A widely respected self-help author and motivational speaker deals with his crumbling personal life backstage before giving a seminar to his adoring followers.

FROM THE DIRECTOR

“The age of the influencer is very much upon us. People create their own pedestal's to preach from and tell others how to live whether it be online, in congress, or in person. Often, when listening to someone speak from a stage or platform, I have the same questions - "What qualifies you to tell others how to live their lives", "Do these people practice what they preach?". Inspired by these questions and vehement distrust of those who like to exploit vulnerable people and sell hope for monetary gain, I created Robert - a despicable man behind closed doors yet loved by the masses in the public realm.

Initially, I loved the idea of someone like DJ Khalid or Kanye West crying backstage and cursing himself for the public persona he's fabricated that he is now a prisoner of. A persona of unbreakable confidence, devoid of any weakness and self-doubt. I thought this contradiction to be a touch obvious. This led me down the rabbit hole of the self-help industry. The more research you do on a "respected" person - the more cracks in you seem to find in them.

This film was an exploration into the perils that creating a public facade might create. A portrait of a terrible man, in crisis of his own making, with no way out.

A big thank you must go out to my hard working cast and crew, in particular, Arash Mokhtar, whose collaborative work ethic helped shape Robert Angelo's character and the efforts of Emile Van Dango from Yellow House who composed the original score.”

-Thomas Dalais