Ganymede: An Exclusive Interview with Directors Colby Holt and Sam Probst
In the vibrant landscape of contemporary cinema, Ganymede stands out as a thought-provoking queer horror film that reinterprets the myth of “Ganymede” through a modern lens. Co-directors Colby Holt and Sam Probst have masterfully blended ancient mythology with the many LGBTQ+ struggles, creating a film that resonates deeply with audiences. By exploring mythological and historical contexts, they have crafted a narrative that delves into themes of internalized homophobia, religious hypocrisy, and the dark realities of conversion therapy.
Ganymede centers on Lee Fletcher (Jordan Doww), a teenager from a devoutly religious family, who wrestles with his burgeoning sexuality. His struggle manifests through demonic hallucinations, symbolizing his inner turmoil and the societal pressures he faces. When Lee meets Kyle Culper (Pablo Castelblanco), an openly gay and self-assured classmate, his journey toward self-acceptance begins. Ganymede offers a critical examination of the harmful rhetoric and practices often directed at the LGBTQ+ community by religious institutions, highlighting the deep-seated hypocrisy within.
In creating Ganymede, Colby Holt and Sam Probst aim to spark meaningful conversations about the intersection of queer identity and religion. The film’s bold narrative and compelling character arcs invite viewers to reflect on their own beliefs and the societal structures that shape them. Here at Q+, we had the opportunity to interview these two visionary directors about their creative process, inspirations, and the impact they hope their film will have. Here’s what they had to say.
Ganymede reinterprets the myth of “Ganymede” with a unique, modern twist. In the Bible, there are references to boy prostitutes and sodomites, and in Greek mythology, Ganymede himself was considered to have this function as the “cupbearer of the gods.” What inspired you to create this film and use Ganymede as the central figure, and how did these historical and mythological references shape your creative vision?
Colby: I first came across the term Ganymede when I was researching a project I actually never ended up writing. It was going to be about “Molly Houses” which is what they called a gay bar in 17th and 18th century London. It was gay slang to denote a younger, attractive, effeminate, gay man who was enticing to others. It’s this definition that got me thinking about how the myth of Ganymede was viewed through different ages – how did the interpretation of it shift depending on the cultural context of the time? It’s not one we hear much about these days which made it ripe to be reinterpreted for a modern audience, this time with a sinister twist that many people have ridiculously attached to our community. We wanted to fuse it with modern anti-LGBTQ Christian rhetoric that has ramped up in recent years. The idea that queer folks are enticing or attracting others into a “lifestyle”, which obviously is not true, is really becoming more mainstream and it’s disturbing. We just want to live and people are acting like this is some organized effort to turn others gay or queer or trans. It’s insanity.
Sam: On top of all the great points Colby made, queer films are still a small sliver of what makes up cinema every year, that fraction gets even smaller when it’s narrowed down to queer horror films. We really wanted to tell a story that was unique to us and our perspective while taking ownership of the genres that we were serving.
How did you develop the characters of Lee and Kyle, and what was the process like for casting Jordan Doww and Pablo Castelblanco in these roles?
Colby: We really took many parts of ourselves. Neither Lee nor Kyle are a perfect representation of Sam or I’s direct experience. They are both an amalgamation of different aspects of our lives. We have to give credit to our wonderful Casting Director, Matthew Glasner, for bringing us our talented cast. We cast Jordan right before the pandemic and luckily he stuck with us as the world plunged into uncertainty, and it wasn’t until we finally got to production a couple of years later that we cast Pablo but the alchemy of it was just right. We wouldn’t have it any other way because we feel they are just both so perfect and it was clear even before a chemistry read, but that’s what sealed the deal for everyone.
Sam: I really wanted Kyle and his mother, Kemina, to be of Latin-American identity. I’m Mexican-American, and presenting as such in a rural, often mostly white region can come with complicated nuances. We wanted to delicately show how these characters being who they are both from a presentation of orientation as well as a presentation of race can mean something very different and important regardless of how directly or indirectly it is acknowledged in a story.
Can you elaborate on the use of demonic hallucinations as a metaphor for internalized homophobia and self-acceptance in the film?
Colby: We knew that some folks were growing up in these environments where homosexuality or queerness were being portrayed as the result of evil entities or demonic presences that were influencing people. We simply wanted to ask–how does that affect someone’s psyche? How would this manifest if you truly believed it? There can be a horror to realizing you are gay or queer-identified if it is made out to be that way. We wanted to explore the harms that come with this warped worldview. Not only for the queer individual but for the family members around them as well.
Sam: From my own personal experience, I grew up as a closeted Catholic kid in the Midwest. While I was very fortunate to have an incredibly supportive family, the world around me was very homophobic and at the time, the religious views around homosexuality were often presented as taboo and oftentimes evil. Coupled with the imagery of fiery hellscapes and demonic beings in Catholic imagery, it kind of just went hand-in-hand when I computed what my identity meant to the religious doctrine around me. I think the church has made progress to move away from that perspective, but depending on the person in power, it can be an identity that is demonized very quickly.
The film critiques religious hypocrisy quite strongly. What message did you want to convey about the intersection of religion and LGBTQ+ issues?
Colby: That many times we are not able to have a spiritual relationship because we are quite literally excluded. We also wanted to show that there is a different version of religion that can be inclusive. If you notice, there are quite a few references to religion and prayer that come from Kyle’s supportive mother Kemina played by Sofia Yepes. It was critical we presented someone whose queer child and religion were not in conflict with each other.
Sam: Exactly what Colby said. It’s not necessarily a rejection of religion, but rather an acknowledgment of the complicated relationship queer folks are faced in institutions that have corrupt leadership. There is definitely a world where spirituality and queer identity can exist, but the journey for queer folks searching for the right sense of belonging in these spaces often comes with a lot of rejection to move through.
How much of your personal experiences or observations influenced the storytelling and character dynamics in ‘Ganymede’?
Colby: For both Sam and I, we pulled from many aspects of our lives, from our parent’s lives, and from society in general. While no one character can exemplify our experience it is nonetheless extremely personal which made some aspects of exploring these themes difficult but worth it.
Sam: Yeah, I joke that it’s the child Colby and I would make if we as husbands had the capacity to birth a queer horror film. It has a lot of genetic make-up from each of us, but ultimately, it is its own thing, merely influenced by us while telling its own story to others.
For viewers outside the USA who may not be as familiar with the cultural dynamics, how does the Southern setting of the film enhance the story’s exploration of queer identity and religious conflict?
Colby: We feel like these issues are playing out in sharper contrast in the South and rural America. In these communities everybody knows each other, you live next door, your kids go to school together, so when there is conflict or there are different viewpoints as there often are in the polarized era we live in, we have to confront them more directly. The southern setting also is a result of the decision to frame this film through the lens of the Southern Gothic, a literary tradition that had its peak in the middle of the last century. We wanted to dress this story up in the trappings of the Southern Gothic because they come from another time of American social upheaval, of massive change, and a conversation about the past and the present and where we want to go.
Sam: It’s a great question! With Colby growing up in Kentucky and myself in Indiana, this is an honest depiction from our perspective of growing up in these rural regions. I’m sure there will be aspects that viewers in other countries will find relatable, while others that seem unimaginable, serving our personal experience and work to other parts of the world is one of my favorite things about cinema shared amongst the world.
The film’s portrayal of conversion therapy is both harrowing and pivotal. How did you approach this sensitive topic, and what impact did you hope to achieve through its depiction?
Colby: We think it’s imperative we don’t stop talking about conversion therapy until it’s no longer practiced. It is still legal in 24 states here in the US and its harms are well documented and it has been denounced by mainstream and credible organizations like The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics. We must stop extremists who believe, contrary to scientific evidence, that sexual orientation can be changed. It cannot.
Sam: Some people think it’s something that doesn’t exist and then are shocked to hear how many places it is still legal and being utilized. It truly is a horrifying concept that needs to be acknowledged more in order to be eradicated.
‘Ganymede’ has a happy ending, which is often not the case in queer horror films. Why was it important for you to avoid the “bury your gays” trope?
Colby: We need to see a future where we make it out of these situations. An ending that is tragic for the queer character centers on the people who were making it difficult for the queer character by making them pay the price of losing the beautiful soul that they were torturing. This film is about Lee and seeing a future for him and it says there is a future for you. The characters that were not supportive still lose someone in their life but it’s because they have moved on from them and are able to live authentically outside of their influence. It happens all the time and is still tragic, but we don’t need the gay person to pay the price anymore to have an impact.
Sam: I know for myself, I secretly held on to hope in the queer films I had when closeted and growing up. We didn’t want this to only show pain and trauma, but rather how light can be found through darkness, it was a truth for us and therefore an honest take on how this story could be told fully.
As creative and life partners, how do you navigate the collaborative process of directing a film together?
Colby: It can be hard at times, it’s a high-stress job, we live together, and we live with the film, but there have been many times we have looked at each other and said, thank goodness we get to do this together, it’s really special, I don’t envy directors who do all of it alone. We share in our successes and we share in our challenges and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We also have our natural interests that help us manage the workload as well. We trust each other’s vision and work hard to always be on the same page. The films come out the way they do because we do it together.
Sam: I agree with Colby on all of it. We’re ultimately very lucky to do this together! It’s a lot of communication, navigation, collaboration, etc, etc, etc. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s challenging, but ultimately it’s work I’m most proud of because it’s both of ours. I truly feel we put a 50/50 contribution into every part of making our movies and that we’re so much better at telling these stories because of the unique perspectives we each bring to the table.
What reactions or emotions do you hope to evoke in audiences, particularly LGBTQ+ viewers, who watch ‘Ganymede’?
Colby: Whatever character you identify with we hope that you feel seen, we hope you watch this and come out on the other side changed or with a new perspective. For LGTBQ viewers we hope that you feel represented, it’s powerful to see yourself reflected on screen and I know many of us hold onto those moments because it’s possible you are seeing a queer person for the very first time, particularly if you are from a household like Lee’s.
Sam: We also know it will be a varying experience for each LGBTQ+ viewer because we all have such different experiences. Some people may watch this after coming out decades earlier, some may have come out in recent years, or even have yet to come out at all. Ultimately, I hope it leaves people thinking a bit more about themselves and society upon viewing the subject matter. Like Colby said, there are a few entry points of relatability in this story, hopefully, there is a different takeaway for each viewer because of that.
Can you discuss some of the artistic and stylistic choices you made in the film, such as the cinematography, score, and visual effects?
Colby: I think we wanted to keep it moody and grounded. We wanted it to feel hot and oppressive, with vibrant colors and dramatic settings. We leaned into the Southern Gothic of it all and worked with talented folks in every department to bring it all together in a way that was stylish and cohesive.
Sam: A big thing for me was making sure the viewer felt immersed in Little Lee’s mental space. The mood and visual landscape was definitely an intricate way to build that, we worked endlessly with our incredibly talented DOP, Oscar Partridge, to shape that aesthetic, which he nailed. We also really wanted the soundscape to be full of layers and textures, we worked with some amazing folks at DePaul University, both in the faculty and the senior student classes to make a very complex sound design that we feel really contributes to the experience of the film. All of that layered with the talented work from our composer, Aaron Boudreaux, made for a very multifaceted body of work. We are so proud to have worked with all of these talented folks and more to craft the style of this film!
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the production of ‘Ganymede,’ and how did you overcome them?
Colby: This was shot during the pandemic, so that was one challenge that added a whole other layer to production, and it was also in the middle of Summer in Kentucky so the heat was definitely a challenge and a character in the film. But credit to our amazing producer, Stephen Stanley, for effortlessly solving any challenges that arose. This film wouldn’t exist without his tireless work, expertise, and problem-solving.
Sam: Like any indie film, we were also pressed with an incredibly short schedule and limited resources. The shoot was a total of 19 very fast days, jumping from one scene to the next while dealing with some really intricate scenes. The underwater scenes alone were probably the most difficult to get, with so many moving parts, very complicated coverage, and a tight schedule. All that to say, I don’t know how we would’ve done any of this without our champion producer, Stephen Stanley, who found ways to always make it work. There were challenges we often didn’t even know happened until they were resolved by Steve behind the scenes. He did such an outstanding job of keeping our focus on the creative vision in the midst of so many challenges that come with making independent films. We couldn’t have done it without him or the rest of our production team.
How do you see ‘Ganymede’ fitting into the broader landscape of queer cinema, and what impact do you hope it has on the genre?
Colby: Well I do hope as you pointed out we can leave the era of “bury your gays” but we are certainly not solely responsible for that. We also hope it shows how hungry audiences are for queer horror. We spend so much time in the LGBTQ community translating straight stories into something we can relate to and we are proud that that extra step of translation does not have to happen here. This is for you.
Sam: Yeah, we love that this movie is a horror film that is aggressively queer. The horror genre by nature seems so queer-coded often, which we love, but it is nice to be able to put out work that isn’t just winking at the audience or flying under the radar of straight people. In fact, we love that this could be a queer film that straight people will watch because it’s a horror film when perhaps they wouldn’t have otherwise watched it!
Are there any upcoming projects or themes you are excited to explore next, either together or individually?
Colby: We are always coming up with new stories together, we have a couple of scripts written and in the pipeline and I can share that we will continue to explore American life, particularly contemporary American life, and that there will always be some sort of queer perspective we touch on.
Sam: We are so excited about what’s cooking up next! I’ve really enjoyed reading what Colby has written so far and we can’t wait to move forward on the next projects!
What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers, especially those looking to tell authentic LGBTQ+ stories?
Colby: Do it, and don’t ask permission. Find other queer folks to work with, find allies, and fight for your vision. It can still be an uphill battle to get queer films up on the screen but it’s worth it every time. You got this!
Sam: Something Colby and I were reminded of at every step of making this film is that you have to be relentless. Queer films are often difficult to make because they are constantly rejected the green light on every level, there are so many ways it can feel easy to give up when there is so much rejection around making a queer film, but remember your story is unique, your presence is power, and the work you do means something especially because it’s different. Don’t give up, keep going!
We hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the minds behind Ganymede. Colby and Sam’s unique blend of mythological reinterpretation and contemporary themes offers a fresh perspective in the realm of queer horror cinema. Their passion and insights have truly illuminated the layers within the film, making it a must-watch for fans of the genre and beyond.
Ganymede is now available to stream on VOD–Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Prime Video. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Courtesy of Colby Holt and Sam Probst. VMI
