Director Jesse Pomeroy was nice enough to answer some questions for us regarding his film A World Full of Nothing

What inspired this film? Teenagers? Something more personal?

I had been developing a project for a number of years about a teenage girl who has an online crush on an older man who turns out to be a serial killer. Then I came across the internet phenomenon called “LonelyGirl15” where, for a period of time, people all over the world got caught up in what was assumed to be the real life problems of this girl called Bree and her ultra-religious (bordering on dangerous) home life. This turned out to be a work of fiction. When that became clear, I began to wonder just how far the influence of something on the internet, via YouTube or some other social network, could reach in leading people down the rabbit hole, so to speak. For some reason, that led me to the idea of an internet suicide that kick starts a copycat epidemic. Then, since we needed a plot, I took some elements of the older project and started to weave the two together.

Do you feel that World Full of Nothing is even more important now based on the current amount of cyber bullying?

When we were making World Full of Nothing there were a few high profile stories in the news about teen suicide, including one in Florida where a young man actually committed suicide on a web cam. I think when that happened, we got a little nervous. Does art imitate life or life imitate art? I believe entirely that art imitates life. […]Recently, however, with the rash of suicides due to cyber bullying, I think we are willing to take a position. World Full of Nothing isn’t about suicide but it is about the decay of civility, constant peer pressure and the facade of normalcy that adults keep trying to shore up while teenagers suffer, facing anxiety, the fear of being allowed to be themselves or the consequences of being themselves. Who’s making the rules? Who’s teaching these kids to hate each other? Who’s promoting intolerance?

Do you think police and authorities are handling it well?

Not anymore than the film’s Greek chorus of pundits and talking heads handle it! It’s been well reported that in many cases of bullying at schools, the administrators and some teachers were aware that a student was suffering these terrible abuses but they did nothing.

People who work in schools are deathly afraid of law suits and with good reason a lot of the time: too many parents tend to be at odds with their children’s teachers rather than approaching the relationship as a partnership with the child’s best educational opportunities in mind. But I’m not sure, when it comes to the bullying issue, if there’s any room for a teacher or administrator to stand aside and suggest that it will “get solved on the playground.”

Is there an aspect of anti technology to World Full of Nothing?

I don’t think so. One of the talking head characters in the film is the closest thing I have to a direct mouthpiece…The world just isn’t that big anymore. I’m a huge fan of technology and would put the invention of the internet in the top five of most important things to come out of the 20th century. The vast amount of things to discover is staggering and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home.

The people arguing were a great touch. Do you feel there is too much bias on television?

As long as we all agree that what passes for ‘television news’ is no longer qualified to be called journalism, then I suppose things are fine. […]We need real, unbiased news, but I’m not sure the corporations who run all these networks or newspapers care about the obligation of news to be without opinion, they’re more interested in profits and, obviously, sensationalism sells!

Do you believe we are actually living in a world full of nothing?

I think we’re living in a time of great change and I don’t mean that just because of current events… but from a larger, macro view. […]The flip-side of this is the notion that, in fact, we are living in a time of the greatest stability in human history… people live longer, are healthier and more successful than at any time in the distant past.

Bella Nelson has some pretty emotional scenes for a first time actress. Can you tell me a little bit about working with someone who’s never made a film before?

Finding our “Rachael” was obviously key to the whole picture working or arriving DOA. Co-producer Markus Innocenti brought me the screen test he shot with Bella and I only needed to watch it for a minute. She was exactly what we were looking for. She was actually 15 at the time which brings even more gravity to the performance… certainly more than we would have gotten from a 25 year old trying to play 15. This is a real girl appearing in scenes that break the fourth wall, much like “LonelyGirl15” did… where does the performance end and reality begin? […]I think, in a lot of ways, we got very lucky that I happened to write a script and find an actress that were tailor made for each other. Bella has the same wit and sarcasm that Rachael does. […]. So, technically, she knew things like hitting a mark and repeating without anyone having to say anything. More than once she asked me if I wanted her to adjust something, do something differently and there was very little for me to suggest. She had the biggest, toughest job in the film and she made it look easy.

Long films vs. short films vs. sound editing? Which do you prefer and why?

These are good times for little indies like World Full of Nothing, but knowing how to market these films and get them to their intended audience so you can pay back your investment and do it all over again… that’s a learning curve. Web series are also a very interesting development. […] Sound editing has been my day job, so to speak, for 15 years – and I’m good at it. It’s not an ego comment… after 15 years you’d better be good at what you do and then don’t feel bad about saying so!

What else are you working on right now?

The next big thing is a documentary that I’ve been working on for just about year. The working title is “Going Veg With the Plant-Based Dietitian” and it defines the what and the why of plant-based, whole-food nutrition or as someone called it, “Veganisms’ stricter uncle.” I’m working with Julieanna Hever, an old friend and a registered dietitian, and together we’ve traveled all over the country interviewing the biggest names in this movement, doctors and scientists who are proving that a plant-based diet is health promoting and can cure or even reverse disease. It’s been very interesting. I’ve been cutting it for the last few months and working on the score. We ought to be wrapped up by the end of the year.

Past that, marketing World Full of Nothing is a very time consuming job.

Thanks Jesse for talking to us and best of luck in the future!