-Who is Healy Lange?

 I am an artist, a creative, and a compassionate, often flawed human being. I’m also a runner and a thinker. I love to run not only for my physical health but to get lost in my thoughts. I love people-watching and exploring behavior. But at my core, I’m creative. I see everything that happens to me and in the world, through that filter. It’s not always the easiest place. I guess I’m still a work in progress. 

-What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

I have always been an actor, a visual artist, and a writer. I started acting as a kid in the theater, and also studied art and sculpture, and writing as well. So, screenwriting was a natural next step. Then, of course, you have projects that you feel closer to, so the move to directing happens. But as I’ve gotten older, I can see retrospectively that I write whenever I have a profound experience. It doesn’t matter if it manifests as a humorous scribbling or a dark journey down the rabbit hole, I write. It’s my go-to and has become a true outlet. Many of my film scripts and poetry have come from my real-life experience, including “Orphan Doll.”

-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?

 It has, and I have to believe it will continue to bring about societal change, hopefully, positive change. It influences fashion and music. It allows us to laugh and cry when maybe that’s not always a safe thing to do in our daily lives. It makes us reflect on our humanity and sometimes our cruelty to man, and it enlightens us. It allows us to see versions of ourselves and makes us believe. So, my goodness, I hope it impacts societal change and I hope it continues to bring more change. I recently read about films soon being made completely with AI and AI actors as well. That worries me. However, I continue to hope we will look to cinema to connect us as beautifully flawed humans and not completely remove the humanity and connectivity of the cinematic experience. 

-What would you change in the world?

I think that my answer here might fill a couple of books, a few screenplays, and a lot of therapy. I will be here all day. But I guess, if you want the short answer, I would change the cruelty and absolute inhumanity of war, and I would change gun laws in the U.S… but when I hear myself say that, it all sounds so trite like I’m trying to win some pageant giving a canned answer. So, maybe I’d say, I wish I could stop senseless killing and atrocities like genocide. I mean where do you start? But since I always see the “gray” in everything, I also think there may be a larger, divine design that none of us understand. I don’t know. It’s a difficult question. 

-Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?

Well I know the industry is becoming more computerized and there are companies dedicated to helping producers create fully believable AI actors/performances. If that happens, hopefully, artists will find a new and better way of expressing their art. But I hope the human aspect of the art of film, sustains. In terms of technological advancement though, I hope it will be even more accessible and instant. Ultimately, I hope it continues to be creatively driven by human beings, both in front of and behind the camera.