Viable - An Interview with Jake Nothdurft

Interview with Jake Nothdurft

Supervising Producer for Viable (the film) and Director of Marketing for Viable (the brand)

 Following up on my recent interview with Mary Gyulay, co-writer and director of Viable, I recently had a chance to speak with Jake Nothdurft about his involvement in the project.  Viable is a film which tells the story of young woman who, after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, must face the challenges of her dreams being crushed by the prejudice of those who do not understand and who do not see her as viable because of the disease. 

With this interview I sought out another perspective on this project and the impact it is making.  Recognize that the answers are paraphrases and quotes of Jake’s actual dialogue with me; I cannot type as fast as I wish I could.  Jake has approved everything in this interview.

Where did you journey with Viable start?

“I’ve known Mary (Gyulay) and Melissa (Scicluna) for a long time.  Melissa I met near the end of my first year, at Ryerson, and Mary in my second year.  As our friendship formed, Melissa and I, worked on a number of projects together in RTA. After Mary was diagnosed in 2014, Melissa came up with the concept for Viable and a project was born. Mary came on board and I joined the team as the third member in the months following. 

What was your initial reaction the idea?

“With all the work I’d done with Melissa over the years I was already on board with the idea that I would be doing my final year project with her.  After hearing their idea and where they wanted it to go is was an easy decision to make. I think one of the great things about this is that when it first started we were all very excited to share this story. It was not just a school project for us.  As we kept talking more and more elements fell into place; first the film then the social media to promote it, then the soundtrack with the rights to Blue Rodeo’s music - it all just came together.”

Were you aware of Mary’s diagnosis prior to this project?

“A few days after she was diagnosed, the three of us had dinner together, and we just sat and talked.  The evening affected us all and as we talked we saw Mary’s frustration.  It made sense to share this raw emotion and shed light on it.  One aspect of this film which is so important is Veronika Slowikowska’s performance.  It is truly brilliant how her portrayal captures the raw emotions which Mary showed her.”

As he spoke about this question it was clear to me that Jake was capturing the value of friendship and what it means to be recognized and truly seen by those who consider someone a friend or family.  I commented on this and he replied, 

“It is important to recognize friendship in any situation. A friend being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, any disease, affects so many people.  We saw it effect her family, her friends including us, her classmates - so many.  The goal of Viable is to make people aware of that impact.”

When did Viable reach the tipping point, go beyond this school project, for you?

“Throughout this project there have been so many reminders about this project and the traction it gathered and continues gathering.  Going back to the first script and realizing that we have a solid story.  Pitching to our school panel of advisors and teachers to get approval for the project and being confident going; knowing what we had was ready to go.  Getting to camera and seeing it come to life.  Stepping into the editing room and putting raw footage together to give it life on film.  As the Marketing Director of the brand, a big point for me was seeing how much the public, through our website and social media, are asking about the project and inquiring on how to get involved.  We have gathered a number of people who wanted to contribute and we are sharing their story and experience through our website.”

As I listened to Jake I could not help recall what Mary had said about the first table read. For her that moment was pivotal because it had extended out beyond her circle and she was seeing strangers help bring the idea to life.  Jake’s answer mirrored this feeling in many ways - the idea that complete strangers were connecting with him, a result of their strong social media and digital footprint, to get involved. I can only imagine the how humbling that may feel. 

Tell us about the Viable brand?

“Viable is a feature film, a passionate brand and a movement for the awareness of Multiple Sclerosis.  As it grew, we knew it was not just a film. There are so many elements involved in this project; so,  why not share them?  Myself and our digital content creator Melissa Vasiliev have been working ensure that all of the elements are being presented. Those elements include the film itself, social media pages (facebook, twitter, instagram), the campaign and collaboration with the MS Society, collaboration and support from various “authority figures” including the band Blue Rodeo, who allowed us to use some of their most popular songs to add to the film's story.”

I asked Mary this question as I feel it is so important to break the mould and inspire others - something you are doing. So, many people share the tragic belief that “You are just a student”.  So how did “just a student” do it? Please share some of your journey to inspire other students, all of whom are Viable.

“From the very beginning of this project I thought, we all thought, of taking this project beyond graduation - to see this project go beyond Ryerson. I have been working to see this happen, to make it happen and push it forward.  There are film festivals, networking, connections, and many more next steps we need to complete to see this fulfilled and go further.  So, I continue to motivate the team to continue pushing beyond the classroom.  I think, what a great thing to look back on and showcase to others, to do so proudly, with the thought that this is what I did at Ryerson’s Radio and Television Arts program. 

What I find so interesting about this is that the eight of us, who are the core on Viable, all come from the same program (Ryerson RTA) but we all bring such different and diverse elements to the project.  It speaks to the diversity of the program.  There has been a lot of support from Ryerson, not just from our faculty, advisors, professors and teachers, but also from the community in general.

Diversity describes the creative world. If the eight of us, all from the same program, brought the same thing to the table, there would have been no project.  It helps to demonstrate that our program creates a diverse culture and educates us well.  The reason Mary, Melissa and I so carefully selected our team is that we wanted to bring the multiple talents, available to us, so we could effectively cover all aspects of the vision we saw for Viable and it brand.  This variety of talent has allowed us to achieve so much more than just a a school project.  

Coming out of school I will be “just a graduate”, then “just the new guy on the job” and we are all moving beyond those labels with this work.  We have a broadcast ready project which we did as students. Through what our program has prepared us for, and through the goals we set for ourselves we have shown that we are not “just students” but individuals ready to be in the field working and going beyond any “just graduates” labels.