BABYSITTING ANDY Directed By Pat Mills

Indie Express: Tell us about your film?

Pat: Babysitting Andy – a silly little short film about a girl who wants to know what “fellatio” means.

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

P: When I was a kid, I took swimming lessons at a Tennis and Lawn bowling Club.  One day, I invited myself watch  a group of teens play table-Galaga.  Being video-game  playing teens, one of them casually made reference to a “blowjob”- regular teen talk.. I, being 8, had no idea what it meant. So naturally, I went around to everyone at the club, asking them what a “blowjob” was – my swimming instructor, the uptight tennis instructors, the countless lawn bowling senior citizens.  Of course, nobody told me – they became embarrassed and refused to define it.. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if they just told me. I could have handled knowing what a blowjob was at 8. 

IE: How did you assemble your production team?

P: My Producer, Alyson Richards is a genius.  She pretty much assembled the crew – I got some good friends to work on the film as well. It’s always easier when some friends are there.

IE: How did you find your cast? 

P: It was VERY difficult, given the subject matter.  We put out a casting call and ended up going Union (Actra).  When Tatum walked in, it was a relief. She nailed it!  I always loved Linda Kash’s work, so we offered her the role.

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

P: I wrote the film in 2004, shot it in 2005 and it marinated in a lengthy post-production for way-too-long.. We finally finished it in March of 2007 and had its first official screening at the Bahamas Int’l Film Festival last fall.

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

P: I tend to develop an unrecoverable embarrassment of films I’ve done. Before locking the Babysitting Andy script, I went through the script with a sharpie and crossed out every line that might embarrass me later. Of course, I should have been more energetic with that Sharpie – there’s always a line that shouldn’t have been in there..

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

P: The heat.  It was bloody hot and humid and while we were shooting, we had to turn the air conditioning off because it was loud.

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

P: We had the Andy character eating sugar.  We shot several takes and she actually kept eating the sugar.  You know what happens after a kids eat sugar – they crash. Also, she kept smoking between takes. That was funny.  But you can’t get me in trouble for that – they were fake.

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

P: It seems to be playing well. I heard the first screening went over well at Frameline, which I love!  It seems to be playing at both “queer” and “straight” festivals.

IE: What is next for the film?

P: It’s playing at the Montreal World Film Festival, Outfest and Philadelphia.  We’re still sending it out. It’s being distributed by the CFMDC - Canadian Filmmaker’s Distribution Centre.

IE: What question would you like to be asked about your film? 

P: Who was the Production Assistant?

IE: What is the Answer to that question?

P: Ed! He was amazing and helpful!