Already known as a filmmaker in which audiences should expect the unexpected, Spree follows suit in its boundary-pushing style. This is one film you’re likely never to forget. In our exclusive interview, Kotlyarenko talks about his relationship with social media, working with actor Joe Keery, and how he would describe the film in emojis. Spree is now in select theaters, drive-ins, on digital and on-demand.

Many people can take social media too seriously with overly curated and artificial profiles, especially in LA. In Kurt’s case, it’s the only source of validation he craves. What is your relationship with social media and influencer culture like?

There can only be two relationships: Off-social media and On-social media. I’m still on, which makes me a participant in the sort of attention economy the film is indicting. Not that I’m doing anything horrific like Kurt, but maybe like Jessie, I’m complicit in the system, while trying to think of myself as “different” from everyone else.

Joe Keery nails the role of the struggling pseudo-influencer, which is hilarious because he has over 7 million Instagram followers “IRL.” What was your dynamic with Keery like on-set, how did you two collaborate and help him come into this deranged character?

Joe is the sweetest and most creative person. We began collaborating months before the shoot – watching reference videos and making some Kurt reviews and tutorials of our own. He brings an enormous level of respect, enthusiasm, and diligence to set and once we start shooting he’s able to modify beats and improv in a really inspiring way. Many of the lines he made up, ended up in the movie.

This film is such a visual whirlwind, what did your mood board look like while writing the script, and in the general pre-production process?

I don’t really believe in mood boards or visual references because I don’t want anyone, including me, to get bogged down in how stuff used to look or some cool thing someone else did. I’m trying to encourage everyone on the crew to help me come up with a new language to make films and be formally adventurous. That being said, I did provide the cast and crew with a Google Drive of 10 movies I found to be influential and said “let’s try to capture this spirit.” A few in that drive were Taxi Tehran, The King of Comedy, Dossier 51, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. For the bigger set pieces like the freeway chase and the junkyard, we did make storyboards because I knew there was very specific coverage we would need to make that work in terms of blocking and choreography and camera manipulation.

What do you hope people take away after watching Spree? And what impact do you as a filmmaker hope to leave on the independent film community?

I hope the first thing you experience is just excitement, laughter, tension, and joy while watching it. I know the subject matter can be intense and reflective of horrific stuff, but usually, when I step away from a movie that has a great energy to me I sort of soak that in, regardless of the themes. Then when you step away from it, I’d like people to reflect on their relationships to their phone, their virtual identities, and their thirst for social media validation.

As a filmmaker, I hope we are all inspired to expand the relatively narrow language of cinematic storytelling up until now. And to keep in mind that if we are being experimental with form, it doesn’t mean we have to alienate viewers from a story well told. I would also say that 10 years ago, I made a movie entirely by screen-capturing Skype and Gchat video conversations I was having with friends, who didn’t know I was acting and then edited it together over the course of two weeks. It technically cost me $0, beyond my frugal survival… So if you don’t have the resources to stage high-speed chases or get access to established actors or even have high-end equipment, don’t let that stop you from telling stories with the resources that you do have all around you.

And finally, what emoji(s) would you use to describe Spree?