Awakening" and "Stiletto" to give the film an expressionist feel. Thomas and Morson are also hoping to expand "Stiletto" into a feature film and are currently considering screenwriters and their work to line up a third project to put in development for 2013.
To watch "Awakening," see a trailer for "Stiletto" or learn more information about Hesperidian Productions, please visit their website at http://www.hesperidianproductions.com.
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