FOUL EVIL DEEDS
An interview with director Richard Hunter
After its World Premiere at Locarno Film Festival, then traveling to the Slamdance Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, Athens International Film and Video Festival, Manchester Film Festival, and more, it’s no mystery why this MiniDV masterpiece is one of our favorite films of 2025. Without spoiling too much, we asked director Richard Hunter to discuss his excellent debut feature FOUL EVIL DEEDS for the 2025 Sidewalk Film Festival.
1. I read that you shot the film over the course of one year. Did you shoot each section sequentially / in order?
We shot the film sequentially. A lot of it due to the scheduling and logistics of things; weather, locations, actors.
Not the most exciting answer but that’s scheduling for you. But, you can’t backflip a car over a laser breathing dinosaur without a schedule.
2. Since this is an anthology film, how many original scenarios did you create or envision?
I wrote 12 or 13, I had more “mini” stories - small moments like the ‘dog poop etiquette’ or ‘wooden hand’ that just never made it in. I also had a larger story about a lonely old lady - but in the end it just felt like it was doing the same thing as another story that I preferred.
Overall we ended up shooting 10 and featuring eight of those in the final film.
3. This is such an ensemble piece, I was curious about your casting process. Did you hold in-person auditions, or cast from headshots per looks?
I met with every cast member, I always like to meet actors, just chat about things, life, the project, the world. Just really seeing if we’d like to work together more than anything. If it’s a good fit.
I have a very long and wonderful relationship with my casting director Ilenka and so a lot of the initial process is Ilenka just knowing my style, working within her style and smooshing the two styles together.
4. Can you talk about the choice to shoot on MiniDV? This is one of the best-looking films I have seen shot on the format.
I just love video. I grew up on VHS, on video tape, pan and scan movies. Shooting skate videos on MiniDV. So that aesthetic has never really left my life as I am still deeply ensconced in the world of skateboarding. My DP used to skate for Blueprint, so I think it’s just in our bones. If you watch Trash Humpers, or Involuntary or The Idiots I just don’t know how you can’t be drawn to that look and feel. It’s very freeing and interesting. Maybe even more so today. We still light almost every single scene. Some of the exterior days were just dealing with the sun, but we wanted to take everything we had learnt over the last 20 years and go back to the format. Treating it like you would a normal film set. The original idea was to use dollies and cranes, but after doing some tests we quickly found that that was overkill and even a simple close up had to be zoomed into or out of - otherwise it felt amateurish. So we opted for simple grip gear and then chose to light it with our lighting team as you would any digital film set.
5. When directing, do you have a specific method for building tension on set? The menace in certain scenes feels palpable.
To be honest I am not too aware of that. I know I love long takes. Maybe that has something to do with it. I find that to be the most arresting stuff.
6. Do you have a different style for directing deadpan comedy vs cringe-inducing drama?
Again, I don’t think this is something I consciously think about. Whatever is happening in the scene I think I just try to stay true to that. Your gut tends to tell you when something is off.
7. Can you tell us what you’re working on next?
After ‘Foul’ I shot a short called ‘Thanks To Meet You!’, the world premiere is in September at the 50th TIFF, which we are all super excited about.
With that I wanted to make something that felt like the antithesis of FED. Lots of coverage. Totally surreal. Fast paced. Shooting on film.
I love shorts and wish more big name directors would bless us with some.
I think there is a freedom in it and would love to see more experimentation and push towards a lack of structure filmographies.
And finally I’m also working on a new type of potato. It’s similar to the giant tomato Lisa Simpson makes in episode 16, season 4 of The Simpsons. So, keep your eyes peeled for that.
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Additionally, we asked Richard to record a brief video intro for his film since he could not attend Sidewalk. He responded: “I couldn’t record a video but my grandpa could. Hope it’s okay, haven’t had time to check it.” Here is that video.
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Special thanks to Richard Hunter (and his grandpa) for speaking with us. Foul Evil Deeds is currently in its festival run, so be on the lookout for a screening near you.
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Submit your films to the next year’s Sidewalk Film Festival! Hope to see you in The Magic City from August 23-30, 2026 for the 28th edition of the festival.