'Queer Futures' Directors Discuss Their New Shorts
Brit Fryer and Noah Schamus, Sasha Wortzel, and Lindsey Dryden on radically imagining future visions of queer life in different ways.
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Earlier this month, the queer- and women-led independent production company, Multitude Films, premiered a series of four short films — together titled Queer Futures — on the Criterion Channel. The collection was intended to “[center] joy and connection to radically imagine future visions of queer life.” The four filmmaking teams took the prompt in a wide array of directions — respectively exploring fat beauty and liberation, gender affirming healthcare, nonbinary ballroom culture, and the anonymous connections of a decades-old LGBTQ hotline. The shorts are coming to Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg on July 1 as a full program with a Q&A.
This week in the newsletter, three of the four filmmaking teams (MnM director Twiggy Pucci Garçon was unavailable) reflect on their filmmaking process, approach to collaboration, what they learned about their given subjects, and more.
The Script
Directed by: Brit Fryer and Noah Schamus
About: Blending personal interviews with dramatized genre recreations, The Script explores the complicated relationship between trans and nonbinary communities and medical providers regarding gender affirming care. With a playful approach toward experimentation, the film invites its participants and its audience to examine the limits of language and the nature of performance in building safe and affirming futures.
What was the starting point for this film and how did it develop from there?
Brit Fryer and Noah Schamus: The Script was born out of lots of discussions that we'd been having over the course of a few years about our experiences as trans and nonbinary people attempting to access gender-affirming care. We would often compare notes about the ways in which we were met with varying degrees of hostility, support, and strangeness. Through these conversations with each other (and with the other trans and nonbinary people in our lives), we dug into the ways in which we felt the need to present palatable narratives of transness to our primary cisgender providers. With Multitude's prompt, asking us to consider queer futurity, we wanted to interrogate the ways in which these dynamics could be challenged or dismantled to allow more space for greater accessibility and nuance in gender-affirming healthcare.
What was your approach to collaboration? And how did your team elevate your ideas in exciting and surprising ways?
This is the second project we have developed together, and our collaboration is rooted in our shared desire to explore a nagging question with others. For this film, we interviewed trans and/or non-binary people to reflect on their experiences in medical settings. We drew from their insights, as well as our own, to draft scripts that highlight the connections and common themes in our stories. Noah took the lead on writing these scripts and working with our actors. Through a rehearsal process with two performers, who switch between the roles of provider and patient, we explored how language and performance intersect in healthcare settings.
Our entire team elevated this film far beyond what we could have imagined. From our production designer Joyce Lai to our DP Peter Quandt, we were incredibly grateful to be collaborating with such thoughtful, kind, and talented artists.
What did you learn through the process — both about the subject at hand and about filmmaking?
We learned that the way "the script" functions is varied and complicated and more or less overt. The thing that unified all these experiences was the way power operates in medical spaces: who is the expert, and who is the medicalized subject? How and when can those hierarchies be broken down? Another major takeaway from making the film was about the importance of bringing together these varied perspectives and experiences and highlighting them together. Through braiding individual experiences into a larger tapestry, we can transform what is essentially a private experience (going to the doctor's office) into a public one that invites critique, improvements, and more holistic integration. In getting the film out into the world, we discovered that it can be a powerful tool to build solidarity among marginalized people who feel connected to how they are seen or unseen in medical settings. It's been a wonderful experience to make those connections and bridge the fight for bodily autonomy for all people.
Tell me about how your collaboration works. How do you make the most of both Brit's doc experience and Noah's narrative experience?
We're both fans of each other's solo work, so our collaboration feels very fluid because there is so much trust, respect, and creative admiration. We always say that we talk in circles about the ideas at the core of our projects, then work to unfurl those ideas and invite others (producers, actors, cinematographers) into the process. We also believe that the boundaries between documentary and fiction are meant to be challenged, so we love blending these worlds together.
What does the future hold for you?
Noah's narrative debut feature, Summer Solstice, opens on Friday, June 14, 2024, at the IFC Center in NYC. We hope to see everyone there! We're also continuing to collaborate on a new project called With Time, which follows a group of trans elders as they embark on a transformative theater workshop in search of meaning and connection among their diverse memories. We're currently in pre-production and are looking forward to hosting the workshop at the core of this film early next year
How to Carry Water
Directed by: Sasha Wortzel
About: This punk rock fairytale doubles as a portrait of Shoog McDaniel — a fat, queer, and disabled photographer working in and around northern Florida’s vast network of freshwater springs, the state’s source of precious drinking water. For over a decade, Shoog’s photographs have transformed the way fat people view themselves and how a fat phobic society views fat bodies. Bringing Shoog’s photography to life, the film immerses audiences in a world of fat beauty and liberation, one in which marginalized bodies — including bodies of water — are sacred.
What was the starting point for this film and how did it develop from there?
Sasha Wortzel: Shoog and I are longtime friends, and we had been interested in finding ways to work together, so when I approached them about Queer Futures it seemed meant to be. Often films about marginalized people focus on the systems that are oppressing us and what is lacking. With HTCW, I wanted to ground the story in what is possible and abundant. I started by writing a whimsical short story inspired by my experiences spending time with the lands and waters where Shoog lives that featured motifs present in their photography: floating in fresh spring waters, picnicking in a flower-filled field, and dancing by the river at night. Next we brought on our production designer Megan Mchugh, a wildly talented New Orleans-based farmer and floral designer to help envision and ultimately fabricate wearable flowers and plants endemic to the area. And I began meticulously shot listing each image in the film with our Director of Photography J. Bennett, who brought a particular sensitivity to the role of light in the project.
What was your approach to collaboration? And how did your team elevate your ideas in exciting and surprising ways?
Our goal was to create a joyous and anti-ableist film production that could also reciprocally provide space for Shoog to produce a new body of still photographs. Shoog and I began by having intentional conversations about what a truly fat-positive and accessible film set would look like. We cast people with whom Shoog had previously worked and built trust. Understanding everyone’s unique access needs was part of the onboarding process. As a non-fat person, I wanted to decenter myself and make space for the conversations on screen to unfold between Shoog and the Chorus. We designed an interview guide together, and Shoog took the lead on interviewing the cast. Also I was so grateful to have a dedicated set medic and dive master with us to support our entire team on safety and comfort.
What did you learn through the process — both about the subject at hand and about filmmaking?
There was a learning moment for me that stands out when I think back. I had shot listed an image of the chorus submerged in the spring with only their eyes above the water line. When we went to compose the shot, I realized that this was actually not as feasible as I had previously imagined because one of the beautiful things about fat bodies is their incredible buoyancy in water. We quickly reconfigured our expectations, and recomposed the image. In that moment, I was grateful to be reminded that as a non-fat director, there are things I don’t know, and that mistakes can be opportunities to grow. I learned how to move more slowly, to pivot quickly when necessary, and how to continue being a better ally to my fat and disabled friends. I also learned to laugh more, to pause, to play, and to let the sun shine on my belly.
Tell me about the on-set accessibility practices you implemented. How would you advise other productions that want to be conscientious on this front?
From the start, we spoke with every cast and crew member about their needs before we went into production, and planned accordingly. We implemented daily access checks, breaks, and prioritized our joy and well-being over perfection. There is no one size fits all to access needs, and they are always in flux, so continual check-ins and adjustments were critical to our goals. My advice to other productions is to prioritize access needs from conception to outreach, build accessibility into the architecture of the entire process, and make sure access accommodations are included in your production’s budget.
What does the future hold for you?
I want to live in a world where we all have our needs met and more, where we all have the time to rest, dream, think, and play; where all life, humans and our more-than human kin, is valued and sacred.
I’m also working on a feature-length documentary about the entwinement of present-day ecological urgency and past colonial violence in the Florida Everglades.
MnM
Directed by: Twiggy Pucci Garçon
About: MnM is an exuberant portrait of chosen sisters Mermaid and Milan, two emerging runway divas in the drag ballroom community. Celebrating their joy, siblinghood, and unapologetic personas, the film explores the power and beauty of being nonbinary in a community that prizes gender ‘realness.’
The Callers
Directed by: Lindsey Dryden
About: The Callers combines anonymous documentary testimony with imagined creative scenes to tell the story of those who have called the oldest queer support line in the UK, seeking guidance on everything from where to find the nearest leather club to how to come out, start a family or mend a broken heart. The film is a love letter to queer memory and possibility, LGBTQ+ community and care, and the power of collective imagination to create the lives we dream of
What was the starting point for this film and how did it develop from there?
Lindsey Dryden: I’ve been a fan of Switchboard LGBT’s work for a very long time, and know so many people in my community who’ve called the helpline over the years; it’s been a source of both practical information and life-changing support. I know it’s the reason that some of us are even still here. So in 2019 I started to explore if there might be stories that Switchboard was keen to tell, and connected with their co-chair at the time, Tash Walker. It turns out they were in the process of working with Adam Zmith and Shivani Dave on a project about the organization, which became the wonderful Log Books podcast.
During 2020, I worked with my fantastic long-term collaborator, Nora Wilkinson, to develop a few ideas, and together with Tash and Adam we started to explore the stories of the listening volunteers. Nora and I began talking to Switchboard volunteers and interviewing them, to see what stories and documentary potential might emerge. We spoke to the most incredible people, and to be honest were captivated immediately by the very unusual and special way volunteers communicate. They’re extraordinary individuals linked by the love they’ve woven around Switchboard. When my brilliant friends at Multitude told me about their plans to make a ‘Queer Futures’ collection of films, we realized we had a project that could be a great fit for all of us. I’ve longed to work with Multitude for years, and so it was a perfect moment to collaborate, and for me to return to directing after a long period focusing on producing.
What was your approach to collaboration? And how did your team elevate your ideas in exciting and surprising ways?
I think my approach generally to collaboration — and this is especially because I come from the doc world, and our job is typically to make extraordinary and ethical things happen with limited resources, a big bunch of courage, and ridiculous optimism — is, let’s bring together the most talented, warm, and positive collaborators, who have a stake in the story and know the world of the film intimately because it connects to their personal experience. Then let’s get really prepared together and do our utmost to make something beautiful that moves us. I use the representational model of filmmaking, as does Multitude, so those things aligned. And we had beautiful moments on location, like when we filmed intimate audio interviews and everyone in the room was queer, and we’d have to take a moment to catch our breath when things got emotional because we all just knew the situation being discussed and felt it in our bones. I think that brings a lot to the filmmaking process. We’re privileged to do this job, and I want to go to work with people with whom those magical moments can happen, because of our shared experience. There’s nothing like exchanging a glance with someone in a queer space because you just know each other’s emotion in that moment.
With this film, I was led by the brilliant Switchboard volunteers who told their stories, then I wrote and prepped in so much detail, and also tried to be flexible about how to make things happen, as my goal is that we have both an amazing outcome and an amazing process (though my producers know that sometimes I'm wildly in love with an idea and will try all kinds of weird ways to achieve it! I was obsessed with phone boxes for months with this film, and there’s still one shot we didn’t get that I would shoot tomorrow if we could afford to drop it into the existing cut). I intentionally don’t use the “A film by Lindsey Dryden” credit because I believe films are always made by total teamwork, with one directorial vision leading. Our entire team made magic happen because they all brought warmth and talent — from the cast who were thoughtful, enthusiastic, and emotionally generous: to the camera team led by DoP Beatriz Sastre, whose images are even more gorgeous than I hoped; to the production design team led by Tin Vlainic, who worked so hard on things like the lifelike replica Switchboard phone room, and were so creative when we had to magic up a new room from nothing. Friends generously contributed their filming locations and kit, a lovely former student of mine shot additional camera, and production assistants like Morenike Besan got us and our kit back and forth all over London. Our editors Viridiana Lieberman (who brought her brilliance to the visual + audio cut) and César Martínez Barba (who cut the audio story with me earlier in the edit) were just the loveliest collaborators. Their buoyant encouragement meant a lot when we were trying to do something ambitious given our budget and timeline. Former Switchboard co-chair Tash came on set and brought this lovely combination of gentleness and deep emotion, especially when we were shooting a reimagining of a call that they themselves received at Switchboard. Working with super-talented producers like Samantha Steele and Colleen Cassingham, and dear creative collaborator Jen Fearnley, was an absolute joy. They just went the extra mile in every way, whether it was finding a way to say yes to so many sets, locations and stories in the film, or shooting sunrises and sunsets with me every day with a smile, or making our set accessible for me as a deaf filmmaker. They’re just the best, and The Callers is testament to the whole team’s creativity, bright energy, and commitment to queer joy.
What did you learn through the process — both about the subject at hand and about filmmaking?
From the very start of the project, I learned about listening in new ways from the listening volunteers at Switchboard, past and present, and their management team too. They really do have a totally unique approach to listening when people call the helpline, and what they’re doing is an act of extraordinary generosity and skill. I’ve always been obsessed with listening, and doing so in my own way because I’m a deaf person (it’s not just about sound for me). So it was profoundly satisfying for me to deepen my understanding of the ways we can listen to each other; I think every single person would benefit from spending time with the rare talents of Switchboard listeners.
I think my big filmmaking lesson from this project was about when it’s useful to get feedback on an audio cut, when you’re writing scenes around the audio story and the emotional arc could still go in a few directions. We workshopped the audio a couple of different times, and in future I’ll know how to time that really strategically. This was a new way of making films for me and much of our team, so it was lovely (and sometimes scary!) to make new discoveries.
This was a big production, with eight built sets and several other locations. Coming from a doc background, what did you learn in employing narrative techniques?
I learned a lot about how game, generous, hard-working and supportive my producers are! It’s been such a privilege to make a short film with this level of production and complexity, and we only made it happen because everyone threw so much passion into creating it. I loved getting to control the light (I often shoot with natural light or small, agile teams and minimal kit when I’m making documentaries), and it was also such a pleasure to bring things to life that I had dreamed up; I felt incredibly lucky watching all these people turn something I’d imagined into reality in front of me. I think doc and narrative techniques aren’t so different in some ways; really, it’s about finding the emotion in a story and finding ways to capture and convey that.
What does the future hold for you?
I’m working on a feature length film about Switchboard now, with development support from Catapult Film Fund. I’m doing a Concordia Fellowship, which is a fantastic creative space. And I’m writing a lot. I just feel delighted that the team at Switchboard really like The Callers, and that we got to build this film team, and we get celebrate how Switchboard’s approach gives us hope for the future.
Listings
From Bucky Illingworth: Have an affordable / sliding scale Super 16mm package available in NYC. It's an Arri SR2, PL Mount, HD tap, 2 mags Otar Illumina Lenses (9.5, 12, 16, 25). Insurance is required for rentals but also open to work as a DP / operator. Just looking to make shooting on film more accessible for people! Email: email@bucky.website.
The short thesis film, Safe In My Skin, is casting right now. It is shooting Upstate New York in late August and early October. This is a paid opportunity and it is open to actors and non-actors. If interested email casting director Manuela at safeinmyskin2024@gmail.com with a photo of you and any links to your previous work! Looking for:
Male Talent / Chinese-American (18 - 25 yrs old) *Must speak Mandarin *Ideally knows how to ride a skateboard
Male Talent / Caucasian (18-25 yrs old)
Female Talent / Caucasian (18-25 yrs old)
Anna Torzullo and Steph Ibarra are hosting a film screening of a collection of shorts at Kaleidoscope on June 21st, to raise money for the production of a short film shooting in Chile this winter. RSVP at this eventbrite (tickets are $17 at the door).
Edward Frumkin is looking for programming, copywriting (like press kits), and administrative/production assistant opportunities. He's an experienced writer who's written for places such as BOMB, IndieWire, The Daily Beast, and The Film Stage, screened for Camden and True/False Film Festivals, and programmed for 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. He was also a driving PA on PJ Raval's upcoming nonfiction project In Plain Sight. He can be reached at edfrumact@gmail.com.
Dan Arnes is looking for full time or part time contract work. He’s an experienced editor, producer, and composer. Check out his work here. Email Arnes.daniel@gmail.com.
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