Smile
Two years after his father’s death, Lucas Wilson works as a tourist photographer at Dutch Village in Holland, Michigan. A woman in a wheelchair, Priya Virk, shows up as Lucas searches for authenticity in his artistic work, in relationships to others, and in his life in general.
Director
After a decade in L.A. working on “That 70s Show”, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and creating, writing, and producing with his writing partner Rajeev Sigamoney TV pilots for actors like Tony Hale, Melissa McCarthy, Jennifer Coolidge, Tim Bagley and Sean Hayes, Dan Steadman turned to features. First, he and Rajeev made “Jesus People: The Movie” (with Octavia Spencer & Wendi McLendon-Covey) which had a week-long theatrical run in 10 major cities, then a 3-year run on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Dan then started moving around the country, writing and directing the gay-themed Christmas film “Red Lodge”, the Palm Springs International Film Festival selection “Hidden Hills”, American Movie Award winner “Belleville”, (which had a week-long release in 13 Midwestern cities through Wehrenberg Theatres) and 7 more feature films. He teaches acting in the St. Louis area and makes movies with his students. His company is focused on lead roles for unconventional female characters, mature leads over 40, all body types, and other underrepresented characters.
Director’s note: Rajeev and I wrote “Smile” in our 30s, as we were both searching for authenticity and truth in our writing, struggling young screenwriters in Los Angeles. It took quite a few more years to find the actors (in the Midwest, of all places) who were the right individuals to bring the story of Lucas, Priya, Johhny, Steph, and Marvin to life. It also took time for me to grow as a director to be ready to bring this meditation on authenticity and ambivalence to the big screen.