Classic Couple Academy

Short film Waving is really the first film to show just how devastating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be. Often portrayed as quirky or offbeat condition via loveable characters in popular television shows and movies like Monk, Waving captures the true inner experiences for the estimated 2.3% of the population who have OCD.

Waving is showing on opening night of the 20th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival. See the HollyShorts schedule for details.

Ethan S. Smith, a Waving executive producer, is also a person with OCD and an active patient advocate. Our interview with Smith about Waving as a unique portrayal of living with OCD follows.

F1: Waving shows a side of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that is quite different from the “quirky traits” treatment often seen. Why take that approach in the film?

It’s a very simple answer, because that’s actually what it’s like to have OCD. That’s the truth. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is not a personality quirk. It’s not a trait. It is not a decision. It’s not a choice.

Unfortunately, the media has done a really poor job in illustrating what OCD actually is, and that’s not entirely their fault. It’s a visual medium and there’s a lack of understanding around OCD among the experts, psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors, so it’s not unusual. But the fact of the matter is it’s a very debilitating disabling disorder. And while everyone can have obsessions and everyone can have compulsions, that doesn’t mean that it ruins your life or takes up your entire life. The minute it starts interfering with your life, that’s when it becomes the disorder. Most individuals aren’t familiar with that side of OCD, the painful side of OCD, the debilitating side of OCD. The part of OCD that completely ruins lives, destroys families.

This film was necessary because it deals specifically with OCD mental obsessions and mental compulsions. Being able to take viewers inside the mind of someone that has OCD to experience not only the individual thoughts—but to experience the feelings and how anxiety-provoking and angst-ridden it is—was really important. Where other films have at least alleviated discomfort with comedy, we sort of double if not triple down on discomfort because that’s literally what OCD is.

F2: How did Ralph Ineson come to the project? What in his performance resonates most with you?

Writers and co-directors Steven C. Brumwell and Rolfin Nyhus sent the script to Ralph’s people. Ralph read it and just loved it and wanted to do it as an art project and a passion project. For whatever reason, the script really resonated with Ralph and his agents and team were very open to the idea of it. And so, he attached quickly to the film.

Waving is loosely based on Steve the writer’s experiences with OCD and intrusive thoughts. And while Charlie is not an exact copy of Steve, a lot of his thoughts and experiences are. So Ralph spent a lot of time with Steve sort of understanding his mind and obviously doing in-depth research on OCD.

The reason the media gets OCD wrong and stigmatizes it is because it’s a visual medium. So the problem they’re in is you get stuck in the tropes of organization or tapping or handwashing which are parts of OCD. They’re not the only parts, but they’re easy parts to show because you can see them. You can’t see somebody ruminating or rewinding or thinking or mentally stuck on something. That’s hard to show.

I think Ralph was probably attracted by being able to visually show what it is like to have these violent, sexual, intrusive thoughts and what it is like to be stuck in your head and to be anxious. OCD is all about not being present and is similar to anxiety. Anxiety only exists in the past or the future. And so does OCD. I think the film really does a good job of Charlie not being present with his family on the beach and going into his own internal hell.

There’s a wonderful scene where the camera just rolls for a couple minutes where he’s sitting in a chair, and we’re just close on Ralph. He’s going through the myriads of emotions for somebody that has OCD. I thought he was absolutely remarkable. And frankly, breathtaking. His portrayal is so authentic and real to what the experience is like. We were really grateful and blessed to get him. 

F3: How has your own experience with OCD both informed and impacted your work as a filmmaker? How is this film a passion project for you?

I have had OCD as far as I can remember. For me, it became really evident in middle school that I was impacted by it. I was diagnosed at the age of 14, but I didn’t find proper treatment till I was 31.

The average time at that time from diagnosis treatment was 17 years. That’s down now to about 12 to 14 years. If you could imagine going to the doctor for a foot problem and then taking 14 years to find a podiatrist, it seems kind of ridiculous. That wasn’t to say that I didn’t go to psychiatrists and tons of psychologists; I did and they all meant well. But unfortunately, talk therapy and psychodynamic therapy don’t work for OCD. That’s not the gold standard treatment.

It wasn’t until I was completely bedridden and unable to function living in my parents guest bedroom that we finally found treatment. After about a year and a half of life-saving life-altering treatment, I really sort of was born for the first time. I could operate in accordance with my own values and rules and not what OCD very much wanted me to do.

After that, I decided I didn’t want anyone else to go through what I went through. I got involved with the International OCD Foundation, and I’m a national advocate for them. Advocacy has become a labor of love because we have to change the status quo around OCD.

I’m known as a filmmaker. That’s my background. I was an actor for decades, and then transitioned to writing, directing, and producing. This came across my email from international advocate Catherine Benfield, also an executive producer on the film, who sent me the pitch deck. First of all, the deck was on a professional level that was amazing. The people attached were amazing. Ralph Ellison, the lead, you can’t find a better actor. So that was quite a grab. Then after I read the script, it was just completely original. It captured the authenticity of OCD and that was most important to me. So, for all of those reasons, boarding this project and helping get financing and weighing in creatively was pretty much a no brainer.

F4: Waving could be described as a psychological horror. Does that resonate with you?

It’s been interesting submitting to festivals to see what blocks they put us in. Several blocks put us in the horror genre, which is interesting and also true. It is a horror for most of us living with OCD. There’s family dynamics, family drama, where it can be considered. It could be fantasy in a way. It’s artistic—definitely arthouse—no question about that. Certainly psychological. I could go so far as to say it’s a psychological thriller as it has elements of those films. OCD has elements of all those genres as does the human condition.

I don’t think you can put the film in a box. It is sort of genre jumping only because it touches on so many things. But Waving has a smile at the end; it has some hope. And that’s important.

F5: What would you like audiences to come away with from their Waving viewing experience?

I really hope it does a few things. I hope people reflect and think about whether they’ve been stigmatizing OCD in the past. It’s all about compassionate education. That’s number one.

Number two, I think that it’s important to be able to understand what it’s like to live with it—that discomfort, that edginess that angst that nails on a chalkboard feeling—that most people don’t associate OCD. To go have an aha moment of wow, I had no idea, okay, that’s different.

Third is stigma reduction. Maybe someone sees it who’s experiencing OCD and doesn’t know what’s going on or knows and is scared to talk about it. To know I’m not alone. This is something maybe I should look into. Maybe I should visit a resource.

So, it’s a broad swath, ranging from education, dispelling myths and stigma, to letting people know they’re not alone. You can go to the website, Wavingfilm.com, and it’s tied to an amazing organization by our executive producer called Taming Olivia. There’re tons of resources on there. You can also visit iocdf.org, which is the International OCD Foundation, for amazing resources. And that’s really what it’s about—continuing to create content that will still steer people in the right direction.

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Watch the Waving trailer.