Interview With ‘Playland’ (2023) Executive Producer, Emily Ruhl

Emily Ruhl is a model, actress, producer, writer, and director who made her producing, directorial, and writing debut with Blue Moon in 2021. Emily also founded Public School Pictures, a production company with a nine picture slate to date. This led her to executive produce with Public School Pictures Georden West’s feature film Playland, which debuted at the Rotterdam Film Festival (2022) and premiered in North America at the Tribeca Film Festival (2023). Matt Minton discusses her role in producing this feature and bringing awareness to the importance of queer spaces.

Follow our interviewee online:
Emily Ruhl Website, Instagram, IMDb, Public School Pictures

Follow our interview host online:

Matt Minton on Letterboxd, Instagram, Filmstagram, and Twitter

Read Matt Minton’s full interview with Emily Ruhl below.

Listen to the interview here.

Matt Minton: My name is Matt Minton. I’m of the Rolling Tape and today I’ll be chatting with Emily Rule, executive producer of the new film Playland. The film will have its US premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today, Emily.

Emily Ruhl: Thanks for having me.

MM: Yeah, how are you doing?

ER: I’m doing well. I am so excited. I leave for New York in the morning. I’m in LA currently and I can’t wait to get to Tribeca.

MM: Awesome. So what drew you to this specific project?

ER: Well, I think it’s such a significant story that really needs to be told. Playland is a story of chosen family, of a safe space of a community. It is set in the Playland Cafe, which was Boston’s old skate bar, which unfortunately is no longer there, but gets to live forever through this film. So, I think that it was the story mixed with the visuals. I came in a little bit later, so I was able to see a rough cut of the film and I was so blown away by the art department and the production design and I knew that I had to be a part of it.

MM:What was your role like as executive producer with Public School Pictures?

ER: I got to work with Georden [West], our amazing writer and director, and Russell [Sheaffer], the producer, pretty hands on. They’re an amazing team. And I got to be involved when it came to giving input to color and sound and just being a part of the process and along for the ride. It was wonderful to watch Georden do their thing. They are an amazing artist and I find watching artists also informs your own process. I’m super excited to see what Public School Pictures could do with them in the future.

MM: How would you describe the film’s atmosphere?

ER: I would say it’s dreamy. It’s a little ghostly. The characters are supposed to represent the ghosts of the cafe’s past. It’s a little bit of grit mixed with a little bit of camp and sparkle. I think that it’s a really beautiful take on several different timelines in a wonderful way. They did a wonderful job of showing almost a 50 year history of a place in about an hour and twelve minutes.

MM: What was it like to work with director Georden West?

ER: They are amazing. Such a special talent and they have a really specific vision. What I always really appreciate from a director or a leader of any sort is a backbone in their vision, but also a willingness to hear other people’s perspectives. That’s what Jordan does so well, giving the freedom to each department, but also really knowing exactly what they wanted and wanted to accomplish. They’re both, Georden and Russell being the producer, such joys to work with. I know everybody says that, but they really set the bar of how I want to operate. I am so excited for everybody involved. I think that great talent deserves recognition, and I’m excited that that’s happening.

MM: Do you think there are any other queer films that kind of serve as inspiration or that you were reminded of during this film?

ER: Well, one of my favorite queer films is Blue is the Warmest Color. I made a queer short called BLUE MOON, which was definitely inspired by Blue is the Warmest Color. I think that Georden was really inspired by a lot of the archival imagery and even some of the audio footage that they found when digging around the public library in Boston. That really served to the color palette of the film.

MM: You mentioned that you directed a short film before. Could you talk a little bit more about that?

ER: So my first short that I ever directed is called BLUE MOON, and it follows two women as they explore themselves and one another through a night in Los Angeles. It’s a bit of a snow globe experience, too. I really wanted to explore the themes of love, and specifically love in a single night. It has a really fun color palette of blues and oranges. I was inspired by a sunset in LA. That sounds very artist of me, but I was, and it changed my life. It informed so many things, and I’d never done anything like it before. I’d never written, I’d never directed, never produced, and I took a leap of faith and knock on wood, it all worked out. It was an experiment for me to do something without telling myself I couldn’t do it. I recommend everybody do that at least once in their life.

MM: What was the transition from producing, directing, and writing Blue Moon to now producing Playland?

ER: So, I made BLUE MOON, and I was like, “Oh, this is awesome.” Everything I want to do every day is just to get back to that feeling I have when I’m on set. Then I made a second short called 13TH STEPPING, which we’re now developing into a TV show. And in the midst of 13TH STEPPING, I thought I should start a company so I can keep doing this over and over again. I didn’t really know what that meant or what that looked like, but I came up with a name which is Public School Pictures. And then I was introduced to Zack Parker, who is my now head of development. Zack used to run development at AMC. He was a producer on a film called Thunder Road that I’m obsessed with. Zack’s first day was April 1, 2022. So, we just came up on our one-year work anniversary. I would really say the company is a mix of the two of us. I think we’re a huge team. We’ve also got Ana Patino, who’s our development assistant and it’s just this collective group effort. We’re constantly evolving. We’re constantly finding new projects. We have merch, we have a podcast, we have a nonprofit arm. It’s really grown in ways that I could have never imagined, but I think it really is kind of a 360 approach to filmmaking. So, it’s been an exciting journey.

MM: How do you think Playland goes about depicting queer spaces?

ER: I think Playland does a really incredible job of depicting a space that includes everybody and makes everybody feel safe. I think my hope for this film is that someone who’s struggling with their identity or their sexuality can look at this film and go, “There’s a place for me. There’s a place where I belong.”

MM: Is there a specific scene or a moment in the film that really stood out to you that you could recall?

ER: I love the dance sequence. It’s one of my favorites. I also like the haunting effect of Aidan Dick’s character pouring the salt into the saltshaker and the kind of air of fear. I think in the mix of all of this beauty, there was a tinge of fear at that time with being queer and the film explores that, too.

MM: Why do you think it’s important to tell this specific story now, especially with the film being released during pride month?

ER: I think these spaces are dwindling and it’s important that we protect them and it’s important that we protect this community. So, showing a space that is as iconic as Playland will hopefully shed light on a cause that’s extremely important. Everybody deserves to feel like they belong, and everybody deserves to feel like they’re accepted.

MM: What does it feel like to have the film now premiering at Tribeca? How do you feel about waiting for more people to see the film?

ER: I’m thrilled to have as many eyes on it as possible. When we got into Tribeca, I screamed and called my mom. Inclusivity and awareness around important topics are my biggest goal as a filmmaker and being involved in any project with as many eyes as possible on important topics is the goal.

MM: Do you have any projects with Public School Pictures coming up or any of your own personal projects that you’re pursuing?

ER: 13TH STEPPING we’re in the midst of developing. It’s a show that involves the world of AA, and it’s sex, drugs and rock and roll, and it’s quite fun. We just executive produced two shorts by Jim Cummings, who’s one of my favorite filmmakers. We have a short called The Pink, which is currently in the festival circuit. It just got into Fantasia in Canada. We have another film called In the Garden of Tulips, which just premiered and it’s going to Palm Springs. So there’s lots of things in the mix. It’s quite exciting.

MM: Yeah, definitely sounds like it. I guess more than anything. What do you hope for Playland? What kind of impact do you hope it has on people?

ER: I hope that everyone that watches it walks away with a feeling of understanding, the importance of community and a safe space. Again, just that someone somewhere who doesn’t feel safe knows that those places exist and is either inspired to find them or create them.

MM: Awesome. Is there anything else you wanted to say or add about the film?

ER: Yeah, I think just again, how incredible it was to work with this team of people, from the talent to the producers to the director. I love being a part of a documentary that’s not just a documentary. If you want to follow where you can watch it and where it’s premiering outside of Tribeca, you can check us out on Public School Pictures on Instagram and publicschoolpictures.com and I hope people really enjoy it because I know that I did awesome.

MM: Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time and I wish you all the best and I hope Tribeca is amazing.

ER: Thank you so much.