by John Wildman
AFI FEST Daily News

Thymaya Payne's short film, APPARENT HORIZON, screens as part of Shorts Program One at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi. Shorts Program One screens Monday November 6, 7:15 PM, and Tuesday, November 7, 2:00 PM.

AFI FEST Daily News: What inspired you to make APPARENT HORIZON?

Thymaya Payne: I was living in Berlin during the first few years of the Bush administration (hiding) and thinking deeply about national identity - my own in particular - and wondering curiously to what ends people would go to become Westernized and/or American.

Specifically I was curious about the usage of the Internet to buy spouses from the East for lonely men in the West: Love as something you could shop for online. I just couldn't understand why people would give up one of the only things that comes free in life, love, in order to attain material gratification.

Has America's free market global marketing campaign been so successful that billions around the world will do anything just to attain the material gratification that the west supposedly offers? What is this facade of comfort but an empty vacuous black hole of never to be fulfilled desire?

And then I had this dream about an elephant.

What is your favorite story about something that happened to you because someone assumed you were female (prior to meeting or talking to you) due to your name?

Thymaya: Female/male, black/white, gay/straight. Yada, yada, yada.

Peter Coyote stars in your film. How did that happen?

Thymaya: Providence. When I was writing the script I was in a Pedro Almad—var phase. I was watching all of his films over and over again during a brutal Berlin January. (It's dark there all the time so the only thing to do is drink, party and watch films.)

One of my favorite Almadóvar films, KIKA, stars Peter Coyote as this insane American serial killer. He is so vulnerably evil. I loved it.

I cut out a picture of him and put it on my wall. He was Joseph.

So when it came time to cast, I wrote him a letter. He said yes, came down and taught us all what filmmaking is about.

He is honestly one of the coolest guys I have ever met.

What's the coolest thing you've ever buried in your back yard?

Thymaya: When I was about 12 my toys stopped speaking to me, so I buried them.