EDGE Interview: 'I Wish You All the Best' Director Tommy Dorfman Presents a Non-Binary Coming Out Story Full of Heart at SXSW

EDGE: On working with Cole [Sprouse] and Alexandra [Daddario]: What was that experience like? Did you learn anything from these veteran pros that have been in the industry and have played teenage characters and now they're somehow playing guardians to a teenager?

Corey Fogelmanis: We shot all of our stuff together in the first week. So it felt like we built a nice foundation. I loved working with them. I wish we had more time together because it's just the way that they were able to bring Tommy's words to life. Everything that was going on behind Alexandra's eyes was just so amazing and so I feel like it's not a tangible thing that I learned. It just really drove home for me how much you can invest in your character, and what they're talking about, and it was really cool to see that in action.

EDGE: Ben is kicked out of the house by their conservative parents. When they go to live with their sister and brother-in-law, Ben goes to a new school. They meet new friends and has a new love interest, Nathan. What do you feel like was the significance of showing Ben and how they grew up... then all of a sudden this one 180-degree change of a progressive school introduction – a very welcoming and supportive environment that seems to be exactly what Ben needs.

Tommy Dorfman: I think it's really important to know that the world is big. Even in one state, you could be counties apart and have very different experiences. I love rural areas. I grew up in the South, I think it's really important to showcase what a difference 40 miles can make in someone's safety and ability to thrive. Also how that much can be overwhelming to see and how frustrating it can be. You see that with Ben and their parents in the scene later in the film, where they're like, "I'm not leaving this place. I'm in fucking Utopia right now compared to where we were before. Why would I leave this and go back to that and be miserable?" It doesn't mean it's perfect and doesn't mean it's always easy. Sometimes you do have to retreat back into yourself, because if the feelings are too overwhelming, maybe the good feels like too much good.

Maybe you don't feel like you deserve it. That's also part of the experience, but it felt really important for people to recognize that the world is bigger than what our parents tell us.

EDGE: I noticed that Ben's wardrobe changes little by little as the film progresses. Was it a deliberate choice to display them discovering themselves and how they fit in the world?

Tommy Dorfman: Very deliberate. We had a timeline of Ben's hair length. We talked about how much makeup they should wear. Just lip gloss here, maybe a little bit of eye makeup here. Tone it down here like this shoe versus this shoe. We knew we were in a part of the story and it's just a helpful tool when you're shooting out of order as well.

EDGE: The soundtrack in this movie includes some real bangers. There's the iconic "Closer to Fine" by The Indigo Girls. Are these personal favorites? How did you get the rights to it?

Tommy Dorfman: It's so funny. We had the rights to that song before "Barbie" brought it back in a different way. Then I feel like we got to reclaim it for the community again in another way.

They were my first concert and one of my parents' favorite bands. When we were working on the movement with Julia Crockett, our choreographer, it wasn't particularly choreographed, but we spent some time just figuring out what Ben's expressions might be in this heightened state of that last scene in particular. We played different songs during that process. That was the song that seemed to wake Corey up the most. Not knowing if we could afford it or not, I played the music in Corey's air pods while we were shooting. I played a lot of music on set. We had a playlist that I kept adding to. It's sort of like using music as a tool to direct, which I think can be really helpful because you respond to music. So, he was able to really infuse that musically into what Ben's going through.

EDGE: The premiere is tomorrow. What are both of you really hoping the audience takes away from the film once the credits start rolling?

Corey Fogelmanis: I hope first and foremost that people feel affirmed by it, that they're not alone. That there's good out there.

Tommy Dorfman: Yeah, I'll piggyback off of that. I want people to feel hopeful and maybe more compassionate towards themselves and other people. Inspired to make a change in their life. I think Ben makes a lot of changes in their life. Something that everyone can learn from the trans experience is being not autonomous and that confidence in who you are as a person means that your opportunities could be limitless in so many ways.

You don't have to do what your dad did or your dad's dad did. I think that's a very human lesson that I hope people take from this film. They're inspired to make art that inspires them or take the job or kiss the girl or do whatever it is that they need to do.