HollyShorts / Sidewalk Film Festival / DC Shorts Festival 2018 - We Know Where You Live
When a newlywed Latinx couple moves into a trendy, gentrifying LA neighborhood, two hipsters invite themselves over to offer a 'warm welcome.' But as the night goes on, it’s clear these neighbors are not what they seem: cold pressed, cold brewed, and cold blooded.
Interview with Co-writer/Director Honora Talbott
Watch We Know Where You Live here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
After my co-writer Bill Posley and I saw Get Out last year, we left the theater blown away by its genius. We started spitballing ideas for our take on a social thriller and very quickly agreed we wanted to tell a story about the menacing side of gentrification. In Los Angeles, where we live, gentrification and urban displacement are enormous problems that are only exacerbated by LA’s housing crisis. A UCLA study recently showed that LA is actually the most unaffordable city in America. And if rents get raised 5%, which is basically how much rents get raised every year, 2,000 residents will be forced into homelessness. Yes, gentrification may be an incredibly complicated issue, but at least a basic level of morality should be brought to the table.
As a fair warning, the short turned into more of a comedy thriller due to Bill’s and my backgrounds in sketch and stand-up, so don’t be afraid to laugh! But also don’t be afraid to be afraid.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The ending. Stars a diverse cast. Socially relevant. Funny-scary.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
While this is the personal story of a couple - Javi and Mariana - who move into a gentrified neighborhood and have to entertain their hipster neighbors, it’s absolutely an allegory for gentrification and cultural appropriation.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We wrote the script pretty quickly because I wanted to shoot it as soon as possible. I think we wrote the first draft in a week and half and shot it 6 weeks later. As a result, the story didn’t change, just mostly punch ups and dialogue rewrites based on discussions we had with actors Melinna and Maynor that were incredibly valuable. I will say, without giving anything away that the Credits Tag was not in the shooting script.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Most recently We Know Where You Live was selected as a Semi-Finalist for the NBCUniversal Short Film Festival, which we are incredibly excited about. We also won Best Ensemble at the Portland Comedy Film Festival and will screen at three Oscar-qualifying festivals (Cinequest, LA Shorts, and HollyShorts).
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I will say one surprising criticism was someone thought the hipsters were too stereotypical as characters. I found that comment kind of hilarious because our biggest goal was to make sure our Latinx heroes weren’t stereotypes, not the other way around. First, because Mariana and Javi are our leads while the hipsters are our villains. Second, because Latinx actors make up only 5.8% of speaking roles in TV and Film and yet most of those are still derogatory parts. And third, because I'm pretty sure hipsters have had their fair share of being the adorable leads in every indie rom-com ever, and they’re overdue for some skewering.
But that comment did remind me that, yeah, probably most of the people who will decide the fate of our short (the film festival jurors, cinephiles at screenings) will fall under the label of “hipster” and might be offended by it. Hell, Bill and I probably fall under the “hipster” label too if you met us, but our hope is that more people than not who also put CBD oil in their tea will be able to laugh at themselves and self-reflect versus feel defensive.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Getting any stranger to spend 13 minutes watching your film feels like a huge ask, so if I get one more stranger to check it out from this wonderful site, it’ll be a win!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We’re still doing the film festival circuit, so we’d love film festival directors to check it out and see if it might be right for your lineup. Bill and I are developing a feature out of the short as well that we’d love to pitch to producers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Our hope is that the the short can at least start a dialogue with audiences about gentrification in their neighborhoods; and ideally by getting people to uncomfortably laugh at these hipster villains, some might reflect on the role they themselves play in urban displacement.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How many people in the room have paid $6 or more for a taco?
Would you like to add anything else?
Hope you enjoy the film when I release it online! And please watch through the end credits.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
So many things! I’m pitching a high concept time travel television series exploring feminism (think Outlander meets Legally Blonde). Bill and I are developing We Know Where You Live into a feature and also collaborating on a character anthology digital series. You have to check out Melinna’s amazing podcast “Tamarindo.” And, if you live in LA, Bill is shooting his live comedy special The Day I Became Black about growing up biracial on August 25 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center!
Interview: August 2018
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
We Know Where You Live
When a newlywed Latinx couple moves into a trendy, gentrifying LA neighborhood, two hipsters invite themselves over to offer a 'warm welcome.' But as the night goes on, it’s clear these neighbors are not what they seem: cold pressed, cold brewed, and cold blooded.
Length: 13 minutes, 20 Seconds
Director: Honora Talbott
Producer: Somebody’s Daughter
Writers: Bill Posley and Honora Talbott
About the writer, director and producer:
HONORA TALBOTT is a writer, director, and comedian whose feminist, socio-political sketches have been featured in Huffington Post, Bustle, US Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and more.
BILL POSLEY'S acting credits include MacGyver and 911. He was a 2017 JFL New Face and currently writes on CBS’ The Neighborhood. Fun fact: he’s a vet and Survivor alum.
Key cast: Melinna Bobadilla, Maynor Alvarado, Bill Posley, Honora Talbott and Pedro Lopez
Facebook: We Know Where You Live
Twitter: @honorathexplora AND @billposley
Instagram: @honorathexplora, @billposley, @melinnab AND @imaynor
Other: www.somebodys-daughter.com
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? NBCUniversal Short Film Festival (Semi-Finalist) (August 15, New York City), HollyShorts (August 17, Los Angeles), Sidewalk Film Festival (August 25, Birmingham), and DC Shorts Festival (September 8, Washington DC)