by Kyna Morgan
@HerFilmProject

Indiewire has just posted its list of top-grossing independent films of 2013; interestingly, a Mexican film directed by perennially popular comedic star Eugenio Derbez, was the top grosser, co-written by a woman, Leticia López Margalli.  With Hollywood continuously confounded by the American Latino market, it's encouraging to see a Mexican film make such a nice showing.  Read the Indiewire article for the details on eligibility for films included on this list.

Out of the top 30 films, women helmed only two of them, with the highest-ranking woman-directed film (Enough Said) at the #8 spot on the list, which is also the highest-ranked film both written and directed by a woman (Nicole Holofcener).  Women wrote/co-wrote eight out of the top 30 films, with the highest-ranking co-written film at #1 for Instructions Not Included (co-writer Leticia López Margalli).  See the entire list below.

by Kyna Morgan
@HerFilmProject

The Guldbagge Award, Sweden's top film honor awarded by the Swedish Film Institute, turns 50 this year.  Winners across 19 categories will be presented with the coveted red and gold beetle (named for the actual beetle, the "Guldbagge"), perhaps one of the most unique designs for a film award in the world.  The awards also include the Gullspira Children's Film Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Nominations for Sweden's national film award were decided in early December through a voting committee of 45 members.  Women made a great showing in a number of categories, which is not surprising given the cultural zeitgeist that makes things like the Swedish Film Institute's focus on gender equity behind the camera as well as the recent installation of a Bechdel Test-passing standard for films in Swedish theaters possible.  To read through the list of all nominees, click here.  The awards will be presented on January 20 in Stockholm.

BEST DIRECTOR

While only one of the three directors nominated was a female director, Anna Odell, she was also nominated in the Best Screenplay category for the same film, The Reunion (Återträffen).

by Kyna Morgan

One of the best things about attending a film festival, especially one as large, renowned, and dedicated to showcasing global talent as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), is the surprises.  When Cameron Bailey, the Artistic Director of TIFF, introduced Leticia Tonos Paniagua's feature film, Cristo Rey, he said that while TIFF usually has a good handle on what films will be submitted because they track their development and status, the programmers were actually very surprised to receive the submission of Cristo Rey.  They had heard nothing about this film, and they knew they had to make it an official selection.  Directed and co-written by Leticia Tonos Paniagua, it tackles an incredibly sensitive topic within her native Dominican Republic, and also within Haiti, that of the immigration of Haitian immigrants to the D.R.  The subtitle of the film is "Una isla...dos mundos" (One island...two worlds), and that is just what Tonos shows us.  Leticia Tonos Paniagua is the first Dominican woman to direct a feature film in the Dominican Republic.

by Kyna Morgan

Filmmaker Shira Piven's latest film is Fully Loaded, a dark comedy about single moms and a night on the town, set in Los Angeles.  Sounds like my kind of film.  Piven directs and co-wrote the film which was based on a performance several years ago at Upright Citizens Brigade (or "UCB" for those in the know).  I'm a real sucker for projects that are done with filmmakers' families and friends, and Piven's latest was just that. Starring a few of her friends, co-written with friends, and executive produced by her husband and brother, Fully Loaded was still a challenging project with a low budget.  Her next project is in the works, and Kristen Wiig is set to star.

Shira Piven was kind enough to do an interview with me about her latest film, and adds some words of encouragement as far as how filmmakers can approach the marketing of their work. 

Fully Loaded is now available to watch for free on Hulu, so go check it out now. 

Kyna Morgan:  Welcome to Her Film Project, my fellow Midwesterner!  I know you're from Chicago, which lies just west of where I live and grew up in northern Indiana, and I've spent many fun times in that city.  Thanks for talking with me about your new film, Fully Loaded, (which IMDb describes as a "van-centric" dark comedy about single moms).  And thank you for making a comedy about mothers!  It touches on some serious topics, though.  What is it about parenthood or women's lives in today's society that drove you to make this specific film?

Shira Piven: I had admired Paula Killen’s work since our Chicago days in the 90’s and I was excited about collaborating with her first of all.  She is a single mom, and I am married with 2 kids and yet we both had gone through some similar things emotionally--trying to work creatively and raise kids.  I think when you have kids you have to deal with your own sexuality--both in your relationship and in the world, and when you are a single mom, it is even more intense.  I think it still makes people a little uncomfortable when we talk about moms and dating, moms and sex:  a single mom out on the town open to romantic possibility is still a bit racy, even for our permissive society.  I like pushing people to have think about it and grapple with it.  I think people are sexual beings and having kids hardly changes that--it just makes it more complicated.  Also being over 35 also makes it trickier to discuss or show on film, like it or not.  It was very important to me that the women playing these roles were real women--they were not the Hollywood ideal, they were a bit like all of us, both beautiful and imperfect at the same time.  I really want to see more real women on screen, and more stories about women who reflect us and not an idealized Cameron Diaz in “[The] Mask” version of us.  Fully Loaded is about two women who look and talk like ladies we might meet any day dealing with relationships, kids, friendship and their sense of who they are.   

KM:  You've assembled what seems to be such an amazing team around you, from the cast which includes Ana Gasteyer, David Koechner and Wendy McLendon-Covey, to the executive producers, who are your husband, Adam McKay, and your brother, Jeremy Piven.  How do you go about assembling a team around your script, and do you purposely seek out opportunities to work with friends and family?

SP: This movie kind of just happened.  Then it took as much work as I’ve ever put into any creative endeavor in my life.  My brother, who is so supportive of my stuff put up the very first money for the movie.  Adam doesn’t just make friends of people he has worked with, he makes devoted good friends, so Dave and Ana jumped at the chance to work a few days on Fully Loaded.  I attribute that to Adam’s good nature, and of course the script attracted people.  (Wendy was recommended by our casting director and we got very lucky and wish we could have used more of her!) It was Adam’s idea to turn the play version of Fully Loaded into a screenplay.  We ran with it.  I was looking for a first feature and this was perfect.  Most of it was made though on our own with people we had to trust and work with for the first time.  This too can be a challenge, especially on a super low budget indie where people are not always getting paid for their labor.

KM:  You've worked for many years in theater and film, and you come from a family of actors/directors with whom you have also worked over the years.  In my day job, I work with my sisters and parents at an educational foundation, and it can be challenging enough without being in a furiously creative environment like theater or film, but can also be a lot of fun.   Do you have a groove you fall into when you work with your husband or brother?  Does the creative dynamic between spouses or siblings ever get in the way of the project? 

SP: Wow—I think working with family is incredibly challenging, but I’ve also done it my whole life.  Adam was less used to it than I was, and sometimes I had to make sure I was on good behavior so he could see that it is fine and good to work with family.  It is tricky with a spouse 'cause you have to go home and have dinner together--but we are drawn to certain similar projects and if it overlaps with family, so be it.  I knew it could work 'cause I had lived it before.  I watched my parents run a theatre together as husband and wife for over 30 years.  I do sometimes feel guilty asking Jeremy to do PR stuff, 'cause he is the guy people want to hear from and he is the most tapped out. 

KM:  With your background in theater, do you find yourself drawing on any specific techniques you've learned, either as an actor or director, when making a film?  Does your approach to directing or writing differ based on the medium in which you're working?

SP:  I like that question.  I am in the middle of figuring it out.  At this moment I feel that film and theatre are very much the same.  The logistical process is different, but the creative process is very very similar.  I am finding that all my fears about being a filmmaker are slowly starting to recede as I find I can tap into all my strengths as a theatre director.  I am enjoying the process of filmmaking so much, and so much more than I imagined I would.  It is a bit like a visual artist who has worked in oils turning to printmaking, or even water-colors, it is a variation on a certain kind of expression.  In making a play [I] like to find a lot of it together with actors in a room. Adam recently said on the set of Anchorman 2 that once you get on set what is left is only about 35 percent of things--the other 65 has been discovered already through casting, choice of DP, production designer, and of course the script is written.  This is a new concept for me, so I am learning how to experiment in the pre-production process, to play and improvise in that part of the process so I won’t miss being able to endlessly experiment on set, which is of course impossible. 

KM:  As a movie lover and someone who works in marketing, I encourage filmmakers to consider marketing as an integral part of what they do, and that it can be an authentic process rather than presented as some kind of schtick.  Do you have any advice you can offer to filmmakers on how to put themselves out there and build an audience for their work and themselves?

SP: Hmm--another great question.  Probably just to love your film and be clear what it is about.  Be able to talk about the core emotional idea of the movie in a way that excites you and it will excite others. Be realistic about what people respond to and without dumbing down the idea of the film, make it very simple.  It is a big cliché, but it helps to be able to tell the idea simply and clearly in a few sentences.

KM:  Can you give us a little taste of your next project?  I know it stars Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell, and just based on that, I already want to see it!

SP:  Well, Kristen Wiig is attached as the lead, but we don’t know yet if Will Farrell will act in it.  He and Adam’s company Gary Sanchez Productions are producing it.  It is an incredible amazing wonder of an original screenplay about a woman with borderline personality disorder who wins the lottery (300 or so million)  and buys herself her own TV show--basically a talk/variety show all about herself.  It is a very grounded dark comedy about a woman trying to find her own voice yet choosing a forum that goes right to the heart of the most narcissistic side of our culture. 

KM:  Thank you so much for your time, Shira, you’re always welcome back to Her Film Project.  I wish you the best of luck with Fully Loaded and your future projects! 

__________________

Visit the Fully Loaded website and follow on Facebook at fb.com/fullyloadedthefilm and Twitter @filmfullyloaded.  Follow Shira Piven on Twitter @ShiraPiven.

Watch Fully Loaded for free now at Hulu!

by Kyna Morgan

In July 2012, I attended a film festival on Waiheke Island outside of Auckland, New Zealand.  Invited by a colleague who worked for a big film organization at the time and helped organize the event, this was the first ever festival of films made by Maori women.  Named the Whiti Whitiāhua Wāhine: Māori Women's Film Festival, it was part of the nationwide Matariki Festival which ran for several weeks.  Several of the filmmakers attended and introduced their work, among them Kararaina Rangihau who is devoted to making films in the Maori language.  On the ferry leaving the island for Auckland, I was able to catch a few minutes with her so she could talk about her film, Taku Rakāu e, which explores the story behind a well-known waiata (a Maori song that preserves the wisdom and knowledge of ancestors).  Rangihau's film was produced by the late Merata Mita, the legendary and extraordinarily influential filmmaker.  Mita was one of the earliest Maori women filmmakers and helped to influence many filmmakers both within and outside of New Zealand.

by Lotus Wollschlager

Tiny Furniture, a film by Lena Dunham, is set in New York City and follows the life of Aura.  She has just gotten out of a long term relationship and graduated from college.  She moves home with her Mom and younger sister to get her bearings.  Her mother (played by her real life mother) is a well-known artist that photographs miniature things, including furniture.  She is an aspiring filmmaker and had already released a few things online during college.  Her younger sister Nadine (her real life younger sister) gives her a hard time about being home and keeps letting her know about rules to follow at home.

Aura rekindles a childhood friendship with Charlotte after seeing her at a party.  Her mother thinks she is a bad influence and doesn’t want Aura hanging out with her.  Charlotte helps her get a job at a nearby restaurant as a day hostess where she has to answer the phones and take reservations.  She meets Keith, a sous chef, who is standoffish at first but gets interested once he finds out that her friend Charlotte can get him some Vicodin.  He asks her to meet up with him after work to hook him up with the drugs and he stands her up.  She ends up giving him another chance after he shows up to her art show.

She also meets Jed at the same party that she first spotted Charlotte.  He does some comedy bits on YouTube and is in town from Chicago on a business trip.  Her Mom and sister are gone for the week looking at colleges so she offers to let him stay at her place.  She persuades her mom to let him stay a few more nights but she finally kicks him out after he gets a bit too comfortable.  He is a bit of a moocher and doesn’t really seem like he really had any plans of finding another place to stay while in town.

The film won the Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival.  Tiny Furniture is somewhat autobiographical because Dunham’s mother (Laurie Simmons) really is an artist and uses interesting objects, such as dollhouses, in her photography.  I appreciated the writing style and authenticity that Lena Dunham brought to the film.  I mean, who hasn’t fumbled along at some point in their life while trying to figure out how they fit in the world?  Her main character has a pity party for herself at times but manages to make an effort to keep putting herself out there.