Thulsa Doom is an award-winning indie film production company pushing the boundaries of cinema with high-quality, low-budget films with big stories to tell.
Three years in Thulsa Doom has produced over 40 shorts and two features. They have positioned themselves as ones to watch and are levelling up with a raft of unique new projects.
The brainchild of Cyrus Mirzashafa and Hector N. Helsing, Thulsa Doom was conceived during the pandemic with a company ethos to represent true indie cinema. We catch up with Hector N. Helsing for a chat…
What inspired you to start Thulsa Doom? Well, I am an actor/writer first, and Cyrus is a director/writer. We both have first-hand experience with just how much our fate can be dictated by others in this industry. Everyone gets into the arts because there is some wild side of them that is attracted to the risk of storytelling. It's not an easy life; there are no guarantees that our work will be liked, let alone that we'll be able to make a sustainable living. So having the freedom to make what we want to make, without the soul-destroying and tedious gatekeeping of the industry, is something Cyrus and I both bonded over... With the help of some old-fashioned cocktails! I strongly believe there is an epidemic of fear in our industry. Everyone is careful with ideas, creating sequels, prequels, and remakes, trying to chase past successes instead of new ones. Thulsa Doom is all about making new content, the films we want to watch and the boundaries we want to push.
What have been the most challenging aspects of your work so far? I think it's two-fold. Artists are a sensitive bunch, I know, as I am one! The instinct is always that somebody else will ruin your creation, and you're the only one that can see it through. The reality is it takes a village to make a film! Cyrus always tells me it's a miracle anything gets made. So many big personalities, so many processes, so little time and money, it's a delicate balancing act of building trust. To top it all off, outside of the production family, there are loads of gatekeepers. Our industry loves the word "No." In fact, our first fiction feature film, Bilby, is about an old man in an Ice Cream van who receives a call from an ex-love and goes on a journey to reconnect with her. Nobody would have let us make this as it isn't "blockbuster" material, so we went off and did it on our own, as it is a story we felt we needed to tell.
With wide-ranging film tastes and inspiration, how do you come together to create a cohesive finished project? To be honest, we are creatively greedy. Every day we wake up with a new idea and a new genre we want to explore. Unfortunately, there are not enough hours in the day! The common ground that all our projects have, however, is heart. When I write, for example, my scripts are dripping in my cultures (Cyprus and Scotland), as well as family life. Everyone has a unique perspective and unique life stories, so we encourage everyone in our company to express them. It may start off chaotic. However, we put a lot of effort into the script-writing side of things to give any story the strongest possible foundation.
Do you have any funny anecdotes from your filmmaking process? We were once doing a student film, which was basically about a spy chasing this guy who wants to blow up the world. James Bond kind of thing. The antagonist had a shower scene, and we told him it would be shot from above his waist. He was clearly going along the method-acting train of thought, so he stripped down and was completely naked for no real reason. Or, on his first film, Cyrus needed a dog. So, he went to the dog pound and took one. They didn't question him or anything, and it was surprisingly easy to adopt it. He finished the film and spent a significant time looking for a home for this puppy.
The funny thing about filmmaking is that it gets rid of all inhibitions. Sometimes film feels like it becomes a free pass in a way. "Oh, they're making a film; it's fine." It excuses a lot of behaviour, be it bad, silly or brave. It obviously shouldn't excuse bad behaviour, but something strange happens to all of us during a shoot, in front or behind the camera. It's controlled chaos, but nobody should be left feeling uncomfortable.
What do you think the most important aspects of independent filmmaking are for you? I notice you mention making films you would want to watch is a big priority. Does a lot of the content already out there leave you cold? Freedom. Independent filmmaking is often more like theatre. You have the freedom to connect with everyone on a set, and there is a very real, visceral feeling that everyone is part of the team. On bigger productions, it can often feel like everyone is a voiceless cog in a machine. But with independent film, everyone can sit down on almost equal footing and create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. It still surprises me when I see an ultra-low-budget film we create looking better than many bigger-budget films, and it comes down to giving freedom to the extremely talented crew we work with.
What films and podcasts would you recommend to both film fans and filmmakers? Always go back to the classics. Modern filmmaking is mostly about chasing trends or recapturing old glories in the name of profits. The older films were more experimental and, as a result, created those very trends. Kurosawa inspired an unimaginable array of hit films, from Star Wars, to the magnificent seven (remade in 2016) and the upcoming Rebel Moon. There is so much inspiration to find in the work of the original film pioneers. There are so many classics over the years, 2001 space odyssey, The Goonies, Highlander, Alien, Breakfast Club, and Pulp Fiction; where does the list end? The key for any well-rounded person is to have a varied diet. As film-makers, we are often guilty of chasing high art or cinematic masterpieces like No Country for Old Men. The reality is a large part of filmmaking is entertaining the audience. Sometimes we just want to have fun. Watch El Mariachi, made super cheap and fun! With any other form of art, be it fine art, music etc, people are told to investigate the history of the medium. There seems to be a distinct lack of that with filmmaking, and it's truly a shame.
Regarding podcasts, I don't actually listen to too many film podcasts. I live and breathe film, so I think it's a good thing to take time out of that world and learn more about life outside of it. As creators, we reflect life, so it's never good to just be trapped in an echo chamber!
What's next for Thulsa Doom? So much it makes my head spin! We have over 20 feature film scripts that we are desperate to make, and we aim to have them done in the next five years. We are mad, but sometimes you have to shoot for the stars! In the meantime, we have two feature films coming out at the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024. A Documentary, Life on the Edge, explores the high suicide rates within the Inuit communities of Greenland and our feature film Bilby with Clive Russell playing our grumpy ice cream van driver. Keep an eye out for those!
www.thulsadoomvideo.com
