Slamdance Film Festival 2023: UNICORN BOY & Interview With Star Katie Leclerc And Writer/Director Matt Kiel

Through the years, when I’ve covered a Slamdance project, one thing has always remained true: it’s a terrific outlet for the imaginative. Unicorn Boy in its various (and vibrant) shades keeps the trend moving.

Artist Matty (Matt Kiel) is reeling from a breakup when he is visited unexpectedly by a Unicorn. Did it really happen? Is it in their head? When they try to tell their best friend Sethward (yes, from AGT) they seem unable to get the words out and are sucked into another world of magical creatures and unicorn royalty. At a time when they are feeling lost, they find themselves somehow closer to where they are meant to be than ever before. When sent back to our world, Matty tries to figure out a way to get back to help save the kingdom and to recapture the feelings that felt so present there.

With a terrific ensemble cast with names like Katie Leclerc, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, and Harold Perrineau, the film is filled with an abundance of characters. Matt Kiel also employed many of their friends which makes the endeavor even more natural feeling (despite the exuberant look). This is a real project of ingenuity and it should inspire other filmmakers aching to tell their stories. The best art does that.

Some of the humor veers into the silly lane, but it doesn’t ever feel artificial, just fun, evening out the deep level of introspection with some pastel-colored enjoyment.

It beams with heart and is written with a natural warmth and relatable humor. Unicorn Boy is an exploratory odyssey with a youthful glow and fantastical gaze that makes even the shiniest of moments represent the deeper emotions that spawned this cathartic creation. At the center is someone working through something through expression as their guide and we are the recipient of a special and personal moment in their life. We are taken through lovingly and it’s a really wonderful example of a first-time director expressing themselves.

The animation is really interesting, with exaggerated expressions that depict the large emotions at stake. Combined with the sparkle and light, I felt like I had just drank a cotton candy milkshake, and, I was satisfied.

I was able to meet some of the lovely cast and creators behind Unicorn Boy after its premiere. I spoke with stars Katie Leclerc and star, writer, director, and animator Matt Kiel about their perspectives, experiences, connections and what’s it been like making the film! (Plus lots more).

Katie Leclerc

Kristy Strouse with Film Inquiry: It’s a pleasure to speak with you! Now, I need to ask again while we are recording. [Points to Katie’s outfit] So, this onesie that you have was something you already purchased prior to starring in a movie called Unicorn Boy, yes?

Katie Leclerc: It’s true, I’m a sparkly-loving rainbow tie-dye enthusiast.

As we all should be. Can you tell us a bit about your character?

Katie Leclerc: Yes! Matty’s character goes on this emotional journey. He accesses the unicorn world and desperately wants to get back. My character is the yoga instructor that sort of helps him access that world again and figures out how to get back to it. She’s very intense. Maybe a little too intense, but she means, I think very well. I know people like this in my life to see the beauty of people and just calm, but also about the breathing. Maybe I’m too excited. Everything in life is better if you know how to breathe through every time, no matter what. It’s true.

So that’s just you speaking.

Katie Leclerc: Yes, Katie advice!

I love it! So, what is the secret to breathing?

Katie Leclerc: Yeah, I don’t know if I have one. I just – it’s something to be very conscious of. I think maybe the secret is recognizing it, the magic when it does happen. Right? I think that’s the secret it is like: I’m scared, I’m so scared of whatever is next. Holy cow, I feel so much better!  You’re able to see that shift.

Oh! I had a really special moment the first night I got here! We were nine people in a house because it’s Park City and there are bunk beds and all that. I was so nervous to go to sleep that night because I’m a little bit of a light sleeper. I was like, there’s no way I’m gonna – This will come back around, I promise – It’s like there’s no way I’m gonna go to sleep. One person started snoring, the other person started, then the other person started and they were all snoring, like literally the whole room. It was like we were all breathing together and I really had this like, weird moment where like, nobody in the film, I had really seen each other’s parts of the film, but I knew that my character had this breathing element and I was laying in bed and finally able to go to sleep because everybody just started to be in unison. And I feel like that’s the epitome of this trip for me and this film for me.

That’s lovely! You have such great energy! What was it about this project that stood out?

Katie Leclerc: So, I know Neil, I was actually a fan of the comedy troupe that they did, Dr. God.  Many of the people who were part of this project are part of that comedy troupe. Neil brought me to a show and tell and wanted me to meet Matt, and I think that was maybe 2017. Now, I’ve been in the same room with Matt, maybe like four times more concentrated recently, and the growth that I’ve seen in them and the process of this entire experience has just been so cool. So, my introduction was at the show until I met Sethward, as a fan of America’s Got Talent. And I they kept saying “it’s our friends and our friends are so talented” and it’s so ridiculous if you’ve got a group of talented friends, I feel like you’re so ambitious and I think that sometimes ambition trumps talent.

I think passion is one of the most important things!

Katie Leclerc: And the ability to stay with this thing for five years and that pain and just go back to that source. I mean that’s a lot of reliving pain just to get out. I was happy for them that they kind of finally get to take a breath to write like that. And we get to see people digest it however they digest it. Whatever it means to them. I really like it. I think that it’s great for them that they get to have that sigh of relief. But I also think that this film is really important and I think that will speak a lot. I think that it will speak to a lot of different kinds of people. We keep talking about LGBTQ+, plus I’m weird, I date men, and women, and I’m also depressed like all of us. And this movie isn’t about that. It’s not about this, it’s not about that. It’s about dealing with who you are and accepting who you are as an individual without any other labels.

That is a terrific sentiment, and I think labels can be a hindrance.

Katie Leclerc: I do too and it just gets too sticky. I just like to talk about how my reaction to it is. I’m a 36-year-old woman who is queer and depressed and likes to put sparkle on my face. It’s not just for like a YA audience. It’s not just for a queer audience. It’s not just for anyone, it’s for humans who are looking for a little bit of a loud cartoon and looking for a little bit of escape with some pretty colors.

It’s so pretty!

Katie Leclerc: Gorgeous.

What was it like working with this cast, and was this your first voice acting?

Katie Leclerc: Yes and no, you know it’s been a long career.

Do you find there’s more difficulty with it?

Katie Leclerc: That’s an interesting question. Yes and no. We all recorded separately. Like it’s an interesting process because you don’t really feel like it when you’re on set. When you’re on a live-action film set, you have a bit more of an idea of what’s going on day to day. You’re in the makeup trailer and you’re like, hey how was the scene this morning?

That makes sense. Had you seen the film prior to coming here?

Katie Leclerc: I had seen the 1st 10 minutes but I hadn’t seen the entire film. And so yeah, it was really interesting to see each other and the other thing I have to say is like so I know Neil and they have this big group of friends and Matt has a big group of friends and there wasn’t necessarily a whole lot of overlap. I met a few and they tried to make the characters look like who they were based on. So, it was so cool to meet these people that I don’t really know and then get to see them on camera or like on the film and be like, oh that’s the representation and that’s Matt’s version of this person! Friendship is so complicated because we all have these conversations about like how much we all mean to each other and things and you walk away from it and you’re like, oh I didn’t know I meant that in this artistic version of that thing. Do you know what I mean?

Yes! That’s an interesting point. 

Katie Leclerc: And it’s just so special to hear all these stories of people. I think that this movie will bring a lot of that to its audience, even if you don’t necessarily know who everyone is.

I have to backpedal here. So, I played the yoga instructor right? And then there’s like a buddy of mine who’s like my yoga pal. Brett Davern and I do the radio show on adobe radio together and we work together every day. I have microphones in my living room. So I did hear his part but our scene was sort of like together. But being able to see it with an audience was really special. And I think Neil kind of preserved that for all of us who have never been at Slamdance with a project.

I can imagine!

Katie Leclerc: It’s amazing to see the audience’s reaction, especially for them to experience that with a live audience had to be again, another big sigh of relief. I was just so impressed with my friends! And isn’t that such a great feeling?

It is! Do you want that you want to be behind the camera too?

Katie Leclerc: I’m doing podcasts, I have the morning radio show. And I do produce, a few projects with Lifetime and Hallmark and stuff like that. So, yes, I produce. But really I’m an actor.

This was wonderful. I want to thank you very much!

Matt Kiel

Kristy Strouse for Film Inquiry: Congrats! Thank you for speaking with me. So, you wrote, directed, and animated Unicorn Boy?

Matt Kiel: Yeah I did all the visuals and I had a composer. Neil [Garguilo] helped me produce it. Yeah, it was a lovely small team of like some of my best friends.

Did you know most of the cast prior? 

Matt Kiel: I mean some of them I knew Neil very well as we worked on previous projects together and yeah I knew a lot of best friends and I became really good friends with them over the course of it. Like the composer, Dimitri Smith and I have become best friends.

I can imagine that happens on a film a lot, you become one little family. 

Matt Kiel: It’s surreal to be with my friends and people that I’ve known lending their voice and then like no one had seen it until yesterday really like it was very surreal to see something that I’ve been working on alone pretty much for four years. So I used adobe animate mostly and on a broken computer to make it work during Covid times.

You do what you can with what you’ve got!

Matt Kiel: And this is my first feature.

And look where you are! Congratulations!

Matt Kiel: I mean I’ve done, you know me and Neil did a show that was a sci-fi and I’ve done freelance work. But yeah, this was my first feature and I was initially going to make it a short film and I thought, you know, I want to make a feature eventually, so might as well just pivot and put all the energy into a feature. And I did that, Neil came onboard then Dimitri. Then I cast some of my friends and Neil‘s friends and it’s been a really great process of like digesting emotions and a lot of growth. It was very much based on things that went on with me in 2015, and just really digesting that and trying to embrace it rather than run away from it. And it’s been an intense process being within that world. It is roughly based on a breakup and the self-improvement that I’ve tried to embrace. It’s been living in that world for four years, and it has been crazy but very insanely cathartic. Because I’m taking, I feel like, I’m taking control of something that was very hard for me and instead of being like, “this is hard, I want to run away from it. I’m like, what can I use this for?” “How can I make my life better with this thing and also like communicate something that other people might understand?” That is the best part, and to have my friends be on board and be able to communicate these things and have people see it and see things about themselves than in it. You know like different elements of heartbreak or gender identity or just generally like finding yourself. I think it’s all very similar.

We all have similar experiences but we don’t talk about it a lot of the time when we all know we’re going through it.

Absolutely. It’s very admirable for you to do it! 

Matt Kiel: But we just don’t think it’s okay to talk about and I just wanted to be as honest as possible and really just get all on the table.

Was making animation always the dream?

Matt Kiel: Yeah I’ve always been an animator, I’ve drawn since I was a kid and I did stop motion in college and I always wanted to do 2-D. I kind of pivoted after college and I started to do comedy and animation and that’s all I did. I really gave up most everything else because I really wanted to be good at something. There is just such a nice thing to be good at something for you in your life. Are there things that you wanted to do your whole life and then when you get to that place where it’s going well it’s like the best feeling in the world?

For sure! What I’m doing right now!

Matt Kiel: Yes and you’re like, I didn’t think I could do this exactly because people probably told you that it wasn’t feasible or because when you’re a kid or when you’re young and going through things, you really are like a sponge for people’s opinions and if people tell you it’s not going to be good, you’re going to think that’s true. But the truth is nobody starts good at anything and you just have to do it a lot. I didn’t think I was good at art and I just did it a lot and then you have to make that decision to stop listening to the very scary, right?

Exactly. Well said! 

Matt Kiel: Do you have moments that you recognize where you’re like, this was the moment I said, I’m not going to listen to that part of me anymore.

I think we all do.

Matt Kiel: They are right. And not only professionally, I feel like my anxiety is less than it was because it was bad and you know, little things like that?

Yes, and that’s awesome and very relatable. If you were to tell somebody about the movie without giving too much away, how would you describe it?

Matt Kiel: It’s a very personal story that is very influenced by my own life. It is about going through a big awakening and really realizing that I needed to make a lot of changes in self-improvement. So, basically, the story is about a young artist who just went through a breakup and is very sad, very depressed, and struggling with, mental health issues. And then a unicorn just busts through their window and like sprays rainbow juice everywhere and they’re like, what was that thing?

And then the journey is basically him getting them getting teleported into a fantasy world and then that being symbolic of self-acceptance and those feelings you get when you finally do things that feel really good to you. So just very symbolic of those feelings when you unlock those things in your life. That was long, I can give you a shorter one: When you unlock those things in your life, those feelings where you’re like,

“This is the best thing and I want to feel this all the time.”

You want to get back about things and it’s symbolic of this unicorn world that Matt goes to. He tries to find his way back to that through force and then he has to they have to learn how to. It’s like: what’s the process, What can you do to find that place without forcing finding that way?

Yes, it’s impossible because when you try to force it or try to push it, it doesn’t work because you have to find what really centers you and brings you into the moment and that’s how you get there. These were there in my real life, so I put them into the movies themselves. So it’s a very true depiction of that time in my life.

That’s really amazing. So, in your next film will this be in it?

Matt Kiel: Oh yeah, I’ll cast you as an interviewer.

YES! I know that you’ve talked about a lot of friend’s involvement and you have a very good cast, did you still feel like you took their personalities into it? Real conversations?

Matt Kiel: Yeah, so not all the cast, just the ones that I based off my friends like Cindy Paola who plays a character called peanut butter sparkle. I very much based like the character in some ways off of her and her style and everything and but with the bigger cast: Patton Oswald and Maria Bamford and Harold Perrineau knew we had the characters already and we were like let’s reach out to them and see if they want to do it and they knocked it out. We very much like having what they bring and do to the character, so it is not being to set and what it’s gonna be. The cast is unbelievable, I’m so happy with it.

What would your advice be for others out there wanting to tell their story?

Matt Kiel: I think it’s such a multifaceted journey because you just get started and then you learn different steps because you can’t just do one thing and then be okay, you really have to like pivot and listen to yourself and listen to your body. Listen to what your gut says and trust that. And then other than I just work a lot just keep going, don’t be discouraged. I think the paradigm of people being naturally talented is very damaging because you know it’s cool to be good at something naturally but it stops people from working hard. I really think the message should be just you can do anything 100%. You just have to do it a lot and really love it too. I’m really happy.

I really love that. Like the movie says, don’t be afraid of rainbow goo. What’s been your favorite part of this experience?

Matt Kiel: I think my favorite part so far from last night of the premiere is seeing how people have their individual experiences related to this story, whether it’s like heartbreak or self-expression or creating what they connect with personally. And I also just love creating worlds! I want to do my best to create a world with me and my friends and other people who can play in it and just grow and just make things more beautiful and more fun. Because we should all have fun, you know, like silly fun.

I agree we should all have silly fun. Thank you so much for talking to me, it’s been lovely chatting! Congrats!

Film Inquiry would like to thank Matt Kiel and Katie Leclerc for taking the time to speak with us!