Movie Spotlight: American Deadbeats

A guy with no money and no connections decides he is going to make a sci-fi movie. He gets some friends to believe him. They head to Las Vegas. Halfway through the shoot, the money is gone and everyone is looking at him. The film is named after them: deadbeats.

Conrad Faraj wrote, directed, and made American Deadbeats on tiny resources. The film doubles as a comedy about delusional dreamers and a love letter to the act of making movies with almost nothing. The first spark came from watching a Jim Jarmusch film and dramatically underestimating how hard a Jarmusch film actually is. “I loved how everything felt observational, with a single-take style, and to be quite honest, it seemed like an easy film to make,” Faraj says. “I took that as inspiration to craft my own story about dreamers chasing the American dream. I wanted to make a film in that style.” He is the first to laugh at that read in retrospect. “Little did I know that making a movie like that is extremely difficult and requires an insane amount of technical precision, especially when filming everything in long, single takes. At times, it felt like I was directing theater, where every movement had to be exact.”

The 2015 sci-fi movie that fueled the script

The story of broke filmmakers trying to make a sci-fi gem is not fiction in spirit. In 2015, Faraj was living in Los Angeles and tried to make his first sci-fi feature with no VFX experience, no major directing credits, no industry contacts, and no money. “But I said, ‘I’m still gonna try to make this,’ and I gathered my closest friends, convinced people to believe enough in my talent to help me produce it, and we did it.” That run became the fuel. “Even though it’s not autobiographical by any means, my experience on that project was a fountain of inspiration.”

Why “Deadbeats” instead of “Dreamers”

The film almost had a softer title. “I debated calling the film American Dreamers,” Faraj says, “but the reason I ultimately chose Deadbeats is because I wanted to showcase that even a person who appears lazy or irresponsible can still pursue their greatest dreams and fight for them. It felt like a more powerful title to me.”

Black and white, on purpose and on a budget

The film is shot in black and white, and Faraj is direct that the choice was equal parts aesthetic and economic. “I love when films have a cohesive look, whether it’s through production design, costuming, or lighting, and I knew that with my very limited budget, I wouldn’t be able to fully achieve all of that. By making the film black and white, I was able to give it a precise visual identity while also saving on the budget.” But the choice also matches the temperature of the story. “The film, although comedic, has bleak undertones of struggle, jealousy, and desperation. I think black and white was very fitting for the world these characters inhabit.”

Art imitating life in Vegas

The most real moment on set was a scene Faraj did not see coming. About halfway through the film, his protagonist Bill takes a phone call from family, complaining that he is almost out of money in the middle of Las Vegas with a group of people depending on him. “While we were filming that scene, it hit me. I was living that exact situation. I was in Las Vegas, almost out of money, surrounded by people who were depending on me,” Faraj says. “It was one of those moments where art was imitating life. Or maybe it was the other way around.”

The character names lean into the same playful spirit. Faraj traces that back to a Tarantino-Rodriguez double feature. “I remember watching the film Grindhouse back in 2007, and during the Death Proof segment, Michael Parks’ character refers to his son as ‘Son #1,’ and I always thought that was the funniest thing ever. From then on, I was never afraid of writing odd character names or being playful with the world in which my characters live.”

What to know before you press play

“American Deadbeats was built on my own dreams of making movies and my love for cinema as a whole,” Faraj says. “If you’ve ever wanted to create something but didn’t have the money, the connections, or the permission, then this movie is for you. Press play.”

Comedy

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Streaming now on Relay.