A WOMANS WORK

Directed By Chad Benton

Indie Express: Tell us about your film? 

My film, Woman’s Work, is about a housewife who accidentally discovers that she is a superhero.

IE: How did you come up with the idea for the film? 

There seemed to be a run on superhero films a few years ago and the notion of humanizing them seemed very attractive to me.  What better way to show that than set them in the very heart of a happy family.  Also, a friend of mine was talking to me about her feminism in film class and said the camera, when it sees a naked woman, stops telling the story and becomes merely an observer.  That always bugged me.  With that guilt in mind, I wanted to take that concept and sort of work it out with a superhero. 

IE: How did you assemble your production team? 

Honestly, the main member of my production team was my DP, Tiffany Laufer.  I knew her from her days at the AFI.  Fortunately for me, as I was unable to pay, she said I was in luck:  “I have two more weeks before I need to get a money job.”  The rest of my small crew was made of friends from work and former film school students doing anything and everything, often at the same time.  For some reason I was unable to get any Production Designers to return my calls, even when pay was offered.  So, Tiffany and I did it ourselves! 

The one other key member of the team came in after production.  I met Aaron Sowd, the illustrator, through another friend of mine.  I was desperate for a talented artist to help me finish the artwork needed to tell the story.  He watched what we had created so far and got involved immediately.

IE: How did you find your cast? 

I knew several actors in town that I wanted to work with.  Outside my circle of friends, the rest of the casting was found via the internets, or as Sen. Ted Stephens calls it, “A series of tubes.”

IE: How long did the film take?  (From conception to final edit) 

The initial idea came about around the summer of 2000.  A script was written, greatly appreciated, then put away cuz I had no monies.  Then I thought I’d be a musician.  After that, the script came back to haunt me.  After one failed attempt to get it started, it finally took flight in Aug. 2004.  The next four years were spent working on the edit, music and all the illustrations (90% done by Aaron Sowd).  Maybe too much time for a short film, but it all seemed necessary at the time and the very worthwhile in the endgame.  There was no pressure to finish as it was my pet project so I explored every option I could muster.

IE: Tell us a little about your process of directing (writing) this film. 

Writing the piece came very easy.  The ideas came out very quickly.  It’s a rare occasion for me to have such a story spill out faster than I can write it.  The idea seemed so strong that all these ideas tumbled out at once.  Then, I made sure the story of the family was clear and concise and cut away the fat.

Directing.  Apart from the limited time allowed to work, the process was very enjoyable.  The actors I got to work with were so good it was just a matter of pointing them in the right direction and letting them go, go go!  I often times used takes where they threw out the script and said what they wanted to say.  By that point, they had the idea of what I wanted, internalized it than did it their way.  It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

IE: What was the most difficult part of the shoot for you? 

By no stretch of anyone’s imagination do I consider my self a producer.  But, I knew I was not going to get anyone else to do this but me.  This meant trying to use the rational, practical, pragmatic side of my brain in order to get the show off the ground.  Assembling, managing a small “start-up business” like this film shoot is no easy task (esp. when I didn’t even do with a cell phone!) but I forced myself to get it ready so I could then work with the actors, arrange the shots needed, and, my favorite, cut the footage together to tell the story I had in mind.

IE: Any particular moments from filming that stand out for you?

We were filming a very important scene that takes place near the end of the story.  Husband and wife reconcile in bed.  It was very intimate, personal, quiet and very important.  We’re under the gun with time – I’m also thinking about the establishing shot I need on the other side of town before sunset.  We’re about to shoot when Treisa and Chris, the actors, told me they didn’t feel comfortable with the lines.  I didn’t want to force them to hurry, I’d trusted everything they had done so far.  I realized there was something I could shoot in the other room and said, “I’ll give you ten minutes!” and ran out with the DP, leaving them to themselves to rewrite my scene.

We came back and they were ready.  As the scene was so quiet, I had to turn the monitor off - too noisy.  The lighting forced everyone to stay low or they’d throw shadows, so I had to duck below the bed.  So, for the scene that had just been re-written by the actors, I was now unable to see them or look at them.  I could only listen to the scene they had just made better by a country mile.

IE: Tell us about the film’s festival experience so far?

 We first got into The Hollywood Black Film Festival at the beginning of the summer.  Since then it’s been seeing more of the US than I have:  it’s shown in San Francisco,  San Diego (Comic Con), Baltimore, Hawaii, Charlotte and New Orleans. 

IE: What are you most looking forward to at the AFI festival? 

A great chance to meet some interesting people and get my own project screened in one of the best theatres in town!

IE: What has been your most interesting Q&A so far?  What was your favorite question?  How was the dialogue afterwards? 

My limited experience with Q&A makes this one hard to answer.  One question with interesting answers is always the “what are you working on now” one.  For my own part, as a person who paid out of pocket to make this project happen, it seems harder now, today, to try and pull off such a task given our current financial climate.  Anyone who gets their films made under their own terms deserves praise!

IE: What films or filmmakers inspire you?

Growing up it was all things Marx Brothers.  To them I add:  Woody Allen, Jacques Tati, Kubrick, anything by Louis Theroux and Sidney Lumet.  In particular:  Celiene And Julie Go Boating, The Holy Mountain, The Conversation, A Day With The Boys, just to name a few off the top of my head…

IE: What made you decide to become a filmmaker?

 It was a book.  A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.  Every moment in that story seemed to leap off the page for me as clearly as any film I’d ever seen.  It was perfect.  The idea of taking an idea, mine or anyone else’s, and translating it to the screen seemed to be the ultimate goal.  I had to learn how…

IE: What is next for you? 

I’m writing a script at the moment and outlining another.  I also love music so I’m working on a few songs.  I don’t sing so I’d like to find a vocalist one day to come in once the songs are constructed and give them life.

IE: What is next for the film?

Festivals never stop.  We’re still waiting on other fests with later deadlines.  Festival do have expiration dates, so I’d hope it has some more life in it before it’s no longer eligible for consideration.

IE: If asked to give one piece of advice to a new filmmaker making their first short film… What would it be? 

Be willing to let anything happen.  It is never how you wrote it, it is never looks the same after you shoot raw footage, it’s never the same after your first edit.  It’s a living, breathing entity and you must let it mature in the way it want to grow.

IE: What are your favorite short films currently on the festival circuit? (Like your short film playlist) 

I rarely get to see short films that are running right now.  Like Palin - Sarah, not Michael! - I’ll have to get back to you on that one, eh?