Interview with Denver Filmmaker Ryan Demers

Denver Filmmakers Ryan Demers and Paul Pendell brought a slice of Denver subculture to the Denver Film Festival. "Battle for the Boot" is their documentary about a ragtag league of extraordinary, beer guzzling renegades during an epic kickball season. The Denver Kickball Coalition (DKBC) rumbled beneath the radar for the past decade, mixing a concoction of Punk Rock grit with the grace of Lucha Libre wrestling on the field. Demers talked about the film, metaphors for kickball and what's to come with Gaylord Street Films.

As your first feature length film, did Gaylord Street Films form around the documentary or were you seeking out projects?

Gaylord Street Films was formed as a result of a decision Paul Pendell and I made one day over a few drinks at Sputnik. That decision was to film the 2009 season of the DKBC and try to turn it into a feature length documentary. Paul, clever guy that he is, pointed out that both of us lived on Gaylord Street, thus the name. Please no stalking.

The DKBC has all the ingredients for a rock 'n roll documentary: debauchery, wardrobe, rivalry and the rockstars to make it happen. As a filmmaker what attracted you most to the project?

We wanted to document something unique, interesting, not depressing and especially cheap. DKBC is comprised largely of local artists. This meant we had access to members of almost every local band, graphic designers and filmmakers. So we had the talent around us to make the movie. The bonus was they all liked to get really drunk and naked. Eventually, we decided to create a narrative for the documentary. So we traveled to Chicago and interviewed Joe Phillips, the founder of the league. I bought the guy a few shots and three hours later we had plenty of material to tell the history of the DKBC.

You once mentioned the ease of filming candid interviews, because no one thought a finished film would manifest. Was this lack of seriousness daunting or was it exactly what you wanted?

We wanted our interviewees to feel completely comfortable saying and doing anything in front of us. So it helped us tremendously that no one took this project seriously. Regardless of what they did we had editorial control.

There is a ton of game footage and some choice moments in hotels, how much of this was filmed by you compared to what was shared with you?

Most of what you see in the film was shot by us or our crew. I think we used 8 different cameras; everything from a Channel 9 HD news camera to an Iphone. We had full access to pretty much everything that was going on. There are a few clips from the hotel sequence in Vail that were given to us. We had to make a hasty retreat once the cops showed up, so we weren't able to hang around for the late night debauchery.

As a kid, whacking that ball into the schoolyard's nether regions is a blissful memory; was kickball ever a part of your life before the film?

Both Paul and I played kickball in elementary school. I remember my first kick ever. I ended up kicking the ball right into the stomach of one of my teammates standing near me. It was great! He was a jerk.

What struck me about the DKBC was they were reliving something from youth, shaking off the woes of adulthood. If you had to make a metaphor for the game, what would it be for the DKBC?

Lately there have been many articles written about emerging adulthood. None of them reach the same conclusion as to its causes. Those of us in the DKBC could tell any sociologist or psychologist why we choose not to grow up: our parents screwed up this country and as a result the rest of the world; we have no interest in fixing it. We haven't been duped into this cycle of consume, waste, bankrupt and pass along to the next generation. So to give you a metaphor: that 60 year old who is looking to buy a chopper or an expensive sports car to relive his youth, is finding it more difficult to do so, because his kids have never grown out of their youth.

When you submitted to the Denver Film Festival, did you feel like it was a long-shot or did you know this was exactly the type of local films they wanted?

As it happened this past year, there were several local filmmakers who submitted feature films to the Denver Film Festival. So, I think they decided early on to have a local showcase. Irrespective of that, I thought we had a good shot because DIFF likes to have a diverse program and we were the only sports documentary.

The "Battle for the Boot" screening at the Denver Film Festival was unforgettable. The presenters shot-gunned a beer as their introduction! Any plans for future screenings when the new season kicks off?

If we are lucky enough to get into other film festivals we hope to bring a contingent of kickballers with us to give the rest of America a taste of what it is to be in the DKBC. If we can make the reporters on the DIFF red carpet drink absinthe out of a golden boot, then...

What should we expect from Gaylord Street Films in the coming year?

We are hoping to screen "Battle for the Boot" at other film festivals. In the meantime we are in pre-production on a new narrative feature film entitled "The Honey Cooler." "The Honey Cooler" is a farce-noir film starring local celebrity Sid Pink. Sid is a down-on-his-luck private investigator that gets caught up in a world of burlesque dancers, luche libre wrestlers and people who like to do each other in animal costumes. We wanted to produce a socially conscious mumblecore tear-jerker, but fell off the track. Plans are to begin filming summer 2011.