How old were you when you made this student short? And was this your first film made in the US?

When I was 23, I made Hollywood Bob. It was for a school assignment.

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How did you meet Hollywood Bob, and what's behind the name - "Hollywood Bob?"

I lived in a charity house, where the girls came from 34 countries. I posted my project’s information, and one of the girls contacted me. She said she cannot describe how interesting this guy is and suggested that I go meet him. The first time I met him, I waited 7 hours. What finally surfaced was an old soul desiring for love and attention. He had worked at the New York Times as a blue-collar worker. Yet he never felt himself. Until in his retirement he fell in love with acting and this girl... He realized then that his life had just begun.

As a first-time director and cinematographer, what did you learn from making this film?

I made this film purely by instinct, as at the time I didn’t have a “style of filmmaking.” It was very well-received at my school, where the teachers and students were impressed with the depth of character I captured over the course of seven days - creating the space for someone to open up, to be truthful in front of the camera. Later I learned this falls under the style of observational filmmaking. That was my first time learning about this style.