A former student from Mason's Film program brings a first of its time love story to the big screen with the help of fellow alumnus.
For Film at Mason alumnus Will Sidaros, living the dream began almost immediately after graduation in 2019. His first role post-grad? Being a first-team production assistant on The Walking Dead.
On the set of The Walking Dead, Sidaros’s responsibilities included coordinating with the styling, hair, and make-up teams to make sure that the main cast members on set that day were prepared for the next scenes being captured. He helped make sure they were visually ready for set, maintained continuity of looks, and coordinated for the needs of the cast members, keeping tabs on everyone’s movements on set and behind the scenes, ensuring that cast members were in place and on time as filming began.
Sidaros made a strong impression on set that kept him coming back for subsequent seasons on The Walking Dead. It was nothing to spend 16 hours a day on set. Though it was tough and exhausting, and while it was tough to even get out on time for a doctor's appointment, it never discouraged him from his goals.
Becoming a director has always been a dream for Sidaros, one that he’s had since childhood. Adults in his life would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up, “A director!” he confidently answered. Sidaros was met with doubt and pushback, with many encouraging him to find something else, saying that this goal wasn’t a realistic career. Despite the constant doubt and pushback, he started making films at a young age, keeping his eyes set on one day achieving his goals.
“There is no one clear, linear path to being a director. It’s in networking and doing a good job on set to get noticed and to grow in the industry,” says Sidaros. Networking comes easily within Mason’s Film and Video Studies program, where students collaborate on each other’s films throughout their time at Mason. Each year, Mason Film students can collaborate with a guest director to produce and crew a short film on location for the Mason Film Lab. This gives students real-life experience to put their education into action and continue cultivating their skills beyond the classroom.
Sidaros shared that there are so many talented people that come out of Mason, and the program offers many opportunities to work with fellow students on projects, allowing them to establish relationships, understand their strengths, and build trust. This meant that Sidaros went into the industry with a personal network of talented contacts to call on. When offered the opportunity to collaborate on a new film project and bring more people to the team on set, Sidaros knew just the people to turn to: his former Mason classmates James Woolard and Andre Wilson.
The film “Dear Luke, Love Me” is the directing debut for Guillermo Díaz,. Filmed in Richmond, Virginia, and Sequoia National Park, California, it is still in production. Sidaros is credited as a producer on the film, while Wilson handled costume design and Woolard was a script supervisor. Sidaros said, “Working with Andre and James again was such a delight! As a producer, I often hear how individual crew members were doing on set and was so glad to hear how well James and Andre were doing in their respective roles. They were so liked by the rest of the team for their hard work ethic and attitude. To see them in their element, at the top of their game, doing what they loved made it even easier to come to set every day.” The film is a first-of-its-kind love story, telling an asexual love story in ways it’s never been done so far. Will feels it’s a step in the right direction for representation.
Embracing and creating opportunities to represent different identities and experiences is a central element of the Film at Mason program. Nearly half of the student population are students of color, and 49% of students identify as women or gender-variant, who are changing the face of the film and television industry with each successive graduating class. Growing and learning in such a diverse and inclusive environment encourages students to look deeper and create projects that are noticeably absent from the current film landscape. Sidaros’s own short films have garnered critical acclaim, and will no doubt continue to open doors for him moving forward. Sidaros acknowledged that the jump into making your own films can be daunting, “You keep talking about doing it, then letting it go, and then deciding to just go ahead and do it, putting yourself in a position where you are no longer asking for permission. Yes, you don't have a million dollars, but you don't need a million dollars. You need a bunch of gutsy people who are willing to go above and beyond.”
When asked what advice Sidaros would give to his fellow Mason Film students and alumni, he said “Go out and be bold, experiment, and don't be afraid to fail because you're going to do it, but you're going to learn.”