Film Invasion LA 2020 – Happenstance
Christina attends a birthday party intending to make a big impression; but when she dances with a childhood friend, old feelings return. Is their friendship worth risking for romance?
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Actor Emily Kirk
Watch Happenstance on the filmmaker’s website
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I suppose the truest reason why I began making Happenstance was to challenge myself and tell a classic type of story with different kinds of leads. As a performer I'm constantly cast to play character parts living in extremes: very funny (wisecracker always making jokes) or very emotional (with full vulnerability and plenty of ugly crying). I have never had issues with being a character actor, but I had grown to a point where I felt I wasn't feeling honestly challenged as an actor. When I reflected on something that could be truly difficult and challenging for me I came to the conclusion: "What if I played the straight woman in a romance?" Of course when I say the "straight woman" I didn't necessarily mean it in the comedic story sense, but more as the woman that can be soft and allow a romantic moment to take hold of her without deflecting to a sense of humor or joke. It may not sound challenging to some, but to be that kind of woman is a different kind of vulnerability I had never been able to experience in performing. In my personal life, I absolutely have experienced romance, but I'd never shared that side of me with an audience because it always felt like that was never wanted. I was a great fit to make them laugh or cry, but an audience would never have interest in feeling the butterflies in my stomach or experience me in a romantic or sexy setting.
At that point, I decided I would write a simple romantic scene to see if I could even do it. However, after spending all of that time writing it and making the script as nostalgic and heartfelt as I wanted, another artist said that my Christina character should address how she's different and the Keith character should explain why he's attracted to her when they're both so physically different (since they maybe wouldn't be matched together considering society's beauty definitions). I thought about this and stating that we needed an explanation for their attraction just made me angry and frustrated. In real life, people don't have to explain their attractions like that, but for some reason, in film we have to? That was when I decided I needed to show this story and make it a real short film, not just a scene for a reel. I had to stick to my guns and exhibit Christina and Keith the way I wanted to. I had faith that if we presented the story as honest, romantic and real as I'd imagined, the audience wouldn't need to have the attraction and physical traits be dealt to them with kid gloves. Finishing my script and knowing how I wanted to play Christina, it was then I decided that to best control my story, I'd have to also produce and direct Happenstance.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
As an artist who put so much of myself into Happenstance, I know this answer could sound bias, but I want to state that I'm an enormous lover of film and romance so my standards are high. Happenstance is not only a fresh take on the romantic genre, but it allows the audience to recall the excitement of a first crush and reveals that magical moments can happen in our ordinary lives without grand romantic gestures. I'm so proud of how our Director of Photography, Chris Van Valey, really captures the closeness and intimacy in the dance. I don't know of many stories that boldly allow the audience to be as involved in the dance as the characters are, but we did not shy away from showing that feeling of warmth and moments of timidness. I also would be remiss if I did not remark on Devin Johnson's score. I've found myself bored with scores that just rely on forcibly leading an audience or telling them how they're supposed to be feeling; but I love a score that is able to surprise and move in a delicate and subtle way. I'm confident his score is unpredictable and takes our seemingly simple story to another level. Not only can his music be appreciated by audience members, but to filmmakers and other artists as well. Last but certainly not least, I believe our leading man, Christian Sullivan, has serious star power and is able to really bring Keith to life. I believe he portrays the character as relatable and unwavering about his wants and needs without requiring long monologues and extraneous dialogue. There is no question about his feelings for Christina and I think a performance like this shows to audiences and filmmakers that he's unafraid to be part of telling new and exciting stories.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The underlying power of the romance genre is the universally shared desire that we all have in wanting to be loved. The theme of most romances is this idea that "love can conquer all" and I wanted to explore this concept of love always being there, but that perhaps it won't come to light until specific timing and circumstances in our lives. Through friendship, there has always been love between Christina and Keith, but until this night it's never been allowed to be explored. The two of them were never able to see it all and be able to make sense of it until this exact moment.
I believe this theme is personal and universal, because whether it's right or wrong, we've all had those realizations about loving people (sometimes people that we've known for most of our lives) that occurred during specific timing and circumstances. It's not guaranteed that this exact story could happen to anyone, but this theme certainly can. This theme can be considered magical but very believable and attainable to the average person.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
First of all, the script began with a totally different title "Red Dress" which absolutely didn't fit. I think I initially was too busy being misdirected by the idea of needing Christina to be sexy. I was thinking I had to make the story revolve around that idea, however, it just reeked of the ugly duckling tropes we'd seen in films like She's All That and Breakfast Club. I also don't mind admitting that the original drafts of the script were too self-aware and I was guilty of falling back on a "quirky" dialogue with both Christina and Keith. It didn't feel real. The biggest evolution of the script honestly was just cutting and simplifying. The story was stronger once I got rid of unnecessary lines and just relied on the moments that were pivotal to Keith and Christina's story.
Due to circumstances, I also ended up editing my film which helped me to better see the evolution of the story as well. I was able to really allow moments on screen to breathe much more than they ever did in the script. Even though I didn't necessarily cut lines from the edited version of the film, the pacing evolved so differently with the party than I'd imagined when writing it. As an editor I wanted Christina to get through the party much faster and get the conversation going with Keith much quicker. Until Happenstance, I'm not sure if I'd ever fully comprehended how much films tremendously evolve in all of the different stages of production. Now I definitely do!
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Our feedback has been very positive, starting with being a finalist in the Florence Film Awards and then receiving Best First-Time Filmmaker from the Alternative Film Festival. This felt amazing, but it got so much better to actually experience our film with an audience on the big screen at the Shore to Shore Film Festival in Glendale, California (just before the Shelter in Place began). There we could actually hear audiences reactions during the film and then talk to them about it afterwards.
We were told by audience members that Happenstance made them feel good and that it was a nice escape from a lot of the dark and gritty content they'd been watching recently. They explained that our film helped to remind them that there is still magic and beautiful things in the world that we can look for and count on. At the festival, we were overjoyed to receive the award for Best Romance and were later told by a festival judge that, as an audience member, they were able to feel truly satisfied. They stated that Happenstance felt as though the audience had always been following these two characters' journeys for a long time and the ending was what they'd all been waiting for. Including these remarks, I was overjoyed to hear from multiple women that it felt so unique and awesome to see a leading woman that they could relate to in an emotional and physical way.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think the feedback and awards have reaffirmed that audiences are ready to see much more diversity in the types of leading characters in stories. As much as productions want to rely on what's safe and what has "always worked", we should really give the audience more credit and show them new things. We can show a fat woman on screen as a traditional leading lady and the film won't explode!
Showing these different kinds of character's stories without so much explanation and relying on overdone ideas like "But she's SO FUNNY! That's why he's attracted to her even though she's fat" could really change things around and flip the script. Beauty standards have been changing through the years so why can't we show that in film also? Artists like Lizzo and Rebel Wilson are sexy not only because of their talent but because of their style and how they carry themselves! Let's see it more in film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'd love to not only be able to expose our film to more audiences but also be able to connect with more artists and producers to work with in the future. I've begun the process of writing my first feature (that was heavily influenced by Happenstance) and I want continue upping the ante!
I'm hoping that people will see all that is behind Happenstance and understand my team's hard work, passion and talent. We created our film on a very minimal budget, so I can only imagine what we could do with more resources.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
A lovely scenario would be having more film festivals screen Happenstance to share it with even more audiences; journalists wanting to review our film and help showcase the immense talent on my team; and producers who are able to understand what we've already accomplished and how much more we could do if given the resources!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Romance films are underrated and they're very near and dear to my heart. Being a stand-up comedian, I’m frustrated that they've become lumped into two extremes: romantic comedy or epic drama. I believe there is an audience out there who wants to see a love story that can exist in both worlds. Happenstance shows an honest portrayal of what I think many people find romantic- acceptance that is also admiration. These characters not only accept each other’s merits and flaws, but they admire those qualities and couldn’t imagine that person any other way. Classifying the characters in this way helps reveal that the most precious moments are best because they are flawed and not perfect.
Christina is not a skinny woman and Keith is not a tall man. In the current film environment, these are not physical traits of people cast as romantic leads. Many films and television shows that have a large woman character romantically involved with a smaller man have to stress how funny she is because that’s the only reason why he could possibly be attracted to her. However, if the roles are reversed (Ex: Flintstones, Knocked Up, etc.), society has no problem believing the relationship. My goal was to show these characters authentically interested in each other without falling on old ideals and caricatures. The attraction is understood between Keith and Christina and the audience doesn’t need an explanation of why a man like him is into a woman like her. I hope that audiences can really take this story in and know that there are storytellers out there trying to better represent the everyman and find the beauty in the ordinary.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Can a fat woman be a romantic lead without relying on her being hilarious?
Would you like to add anything else?
Happenstance is about how impactful a moment can be. It shines a spotlight on the comfort of nostalgia and recalling feelings of a first crush, but also the thoughts of inadequacy that tag along with it. The cinematography is meant to be incredibly close and sensual; allowing the audience to be as involved in the dance as Keith and Christina.
This was a beautiful challenge and I hope that audiences embrace and enjoy it as much as my team of artists and I loved creating it.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Due to the shelter-in-place, many of our team members are currently working on passion projects from home and preparing and coordinating for future projects!
Christian Sullivan can be seen starring in the award-winning short films, Buttons the Great (dir. Noah Marger) and Playing Ourselves (dir. by Nicolas Alayo) and loves acting in theatrical productions as well as film! He also performs with the up-and-coming Los Angeles band, Temple Monarc.
Chris Van Valey is currently working on a handful of upcoming projects and we're excited to see the vision he brings!
Devin Johnson recently scored Blinders (dir. by Tyler Savage) which is currently playing in festivals. Upcoming films scored by Devin include Maestro and Anima Us (both dir. by Eva Doležalová) and Three Toy Indians (dir. by Keene McRae).
Emily Kirk recently appeared in Oxygen Network's Accident, Suicide or Murder, starred in the feature films Blinders (dir. by Tyler Savage) and Vengeance Girl (dir. by Brialynn Massie), will be starring as a principal character in Atypical Artists' storytelling podcast, The College Tapes (dir. by Lauren Shippen) and is currently working on writing her first feature film.
Interview: May 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Happenstance
Christina attends a birthday party intending to make a big impression; but when she dances with a childhood friend, old feelings return. Is their friendship worth risking for romance?
Length: 6:44
Director: Emily Kirk
Producer: Emily Kirk
Writer: Emily Kirk
About the writer, director and producer:
EMILY KIRK is an actor, comedian and (award-winning) filmmaker based in LA. Including Happenstance, she's starred lead in Vengeance Girl (feature) and Farah (short) and performs in comedy clubs throughout LA. Emily is also proud to have produced and starred in Closer: A Scene Reimagined that shows Alice and Dan as women. Coming Soon: Oxygen Network's Accident, Suicide or Murder (feature film), Blinders and performing on the storytelling podcast, The College Tapes from Atypical Artists.
Key cast: Christian Sullivan (Keith), Emily Kirk (Christina)
Looking for: producers, film festival directors, journalists
Facebook: Happenstance
Twitter: @GettinKirked
Instagram: @happenstanceshort
Hashtags used: #shortfilm #indiefilm #filmmaking #romance #drama #nostalgia #dance #fresh #new #bodypositive #womeninfilm #womandirector #emilynkirk #christiansullivan #happenstance #happenstanceshort #happenstanceshortfilm
Website: www.happenstanceshort.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-funded with additional funding from Karen Lee (Emily Kirk's mother)
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Film Invasion Los Angeles/ Sherman Oaks, CA (Online); MayDay Film Festival/ Evansville, IN (Online)