“Who helps the helpers?” That question became the center of my conversation with ON THE LINE director John Murlowski and actor Shylo Molina for Coffee Tea or Labrish Media. With the film screening at the 2026 Woodstock Film Festival, the discussion moved from a character’s choices to the emotional cost of caring for other people.
My opening question concerned Alex: why does she pursue Leo after being told to step away? Murlowski’s answer began with his own experience as a suicide-prevention counselor. He explained that a call he took in his twenties helped shape the story, while distinguishing that experience from the film’s fictional events.
The person answering the call has a life, too
Murlowski described compassion fatigue as part of the world surrounding Alex. I added teachers to the conversation about people whose work requires continual care. The exchange made room for a question that can disappear beneath a story about rescue: what support does the person offering help receive?
For Murlowski, Alex brings unresolved difficulties into work that is already emotionally demanding. His account of the character connects the pressure of helping others with the danger of avoiding one’s own needs. The interview considers that tension as part of the film’s dramatic construction.
Shylo Molina wanted audiences to meet Leo
I asked Molina how he played Leo’s guardedness, fear, and exhaustion without reducing him to his illness. Molina’s answer returned to the person underneath the circumstances.
“I wanted the audience to know that Leo loves deeply.” — Shylo Molina
He described a young person who wants fun, connection, and the chance to enjoy his life. Leo’s humor and snark matter because they give the audience more than a diagnosis to respond to. I also drew attention to the humor between the central characters and the way it makes their relationship feel human.
Building trust before the difficult scenes
Murlowski said the production filmed largely in story order, allowing the central performers to become acquainted as the characters did. Molina recalled spending time with his scene partner Rosa and becoming comfortable with the emotionally challenging material. He also described moments of banter that grew out of their rapport.
The director recalled a lengthy search for the right Leo and the decision to wait for Molina’s availability. Together, those details show how casting, time, and trust helped build the relationship at the center of the film.
A Woodstock Film Festival conversation about care
ON THE LINE’s place in the Woodstock Film Festival gives this conversation a public setting, but its questions reach beyond a screening room. Throughout our conversation, we kept returning to the person inside a role: the counselor with her own struggles, the young person with a sense of humor, and the people trying to understand one another.
Watch the full interview below for the discussion of performance, the film’s personal origins, and Murlowski’s thinking about compassion. The full conversation includes discussion of later plot developments.
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