Melbourne Underground Film Festival - Swipe Left
Tinder meets The Hunger Games when a group of singles download a new dating app.
Interview with Writer/Director Caroline McQuade
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I was fascinated by how the advent of dating apps has created a dating dystopia of sorts; a world where there is an illusion of limitless choice, superficial rejection, and an increasing disposability of people.
Erasing someone from your life has become effortlessly easy; just swipe/press a button. My film, Swipe Left explores how far people are willing to go when they are given the option to easily and permanently eradicate their date.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I wanted to make a fun film to watch that was highly relatable, but that also explored deeper themes in a darkly comedic way.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
In the 1960's a psychological study, the Milgram Experiment, was conducted on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. The results of the study found that the majority of people would administer fatal electric shocks if instructed to do so by a figure of authority. In my film, Swipe Left, the dating coaches are those figures of authority.
Most people have been rejected and/or have rejected someone at one point in their lives, but how often is this done directly to the person's face? Would you do it if it permanently eradicated them? If you were instructed to do so? If your own life was at risk?
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I re-wrote the script a lot! I'm a big believer in script being king, so it was important to me to have a really solid script. Before we went into pre-production, I entered the script into a couple of screenwriting competitions to gauge the level it was at.
As a first-time director, it was a somewhat ambitious endeavour, with a large cast and complex special effects, but the end result was absolutely how I'd envisaged it. During the process of making the film, I discovered exactly how much of a collaboration filmmaking is. It was very much a team effort and there was a beautiful camaraderie on set.
I was also lucky enough to have an exceptional editor, Paul Black, who managed to workaround all my rookie mistakes!
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The film has been very positively received. It's been selected for a wide range of festivals. It premiered in New York at Long Beach International Film Festival. Won Best Drama/Comedy Short at The Indie Gathering Film Festival and Best Dark Comedy at Top Shorts Film Festival. It has been nominated for numerous awards, including Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Special FX.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Directing was not something I had considered before I made Swipe Left. I was predominately an actor and writer. However, the feedback I've received has really encouraged me to explore directing.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'd like to increase overall exposure for my work, which ideally will create opportunities to secure funding for future films. I'm just about to go into pre-production for my next film, Antique Heroes. The script for this was recently selected from over 1000 entries as one of 10 finalists in New York Screenplay Competition. Like Swipe Left, it's fun on the surface, but explores deeper themes of ageing, dementia, and hero worship, in a darkly comedic way.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
It's pretty much exceeded any expectations I had around the reception it would receive - I'm thrilled with how it's performed.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
If you were given the option to easily and permanently dispose of a date, would you?
Would you like to add anything else?
I'd like to make special mention of two people that were instrumental in helping me make Swipe Left. The first is my producer Mina Maniska. She wasn't just my producer, she was also my sounding board, my support, my advocate. She was involved from inception to completion, and I couldn't have made the film without her.
The other person is Manning Bartlett. Manning is my writing partner. He reads all my first drafts and, without fail, provides invaluable feedback and guidance. He's also a technical genius and was responsible for creating and overseeing the plan for how to achieve the complex special effects we needed in Swipe Left.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Mina Maniska, the producer on Swipe Left is in post production for her film Flowers, which she wrote and directed; I was the lead actor in it, and Paul Black, from Swipe Left, is editing it. We will be entering Flowers into festivals at the start of next year.
Pre-production is starting for my next film, Antique Heroes, which Mina will produce and I will direct. That should hit the festival circuit later next year.
I'm also currently working on writing a feature film script with Manning Bartlett, which will go into production early 2019.
Interview: October 2017
_______________________________________________________________________________
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
_______________________________________________________________________________
Swipe Left
Tinder meets The Hunger Games when a group of singles download a new dating app.
Length: 9 minutes
Director: Caroline McQuade
Producer: Mina Maniska
Writer: Caroline McQuade
About the writer, director and producer:
Caroline McQuade (Writer/Director) is a first time filmmaker and director. She has a bachelor degree in psychology and has always been fascinated by human behaviour. In her first film Swipe Left she explores the notion of emotional and physical disposability of people. Caroline is also a writer and working actor regularly appearing in film and on Australian TV.
Mina Maniska (Producer) originally studied science, but found the pull of creative arts too strong to resist. Her passion for photography led her to study filmmaking at AFTRS. She came on board as the producer for Swipe Left and subsequently wrote and directed her first film, Flowers, which is currently in post production.
Key cast: Ensemble: Izzy Stevens, Jay Kallaway, Michael Faustman, Georgina Neville, Andrew Spencer, Melissa Brattoni, Mona Rhys, Adam Hedditch, Natalie Rose, George Mulis, Emma Jensen, Mark Herisson
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swipeleftfilm/
Where will the film screen in the next month?
Melbourne Underground Film Festival 30th October