Sarah Hay and Matthew Jeffers star in the film Unidentified Objects, written by Leland Frankel and directed by Juan Felipe Zuleta.
This film looks beyond preconceived objectification based on beauty norms, social standing, and various stereotypes placed by society. This project touches on elements such as friendship and inclusiveness by following the characters Peter and Winona, played by Jeffers and Hay. The plot is based on Peter, an unemployed young man, outcasted because he has dwarfism, and Winona, a young sex worker who develops an unlikely friendship with him. Each character throughout the story develops as the film progresses through personal growth, self-discovery, and breaking away from beauty stigmas.
Unidentified Objects depicts a world beyond the subjective concept of beauty internally and externally. Jeffers described the platonic love story between both characters and the friendship that develops on a road trip that evokes unpleasant memories. Both characters fall within different categories created by society’s popularized version of beauty and attractiveness. Jeffers stated, “Sarah is strikingly beautiful. And her beauty shines through in her playing of Winona. Peter’s beauty is a bit more subjective, and what’s most beautiful is the melding of these two body types on-screen.” Hay and Jeffers spoke with The Knockturnal about what they hope viewers will take away from the film and their own personal experiences when discussing beauty stigmas.
The film will premiere at Inside Out Film Festival and Frameline Fest in San Francisco.
Sarah Hay Questions
The Knockturnal: What do you hope fans and viewers take away from this movie?
Sarah Hay: I hope those who feel unseen by the world, feel seen. After such a horrible moment in history, that we all just went through, I hope this film allows people to see that they don’t have to give up on their dreams, and that identity is but one piece of a whole experience.
The Knockturnal: This film includes important elements such as friendship and inclusiveness. How important do you think including themes such as these are especially when discussing society’s beauty norms?
Sarah Hay: My entire life has been centered around how I look. Being a ballet dancer for the majority of my life, I had a unique understanding of what it felt like to not “fit in”. Quite literally…I couldn’t fit in the costumes made for dancers with my exact opposite body type. Since I have stepped away from dancing, I have a new perspective on what it is to be “beautiful”. There is always going to be someone with an opinion on your appearance. The more you can fall in love with yourself, despite what society dictates as “beautiful”, the easier it will be to ignore those voices. Life is too short, f**k the critics, enjoy yourself. It’s been a goal in my life to learn how to find beauty literally everywhere… and as a result…somehow, everything is becoming more joyful.
The Knockturnal: What about the overall concept of this film attracted you to want to be a part of this project?
Sarah Hay: Leland Frankel, the writer, is who attracted me to this film. When you read millions of scripts a year, to find one that you can’t stop reading… sigh. It’s like a good book you can’t put down. I’ve spent many a night wondering if I should continue acting, and then BOOM, “Unidentified Objects” hits my inbox… and here we go again.
The Knockturnal: What did you like about your character ‘Winona Jordan’? How would you describe your character?
Sarah Hay: I loved the child-like element to this character. I typically get cast in heavy drama, so the opportunity to play someone a little different than my usual suspect was the goal. Winona is a fair representation of young women in today’s day and age… where she’s depressive but also optimistic. She hovers dangerously close to magical thinking but has a grounding element to her. She is a walking contradiction…. but that’s why I love her.
The Knockturnal: Without giving away too much, what’s your favorite line or scene from the film? Why?
Sarah Hay: My favorite scene would be between Matthew’s character and a man he meets in a bar (Hamish Allan-Headly). It’s one of those scenes where you’re smiling and crying all at once. It’s shot in such a beautiful, personal way…It’s hard not to feel deeply for Matthew’s character at that point. Not to mention the acting is superb.
The Knockturnal: What was it like working with Matthew August Jeffers? What was a typical day like on set?
Sarah Hay: Oh god what a superstar. Matthew is the definition of a good person. Typical days included: Me learning how to be a better actor because I could watch him, lots of laughing, absurd comedy and bonding, and a lot of poop/fart jokes. The director, Juan Felipe Zuleta, really brought the best out of us in such a short shoot. It took a lot of love between all of us.
The Knockturnal: You’re a climate change advocate and are starring in a film that shades light on breaking beauty stigmas and stereotypes. How important is it for you to use your platform to bring attention to and be a part of projects that focus on environmental, social, and societal issues?
Sarah Hay: Well… the planet is burning… so…. VERY IMPORTANT. I am starting to produce almost exclusively, only films with activism campaigns attached to them. It’s a slow build, but my hope is to be an artist who can actually bring about major change. Not just sign a petition, but bring awareness and mobilize the masses, and change legislation and political issues. Films are an amazing way to spread information wide and fast. I also think it is so important to make people feel loved. The more love we can spread, the less hopelessness we have as a collective culture. In order to get out of this mess alive, we need each other.
The Knockturnal: You’re known for your Golden Globe-nominated role as ‘Claire’ in the ballerina series Flesh and Bone. What was it like for you to be able to combine your passion for dance with acting? What was your thought process like when deciding to have a professional career in acting?
Sarah Hay: Honestly, playing that character was cathartic… a kind of purge. I was waking up from an abusive relationship with ballet and myself. Stepping into a role like that felt kind of organic. I’m now in the process of reclaiming what being a dancer means to me. Learning to fall in love with dance with new eyes. But realistically, I’m not sure I would do another dance film… it would have to be insanely amazing. After I had a little space from dance, acting felt like a good transition from the stage. I love to perform, but live performance was always an emotional struggle for me. It’s nice to be able to “try it again”… have another take… and not worry about slipping in your tutu. But also, slip in your tutu. F**k it!
Matthew Jeffers Questions
The Knockturnal: What do you hope fans and viewers take away from this movie?
Matthew Jeffers: The movie juggles a couple of heavy-hitting themes, but one I hope viewers see the clearest is that it is a love-letter to grief. My Mom passed away in 2013 from brain cancer, and I ask myself quite often if I’ve grieved enough – do some of the walls in my current life date back to 2013? I’m not sure. But helping Peter go on his journey was cathartic. People can wake up from pitch-black night. They can always find a way to carry on (we wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t excel at this trait). What I find so beautiful about this film is that it reinforces that you don’t have to go it alone. That the universe will always send a message, however coded, of which path is forward. There are two front seats in a car. Sometimes you need someone in the passenger seat to help you get back on the road.
The Knockturnal: This film includes important elements such as friendship and inclusiveness. How important do you think including themes such as are especially when discussing society’s beauty norms?
Matthew Jeffers: This is a platonic love story between two characters who fall in different categories of today’s beauty norms. Sarah is strikingly beautiful. And her beauty shines through in her playing of Winona. Peter’s beauty is a bit more subjective, and what’s most beautiful is the melding of these two body types on-screen. Watching Sarah Hay and Matthew Jeffers interact on the screen is just…interesting. That’s an umbrella word for a lot of different feelings that audiences have when going on the journey with the two of us. Society tells us what we should see as “beauty” – but it cannot dictate what beauty is. It simply cannot. Each person has their own pair of eyes. I think this film underscores the value of further exploring unconventional body types on screen.
The Knockturnal: What did you like about your character ‘Peter’? How would you describe your character?
Matthew Jeffers: I like how onion-y Peter is. He has SO many layers. And having the opportunity to build and define each layer so freely and creatively is all I can ask for as an actor. Peter is so dynamic and multifaceted, and that is really quite rare in characters that are offered to LP actors. I certainly did not take this for granted. During our first rehearsal, Juanfe (director) and I came up with a description of Peter: A beautiful lighthouse with the lights turned off.
The Knockturnal: Without giving away too much, what’s your favorite line or scene from the film? Why?
Matthew Jeffers: There’s a specific moment that has always been my favorite in the film (by, like, a lot). Winona (Sarah’s character) is in a phone booth talking with a friend. As she talks, she lights up a cigarette, takes a deep breath, and breathes out, fogging up the glass and hand-draws a few planets and stars. The way Camo (the DP) shoots it, the way Sarah plays it, with Sebastian’s score…. It’s a cinema. It’s art. And I was telling my partner after the World Premiere that the reason it’s my favorite moment is because it so beautifully captures an example of someone who wants something so much that they’re thinking about it even when they’re not thinking about it. Ya know? That’s powerful stuff.
The Knockturnal: What about the overall concept of this film attracted you to want to be a part of this project?
Matthew Jeffers: I was on the fence about this project early on. In fact, I almost didn’t submit an audition (for a few personal reasons). It wasn’t until I received the creative deck (a document that details the vision of what the story will look, sound, feel like) for the film that I took a closer look. It was SO well-written, and SO intriguing. The logline, the character descriptions, but one paragraph specifically piqued my interest. In describing the Look & Sound, they wrote: “Slate grey dunes overlooking a jagged bay. Oceans of evergreens steeped in moss and emerald rot. The sickly neon haze of bars and motel rooms and midnight gas stations. This is the world of “Unidentified Objects”. I was like “Yes, please. Take me to that world”. And of course, I’d be lying if I wasn’t attracted to a leading role! Given my stature and where I fit in the industry, I didn’t really expect to ever land a leading role in a feature film – so that was intriguing and posed a unique challenge. But it wasn’t until I read the script that I was all-in. I fell head over heels for Peter and Winona. I didn’t sleep the night after reading the script, I was buzzing with all the ideas of what could be.
The Knockturnal: Over the years you’ve appeared in numerous broadway and television shows such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Thunderbodies, New Amsterdam, FBI, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, etc. How was this role different from others you’ve played? How did you prepare for this role?
Matthew Jeffers: This is my first leading role, so naturally there was just more to prepare for. In my previous projects, I was cog in the wheel that helped drive the narrative forward. This project was uniquely challenging in that, alongside Sarah, I needed to create a cohesive arc that left audiences feeling they went on a journey. I had much more weight to carry. I had never been a part of the film medium, so I knew that was going to be a different experience as well. And in preparing for Peter, I watched a number of LGBTQ+ films (one of my biggest targets in taking on this role was honoring Peter’s sexuality). I did a number of very weird late-night solo dance parties to strange music to help me discover how Peter moved in the world. I read some Chekhov. I penned Peter’s diary, highlighting milestones in his life, marking where things turned south for him, and why. And because Peter lived in such isolation, I completely removed myself from social media and contact with friends / family during the duration of shooting. I really just got to know Peter, and in doing so, I got to know more of myself, until I felt Peter was in my bones, so that when it came time for the first take, I could let him run.
The Knockturnal: What was it like working with Sarah Hay? What was a typical day like on set?
Matthew Jeffers: I first met Sarah in-person at Juanfe’s apartment – she walked in the room smashing a tuning fork against her temple and said it was her meditation practice (I’m slightly exaggerating the “smashing”). I fell in love with her then and there. I grew up watching the Golden Globes, and here I found myself leading a film alongside a Golden Globe nominated actress. Certainly, I felt intimidated. She took a leap of faith on myself and the story and the creative team, so I made sure to do everything I could so that she would be glad she made that leap. When we arrived in Maine the first night before shooting, the lodge had mixed up our rooms, and Sarah and I ended up having to share a room the first night. We talked until 2 AM. Then we woke up and had breakfast together and talked the rest of the day. Even before our first take, I knew that I had the best co-pilot I could ask for (and that’s really a credit to Juanfe). We just jived. I remember after the first day of filming, she said something really quite sincere and kind about me, and in doing so, she made me feel like I belonged in the front seat with her. We had a very unique chemistry, because we had built up, in a very short period of time, a deep trust in each other. We had some intense scenes together, and it was through that sphere of trust that we were both able to access the parts of our respective characters that were bleak and scary. It was also through that trust that we were able to push each other in ways that would be difficult and uncomfortable had we not had that bond.
Because we had such a short shooting schedule, there were no “typical days”. Each day was singular. Production structured the shoot so that our painfully early days were blocked in the first half of shooting, and our overnight shoots in the second half. We were a tiny crew operating on limited resources, so each day had a sort of run-and-gun, knife-edge tenseness to it. But because everyone was so prepared and so committed, we came back each night, cracked open a few beers and recounted all the tiny miracles that went our way that day.
The Knockturnal: What advice would you have for those who may want to follow in your footsteps?
Matthew Jeffers: Always make it about the work. Be in tune with your personal compass. Know what is worth telling and what is exploitive. I would also offer the importance of vulnerability. It’s so key. The job is not to “become” that other character – it’s trusting yourself enough and being vulnerable enough to explore the shadowy cobwebby corners of who you are. That’s what people want to see on screen. In doing so, you allow them to explore those same corners in themselves.