PALM SPRINGS SHORTFEST - Tattoo You
When two women from the same town, yet with very different backgrounds, re-connect in the bathroom at their 20th high school reunion, their troubled past breaks the cool veneer of the present.
Interview with Writer Lisa Kenner Grissom
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Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thanks so much! Tattoo You is based on my award-winning one-act play that’s been seen by audiences across the country. After every performance, people would approach me and share their personal experiences with bullying. It became very confessional, which fascinated me. It was then that I realized — there’s more here.
I realized that this story was sparking a new conversation about the impact of bullying into adulthood, which is a perspective that doesn’t get a lot of attention in the media. I felt that the best way to continue this conversation was to make the film.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
After seeing the film, people always tell me how relateable the characters are. How they knew a “Tammy” or a “Rachel” from their own high school experience. So I think you will identify with either or both of the characters, which is actually the gateway to a larger conversation about forgiveness and empathy. Oh—and it’s also funny. With some great Boston accents.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
They go hand in hand really. We enter the story through the personal, through Rachel and Tammy. So as audience members, we put ourselves in their shoes. But very quickly, as we watch the past crash into the present, we are immediately drawn into these universal questions – what is the cost of holding on to the past? Can we truly move on from a trauma, or are we destined to feel its reverberations forever? Can we forgive? Is retribution ever justified?
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
The script is very close to the play in terms of the characters and the dialogue. Director S.R. (Robb) Bindler and I talked about how to find a visual language to express these ideas. We wanted to show the affects of bullying in a visceral, visual way as the play had done with words. So we decided to focus on the space where our two characters confront each other—the high school bathroom. The bathroom is like a third character in the film.
We landed on the idea that this space had swallowed up years of violence and negativity into its pipes and plumbing. And, on this particular day, all that darkness and repressed anger, rage and injury explodes. This visual metaphor took the film to a darker place than I imagined when I wrote the play. I love where it goes. It takes the story to a whole new level in terms of psychological impact.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been incredible. Just like the play, people approach me after every screening and want to share their stories. Audiences respond to the subject matter because it opens up the space for people to talk, maybe for the first time, about their repressed pasts. For me, that’s what art is supposed to do—inspire us to dig deep, become vulnerable and share a piece of ourselves in a communal way.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback has reinforced what my intuition had been all along—that this story inspires an important conversation. If anything, I feel challenged to create more content around the film. We are working on a platform where people will be able to share their experiences, and have the opportunity to turn their stories into art, whether by making a film or video, or creating a piece of visual art.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Ideally, we are looking for a distribution partner to help the film reach the widest audience possible. We’d love to screen at more festivals as well, hopefully internationally.
The next step is to create the platform for people to share their personal stories and to use those experiences as a springboard for creativity. We need partners and resources to help us do that! We are grateful for this opportunity to get the word out.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are looking for distribution channels. There are many digital platforms that are showcasing female-centric stories and content with female creators in key positions, as is the case with Tattoo You.
Film festival directors would be a great help in terms of expanding the audience for the film. And of course, we could certainly use the assistance of journalists and the media to further the conversation.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like Tattoo You to have global impact and I think that is entirely possible. This story is universal and I believe it could be screened anywhere. The thought of having a global conversation about the impact of bullying into adulthood is one that I think we all need to have, wherever we live.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Here are a few: Is it possible to truly forgive those who have caused us trauma or harm?
Do the perpetrators of wrongdoing deserve forgiveness?
What is the cost of repression?
Would you like to add anything else?
If anyone is interested in sharing a personal story, please get in touch!
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Lisa Kenner Grissom is developing a digital series and has several theatrical projects in the works.
S.R. Bindler is working on a documentary project and developing a feature.
Noam Dromi is developing content for digital and virtual reality platforms.
Social Media links: www.tattooyouthefilm.com Facebook: tattooyouthefilm
Interview: June 2016
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If you found 'Tattoo You' interesting we recommend Frenemy about teenage bullying.
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. 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
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Tattoo You
When two women from the same town, yet with very different backgrounds, re-connect in the bathroom at their 20th high school reunion, their troubled past breaks the cool veneer of the present.
Length: 8:20 Mins
Director: S.R. (Robb) Bindler
Producer: Noam Dromi, Lisa Kenner Grissom
Writer: Lisa Kenner Grissom
About the writer, director and producer:
Lisa Kenner Grissom – Writer/Producer - Lisa Kenner Grissom is an award-winning Los Angeles-based writer and producer. Her work has been recognized by The Kennedy Center, The O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, The Lark and The Actors Theatre of Louisville, among others. www.lisakennergrissom.com
S.R. (Robb) Bindler – Director - Robb (S.R.) Bindler is an award-winning director whose critically lauded film debut, Hands on a Hardbody, was a festival hit around the country and won the AFI Audience Award for Best Documentary. http://srbindler.com
Noam Dromi – Producer - Noam Dromi is the Co-President of Legion of Creatives (LOC), multimedia entertainment studio specializing in digital first programming that targets under-served audiences. Noam is the winner of the 2015 Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media as producer of the Sleepy Hollow Virtual Reality Experience. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0238247/
Key cast: Christina Kirk – Rachel - Christina Kirk’s film credits include Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda and Ira Sachs' Love Is Strange. She starred on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize winning play Clybourne Park and is currently set to play Jackie in the upcoming DC Comics TV series Powerless.
Jenica Bergere – Tammy - Jenica Bergere has appeared as a network TV series regular in both comedies and dramas and has an extensive film resume. Most recently, Bergere wrote, starred, directed and produced the independent feature Come Simi (Winner of Best Filmed Screenplay at 2015 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival 2015) and is a series regular on Shameless.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): All of the above!
Funders:
Tattoo You was crowdfunded through Indiegogo with over 270 individual donors. The project has non-profit 501(c) 3 status through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas. Big thanks to all of our supporters.
Made in association with: Fugue Films and Legion of Creatives
Release date: March 2016
Where can I watch it at Dances With Films and in the next month?
DWF – June 5 at 5 pm at Mann’s Chinese 6 http://danceswithfilms.com
The Berkshire International Film Festival – June 3 and 4 http://www.biffma.org
Palm Springs International Shorts Fest – June 21-27 – Screening dates TBD https://www.psfilmfest.org
HollyShorts
Rhode Island International Film Festival