Diagnosed with epilepsy, director Miles Levin refused to hide. Instead, he took an “emotional leap” with the upcoming feature “Under the Lights.”
“The best movies come from journal entries you wouldn’t want anyone to read,” he says.
“If you have a story that comes out of you with no risk whatsoever, it’s less likely to be honest. But if it’s something you’d rather hide under your bed… It can be relatable to other people. These are things I’ve never told anyone, but I made a bet they would understand. So far, the answer has been a resounding ‘yes.’”
Awarded at Poland’s American Film Festival, where it picked up four prizes at its industry sidebar U.S. in Progress, Levin’s drama – currently in post-production – focuses on Sam, who doesn’t want to be defined by his affliction. He strives to experience normal teenage life and even go to prom – to the horror of his overprotective mother.
“There are lots of moments in this film reflective of the feelings I’ve felt and the places I’ve been. I owe that to those who are not in a position where they can share their story. They are afraid of being ostracized, of losing their jobs. I’m not – no one is going to crucify me. And if I do tell my story, it might be safer for other mercats to come out later on.”
In “Under the Lights,” produced by Vanishing Angle and set to premiere in 2025, Levin returns to the narrative he started to explore in the 2020 short, also starring Pearce Joza.
“He’s profoundly influenced the epilepsy community with his empathy towards our situation. We have so few torchbearers. The core problem we face is that we don’t have advocates coming from the outside of our world. We’re afraid they can never truly understand. Pearce is someone who truly understands.”
Now, Joza is joined by Lake Bell, Nick Offerman, Mark Duplass, Randall Park, Tanzyn Crawford and Marin Hinkle.
“We’ve been very lucky with the cast in the film. People were passionate about this story and some actors had personal connection to [the subject of] epilepsy,” explains Natalie Metzger, VP of production and development at Vanishing Angle, opening up about the relationship between Sam and his mother, played by Bell.
“There are really raw scenes between them in the film: raw and honest.”
Levin adds: “I’ve been asking myself: ‘Can I actually put this on paper?’ Although it’s about a very specific experience of someone navigating a disability and how that affects the whole family, part of growing up is recognizing your parents are people. They are complicated as well. My own diagnosis has turned my parents’ lives upside down. In writing this script, I understood my mum so much better.”
Despite the prom hovering on the horizon, “Under the Lights” is not another teen movie. Which doesn’t mean it doesn’t have plenty of humor, assures Metzger.
“Miles always had elements of comedy throughout the script. It was important to him to make a film that’s entertaining and fun, and not some dreary PSA about this condition,” she says, while Levin notes: “We kept saying to people: ‘We need you to understand this is not a ‘prom movie.’ It’s not about colorful streamers and make-out sessions while the parents are away. It’s about not wanting to feel left behind,” he says.
“There are 100 little ways in which you could take a film like this and make it awful. One of them would be by saying: ‘Oh, it’s about disability, so it has to be tragic. We have to feel so bad for this kid.’ We have all seen that movie – it’s bad.”
Instead, “Under the Lights” plays with the idea that “everyone is complicated.”
“We are all capable of making fatal errors in the way we deal with each other. Sometimes, the antagonist is someone who means well and they just handle the situation really poorly. It’s more reflective of the world we live in. It’s not full of bad guys and good guys all the time. Sometimes, it’s just full of guys,” laughs Levin.
“This is about people who mean well and screw up, and have to somehow come back together and listen to each other. There is this line when kids are doing improv and Nick Offerman says: ‘Jane, she’s trying to help you. Let her help you.’ It’s emblematic of the whole story.”
He’s hoping the movie, just like the preceding short, will “revolutionize things for this invisible population.”
“I’ve never loved anything as much as I love this film,” he admits.
“I paid the price to the medical gods. I didn’t get to have some of the experiences other kids had, just like Sam, I missed my rites of passage. I never got to be stupid. This film made it all worthwhile. If you asked me if I would go back in time and be cured, now, I would actually say no.”
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