Tribeca Film Festival 2023: Writer-Director Katherine Propper and Star Sauve Sidle Talk About Lost Soulz

Writer-director Katherine Propper and star Sauve Sidle will soon be the talk of the Tribeca Film Festival. Their narrative feature, Lost Soulz, is a standout among the competition.

Set to a lo-fi, genre-bending hip-hop soundtrack, Lost Soulz follows Sol (Sauve Sidle) on a journey of self-discovery through music. Unsure whether to follow his dreams or support his surrogate family back home in Texas, Sol must choose between new and old friendships as he finds his path through his passion for performing.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Katherine and Sauve about Lost Soulz, how their original collaboration on their short film inspired this story, and more.

PC: Katherine, you and Sauve have worked together on your short film, Street Flame. At what point during that process did you realize you wanted to collaborate on your full-length feature and how did that experience inspire Lost Soulz?
Katherine: During the shoot, I was so impressed by Sauve that I was already asking and bugging him like, “Would you be interested in doing a longer project someday?” He was like, “Yeah, yeah.” After that short film, Sauve moved out to LA to pursue his rap career. He ended up on a tour with a rapper named Juice WRLD. He was having a whirlwind career in LA. I thought I would make a film about Sauve being a musician and make a story in that world. That was how the character Sol was born. I wrote the script with Sauve in mind as Sol, and that’s why his rainbow hair is this symbolic metaphor in this film. The journey that Sol goes through is scripted and not Sauve’s actual life story, but the world is the one that he comes from.

PC: Sauve, what was that experience like for you leading this film?
Sauve: I really wanted to portray what Katherine had envisioned. Everything felt so new to me. There wasn’t anything that was too familiar or normal for me about this process, so I was nervous. Every time she would say, “Action,” I would have 30 people looking at me.

PC: Katherine, you’ve had so much success with your short films. What have you learned from those experiences that you’ve brought over to Lost Soulz? Did anything surprise you as you made the transition into your first feature?
Katherine: Learning the process of filmmaking was something that I learned with my short films. With this feature, we didn’t have a lot of resources or a huge budget. I relied on a lot of the same process I used in making my short films, which was having minimal equipment, having a lot of locations (and trying to leave as small of a footprint on the real locations that we filmed at), and trying to create this vibe of truthfulness and reality on set as much as one can with how pretend a film set can feel. That’s something that I took away from my shorts. Also, working with actors like Sauve who I’ve worked with in the past. But also young actors who are doing this for the first time. I gained a lot of experience with that through my short films.

PC: Sauve, what was it like getting to collaborate with Katherine again?
Sauve: It was great. It felt like going from JV to Varsity. That’s what it felt like. It felt like an upgraded version of last time.

PC: Katherine, you filmed this in Texas, and the setting feels like a character in and of itself. How did your connection with this environment shape the narrative?
Katherine: I’ve lived in Austin for the past six and a half years. I feel like I’m one of those people who sees different locations and goes, “Oh, I want to film there. Note to self!” Those locations that you see in the film are real locations that I’ve scouted just by living life. Some of the locations are places where Sauve and I have filmed before during our short film like the graffiti ditch at the end where he’s spray painting. Texas has a very expansive quality. It’s a big state, so setting this road trip journey in Texas made sense where you have the hill country and then it transitions into the desert. It felt like the spiritual journey of the character as well, landing in the desert and going back home.

PC: One of the central themes within this film is the idea of found family. Who were the people in your own life who shaped the storytellers and artists that you are today?
Katherine: I would say that when you’re making movies you’re constantly making found families with the crew and the collaborators that you’re working with. Sauve and I have known each other since he was in high school. I was twenty-two when we met. That was six and a half years ago. Suave is like a younger brother to me. The producers on this film, at least one of them, Andrés [Figueredo Thomson], I’ve known for a decade. His brother was the other producer. The creative team was a found family. Also, going way back to my life in high school, I lived with a friend. That was an experience that I drew from for this film.

Sauve: For me, I would say the band kids. That’s what this story stems from. It’s me going to LA and not knowing anyone. I found this group of people and we just happened to become successful. Everything just worked out.

PC: Sauve, without giving any spoilers, there’s a lot of vulnerability that you needed to tap into for this role, especially at the end. As an actor, how did you create the space for yourself to dive into those more emotional moments?
Sauve: It was really about putting myself into his shoes at that moment and how I would feel at that moment. But I had to separate myself from the character in that scene as well because in my head I was like, “I would do this. I would do that,” but the script doesn’t say that. I had to get into his headset and be like, “This is who I am at this moment.” On set, we knew the vibe that we were trying to get across in each of the moments. When it was time for me to cry, I had to go off by myself and really think about what I was doing and how there are kids who will go through this or are going through this right now and feel alone. That alone helped me bring those emotions out.

PC: Katherine, on the flip side of that, as the filmmaker, how do you create the environment where your actors can go there?
Katherine: One thing that helped is we filmed that scene that you’re talking about at the end of the shoot. So we had four weeks of living out this adventure and the triumphs and tragedies of filmmaking. At least for me, I felt like it was emotionally heavy to be close to the end. It’s sad and bittersweet because you made this family and it’s ending. By the time we were filming that scene, the rest of the ensemble had already flown home. They had all said their goodbyes. Emotionally that was in the air. We were doing twelve-hour days. I don’t know about Sauve, but I felt like I could cry at any moment in that pressure-cooker environment. Sauve was the one who brought it. The environment on set that day was quieter and there were fewer people.

Sauve: Yeah, I think that was it. I forgot everyone had left. We were all sad. But I feel like if I had to do that same scene with the original cast and crew I don’t know if I would have been able to execute it as well.

PC: The film will make its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Is there a scene that you’re excited for audiences to see? What do you hope they take away?
Katherine: I really love the scene where they are making the songs together in the studio. The song “Loneliness” is my favorite in the movie. It’s a really special scene.

Sauve: I love the performance scenes. I love performing. The way that it was filmed, it looks crazy.

Make sure to follow Katherine (Instagram) and Sauve (Instagram). Catch Lost Soulz at the Tribeca Film Festival.