Conversations with Ty Rey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ty Rey.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When I was 11, my mom took me and a friend to see Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracey.” I asked my mom did she see all the colors and movement so much that she got me an blockbuster unlimited card. Five days a week I rode my bike 4 miles to rent two movies and critique them. That was my film school. I grew up on the directors Bunel, Bergman, Fellini, and Truffaut. I then came across Matty Rich’s “Straight Out Of Brooklyn,” and his story of making it from the projects to Sundance inspired me to make my own movies. A teacher helped me write and direct shorts that were screened on HBO and Sundance.

I went to University of Hawaii, where I studied writing and taught filmmaking at the school. I always wanted to go back home and become a New Orleans filmmaker, but Hurricane Katrina happened. After Katrina, I wrote plays and worked as a counselor for the mental disabled for a few years before coming back to film. In the past ten years, I worked every position on a film set from PA to Executive Producer. That prepared me to run productions for clients like Paramount and Quality Control. This year I’m stepping back into the Writer/Director chair with my short Cassandra. It is about a grieving mother that continues her search for her daughter years after she was taken during the Atlanta Child Murders. I also finished my first feature script about the Atlanta Child Muders told from the mother and childeren’s point of view. I’m determined to make films and TV that authentically speak to the broad spectrum of the Black experience.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. I didn’t have any mentors or know anyone who was even interested in filmmaking so I had to find my own way. There have been a few projects that I’ve invested in that didn’t turn out well where I had to get a second job or put it on credit. It just depends on how much you want your dream.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a filmmaker that specializes in narrative fiction. My writing requires research with primary sources and interviews with those familiar with the subject. I like my stories to unfold like a novel on a scroll. It has to flow endlessly like water forms itself around hard rocks. I also focus heavy on blocking and mis en scene. I like my visual layered and every inch of each frame is considered. I like to seek out the little know pasts of the black disporia and find my stories between the lines of written history to show black people across a spectrum of culture. I’m most proud that I can share my knowledge of production with others to demystify working in TV and film.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the commadarie of the city. No matter where you go, people are looking to connect and build with others. There’s a true investment in community. I also love that I can find black people in every corner of the city. From the CEO’s to Mechanics. If there’s a job, there’s a black person in Atlanta doing it. I don’t enjoy the lack of urban planning leading to increased traffic and gentrification within the perimeter. Fulton County also has a terribly in efficent court system. They’re more set up for you to pay for something than to get actual justice.

Contact Info:

• Email: contact@atlantisfilmworks.com
• Website: atlantisfilmworks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_atlantisfilm/