As the film industry grasps at surviving the digital age, aspiring filmmaker Ruben Harjono is put on the spot by L. M. Wainscott with regards to the dying art form.

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"...that's why filmmaking is special. It requires special people. It requires sacrifice. There's beauty in the work being put in. And if you removed all that, what's the point?"

—Ruben Harjono

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A couple of purple poker chips. That's what it took to get Ruben Harjono's latest short The Curtain Call made. Working with him for the second time, actor Geoff Mays was impressed with the production value for a short film saying "I felt supported and taken care of as talent ... I thought I was working on [a project] with millions of dollars of budget."

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"No more tattoos, birthday parties, or vacations." Harjono tells us when asked how he gets the funding for his projects. He rationalizes it further stating: "I think you have to invest in yourself before anyone else is willing to invest in you. I'll let you know if it works out in the long term."

 

For many aspiring filmmakers, the primary challenge in getting a project green-lit is funding. And post-pandemic, another opponent has emerged: social media.

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Sweeping the local scene in Toronto, Ontario, studios and media companies have gone knee deep with investing in microdrama vertical content. These videos are framed vertically in 9:16 and are designed to keep users glued on the app by exploiting their compromised attention span. Sound familiar?

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We sit down with Harjono to tend to fresh wounds, most of which don't seem like they're going to heal any time soon.

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There has been a clear shift towards microdrama vertical shorts in the industry. When did you first start noticing how dominant this format is becoming when it comes to filmmaking?

Ruben Harjono:​ When it comes to filmmaking? That's not filmmaking though, is it. Making verticals isn't the same as making films. Let's get that straight.

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You know what I meant. Does it affect the kinds of projects you feel like you're able to pursue within the industry?

It hasn't changed anything for me. I'm always looking to write, direct, or produce narrative films. It's more the frustration that these microdramas are getting the attention and views. And with views comes money and funding. People are funding the wrong things. Companies in supporting (and funding) these verticals, are in turn supporting society's obsession with social media and algorithms. I think that's my real problem with it: Instead of fighting back against the doom scrolling, companies have decided to cash in and go full throttle exploiting the brain rot. Real art challenges you, they make you think! Movies—a two hour spectacle with an audience—can do that. A 90-second clip that ends in a "cliffhanger" just for you to swipe onto the next video cannot. Movies are meant to be a collective effervescence.

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Do you think this new wave of short, vertically framed storytelling risks shaping a generation of filmmakers who might never develop the craft behind longer-form narrative filmmaking?

Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of value has been placed on views, likes, and shares because of social media. And so, that's become the metric for success. And you see this rise in creating content for the sake of consistent output as opposed to prioritizing quality over quantity. It takes time for art to brew, for an artist to storytell.

 

Speaking of quality vs quantity, AI tools have woven their way into writing, pre-production, and even editing. There's a popular claim that both vertical content and AI is something that "levels the playing field" and makes filmmaking more accessible. How do you feel about that?

You know how to get a rise out of me, don't you! Look, here's how I look at that ragebait of a statement that you tried to phrase in a neutral tone. To me, filmmaking is all about the process. I enjoy staring at the ceiling during the writing stage; I enjoy location scouting—wasting gas and all—with my department heads and trying to find the best setting to create the world; I enjoy the shot listing and storyboarding process; and building a team too.

 

Do you know how difficult it is to build a team? Trying to find people who want to work with you, and have the talent and dedication to boot, that's a skill in itself. You need the right combination of leadership skills and a personality that doesn't fully suck to convince an entire crew that you're worth their time. All of that is challenging, and that's why filmmaking is special. It requires special people. It requires sacrifice. There's beauty in the work being put in. And if you removed all that, what's the point?

 

So you're against making the artform more accessible because you enjoy the work that is required to achieve it?

No, I'm against AI and verticals because the real beauty in making art is the time it takes to create it. It's not a race to see who can churn out the most videos. If it takes 20 years to make something, then so be it. We can't let our crave of social validation via clicks and views be the driving force in how art is made. I have friends who spam groupchats with a link to their newest Reel or TikTok because they want views. I think that's sad. You're a content creator now, not a filmmaker. I've always believed that if you make something good—like genuinely great—it will find an audience. People will notice you. You don't need to trick the algorithm to have people see your work if you're actually good.

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What do you think the future holds for filmmakers who remain committed to what you think is the proper way to make movies?

Even if we're fighting a lost cause, I think real filmmakers are intelligent enough to know that the storytelling in microdrama verticals aren't great.

 

It's not filmmakers that are the issue. It's the audience. The real challenge is: how can we convince the general public that endlessly scrolling on your phone is detrimental to your attention span and mental health. And that they should really be going to the movies instead.