Presenting the 4th part of our continuing series of short interviews with feature and short filmmakers from the upcoming NewFest 2007: The 19th NY LGBT Film Festival - May 31-June 10. Visit newfest.org for more information, including full program, schedule, and ticketing details.
FILM TITLE: Itty Bitty Titty Committee
DIRECTOR: Jamie Babbit
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Jamie Babbit, Director, Los Angeles.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I love telling stories.
3 features: But I'm a Cheerleader, The Quiet, and Itty Bitty Titty Committee
3 short films: Frog Crossing, Sleeping Beauties, and Stuck
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
No, I worked my way up working on other people's movies (All Over Me, The Game, Age of Innocence, Secret of Roan Inish, Kingpin (from PA to Script Supervisor)).
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
It's a movie about an apolitical nerd who becomes a feminist terrorist.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
It was inspired by the riot grrl music from Olympia, Washington (Heavens to Betsy, Sleater Kinney, Bikini Kill) and the film Born in Flames.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames, Jane Campion's Sweetie, James Bidgood's Pink Narcissus, punk lady music from Courtney Love and Kathleen Hannah, Magritte, Sandy Skogland, Nan Goldin, Heavenly Creatures, 45 record art from Kill Rock Stars.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Porky's
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Henry and June
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Sweetie, Heavenly Creatures, Sophie's Choice
FILM TITLE: Red Without Blue
DIRECTOR: Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills, & Todd Sills
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 & Sunday, June 3
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Brooke Sebold and I am one of three co-directors of Red Without Blue. I also work as a producer/editor in the Vanguard Journalism department of Current TV, in San Francisco, California.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
When I was twelve, I was in a skiing accident and found myself bedridden for about a year. During that time, I watched everything I could get my hands on. (The most eye-opening of which was probably when my dad accidentally rented Bound instead of Homeward Bound.) I became obsessed with watching all kinds of films, but didn't realize that I could actually make my own until college. I've been making films ever since. RWB is my first feature length documentary.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I received my BA in Visual Arts with a focus in Film Production from Brown.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
The intimate bond between two identical twin brothers is challenged when one decides to transition from male to female; this is the story of their evolving relationship, and the resurrection of their family from a darker past.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
Mark fortuitously became my roommate after I moved to San Francisco four years ago. We became close friends, and after a few months of late night conversations, he finally told me the details of his past. I knew immediately that this was a story that needed to be told.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Mark and Clair are inspiring individuals, and we wanted to make a film that would ultimately celebrate their triumphs. However, when we started filming, we found a family still struggling with their traumatic past and with accepting one another. We stuck with the story for 3+ years, and ultimately things changed for the better.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Enemy Mine. I was three years old and we went for my brother's nine-year old birthday party. Thanks to IMDB's advanced search, I finally figured out what that movie was.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Bound, I believe. I had seen many other LGBT themed films before that, but wasn't aware that they were LGBT films until much later. Bound was the first one I can remember understanding exactly what was happening.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Heavenly Creatures. It's a beautiful, subtle film that introduced me to a lyrical kind of filmmaking.
FILM TITLE: Lucky Man
DIRECTOR: Dan Faltz
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Dan Falz, Film Student, Los Angeles, California
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I've made several school assignments; this is my first film.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I studied film at UC Berkeley; I'm currently at USC.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
A hard-drinking detective with a secret life gets involved in a dangerous cat-and-mouse chase.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
From studying Film Noir at UC Berkeley, initially.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Seeing a character I've always wanted to see on screen.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Hmm. David Lynch, Wong Kar Wai, Sam Fuller, Stephen Soderbergh
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
The Wizard of Oz or Disney films
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Cabaret? Fame? Some 80s polysexual film, before Parting Glances and My Beautiful Laundrette
The last DVD I watched was:
The Hitcher (remake) - But the disc was defective - did the guy get ripped in half???!!!
FILM TITLE: Team Queen
DIRECTOR: Leah Meyerhoff
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Leah Meyerhoff and I am a full-time filmmaker based in New York.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I am drawn to filmmaking as a way to express myself creatively while potentially having a social impact on the outside world. I have made half a dozen short films and music videos, and am currently in pre-production on my first feature.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I studied film theory in undergrad at Brown University and film production in grad school at NYU.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
Team Queen is a gender-bending, fire-breathing, tassel-twirling music video for queer-post-punk rockers Triple Creme starring the best of New York burlesque.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
I have always wondered what the high school prom would be like if the cheerleaders were drag queens, the punks breathed fire, and Murray Hill was the school principal.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Preventing a catfight between Scarlet Sinclair and Scotty the Blue Bunny.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
My Own Private Idaho
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Masculin Feminin, A Real Young Girl, Wild Tigers I Have Known
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
High Art
FILM TITLE: The Gendercator
DIRECTOR: Catherine Crouch
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 & Monday, June 4 (in shorts program: Twisted Love)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Hello, I am Catherine Crouch, writer and director and sometimes camera and acting as well. I am a freelance screenwriter based in Indianapolis, IN.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I was writing prose and saw a short experimental film titled "Cotton Lover" that blew my mind. I have made many films. Five shorts [Osco Bag, Vanilla Lament, One Small Step, Pretty Ladies, The Gendercator] that have played in numerous festivals, one feature I wrote and directed [Stray Dogs], and two features I have co-written have been produced [Stranger Inside, Damn Good Dog].
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Columbia College in Chicago, MFA in film & video
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
The Gendercator is a short satirical take on female body modification and gender. The story uses the "Rip van Winkle" model to extrapolate from the past into a possible future.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
Concern with the growing numbers of young women changing themselves into transmen. Why so many, all the sudden?
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Flannery O'Connor, Lina Vermuller, Elia Kazan, Gloria Steinem, La Jette.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
The Wizard of Oz, Seven Beauties, Baby Doll
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
The last DVD I watched was:
Children of Men
FILM TITLE: The Incredible Dyke
DIRECTOR: Kurt Koehler & James Edward Quinn
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 & Monday, June 4 (in shorts program: Twisted Love)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I'm Kurt Koehler and I'm currently unemployed -woo-hoo! James is my partner and my directing partner on this project. He currently slaves away as an assistant for the big Hollywood types.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I started as a filmmaker, because I wanted to be in a film. Then I discovered the control the director has over his indie and I haven't looked back - Not really, I still dabble in acting. James ....I'm gonna let him write back. I've made seven or eightish short films...there's a few casualties of war.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Nope. I graduated with a BFA in Acting and a minor in Directing for the Theater.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
It's a sweet love letter to The Incredible Hulk and Biker Chicks.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
That we pulled off cheese without going all Sid and Marty Kroft on this film, which is usually my style of choice.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Looney Tunes are probably my biggest influence. I also love The Three Stooges and I Love Lucy....As old as they are, they still hold up today. That's unmistakable comedy.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory....Favorite movie of all time.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I had just come out of the closet. But even earlier I remember seeing Another Country with a friend's sister. I caught the beginning with the two boys having sex and I was hooked.
The last DVD I watched was:
Sponge Bob....I love Sponge Bob.
