Interview: The War Between's Deborah Correa and Ron Yungul

The director and the writer/exec producer of The War Between, a brand new Civil War drama about two frenemy soldiers from opposing sides, discuss the origins and the challenges of the project with Joshua Polanski

Deborah Correa is an American-Colombian filmmaker with fiction and documentary work spanning television, film and podcasts. Ron Yungul is an American writer and producer with works nominated for prestigious competitions such as Chesterfield Screenwriting and Nichols Fellowship. They joined forces in order to create The War Between, which premiered earlier this year at the Phoenix Film Festival. Set in April 1862, the American Civil War is in its second bloody and violent year. Compatriots are killing their own, driven by hostile ideological differences. The events of the story follow the engagement of California Volunteers with Confederate forces for control of the Southwest near Tucson, at Picacho Peak on Tuesday, April 15th, 1862.

Joshua Polanski talks to them about their personal journey, the joys and the obstacles of filmmaking, filming in the desert, working with real war veterans, and what it feels like to see your words come to life!

Joshua Polanski – How did you fall in love with movie? Was there one movie or one director that was particularly informative for you?

Deborah Correa – So many. But early on I fell in love with Stephen Spielberg movies. It was the ’80s….my parents had to rent a VCR machine when we wanted to watch movies, so it was big deal. I’m one of five kids and I still remember when we finally got to watch E.T. [Spielberg, 1980)]. It was epic. Indiana Jones were our favorite movies growing up. We watched those over and over. I thought I wanted to be an archeologist. But it was Saving Private Ryan and Schindlers List [Spielberg, 1993 and 1998] that really showed me the power of film. Once in film school, I was influenced by the French New Wave, Italian Neo-Realism, and Mexican filmmakers like Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro Iñárritu. And Terrence Malick for sure. Evan, our DP, got me into Wong Kar-wai. But early on it was Spielberg, probably still is. Though there is a film I think about all the time. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [Julian Schnael, 2008]. To me, that film is perfection.

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