Lady Filmmakers / Rhode Island International Film Festival 2019 – Boy Eats Girl: A Zombie Love Story
A short romantic comedy about two zombies who meet cute while fighting over a dead woman’s intestines.
Interview with Director/Producer Sarah Gurfield
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Our culture frequently asks women to suppress -- or deaden ourselves to -- our desires; to sublimate our voracious appetites. In this way, the film comments on the importance of pushing past collective deadness to connect with others, living or undead. But this is clearly a comedy, so I also wanted to make people laugh...and I wanted to work with as many talented, energetic, driven women as possible.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you like to laugh, to groan, to get a little grossed out and have a LOT of fun, take seven minutes and watch this film. And if you are a fan of rom-coms, or if you absolutely HATE rom-coms, this will probably be fun for you as well.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
In this case, the personal is the universal: seeking love - in whatever form it takes - is an evergreen part of the human experience. I connected with so many emotions in the script: Competition. Excitement when you meet someone new. Anxiety when you don’t know what you want. There are moments in the film that remind me of relationships and romances in my own life, and exclusively hearing zombie dialogue lets the viewer connect their own specifics as much or as little as they choose.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Absolutely! We actually went through a phase where the plan was to subtitle the film with the (hilarious) translations from the script: the writers literally wrote full dialogue as "Graaaaaahs!" but then gave parenthetical interpretations of each line so the reader could follow the story. While the subtitle phase was fun to play with, the piece overall is stronger without it, so we stuck with this original concept.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Our world premiere screening is tomorrow, so I don't know what the audience response will be, but the feedback from people who've seen the film during post has been really positive -- a lot of laughter, a lot of connection, and some interesting discussion around the name of Annie Abrams's character, "Big Boobed Woman." While this name was obviously intended to satirize roles in horror films where a woman is killed simply for being sexy, it's been interesting to hear reactions when people see that character's name in the credits.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The most surprising thing was how visceral the responses to the gore in the film was -- way more intense than I had anticipated. I'm pretty proud of that, especially since this was the first thing I've directed with so much blood & guts...some of which I created in my kitchen sink!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We're thrilled to join this platform to connect with other artists and potential audience. The people and projects featured on We Are Moving Stories are, well, moving...and interesting, and exciting, and we're delighted to be in their company.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We'd love to play in more festivals, so festival directors and journalists for sure! And we'd love to find an eventual home for the film, perhaps packaged with other shorts, so potential buyers in the VOD world would be great to connect with as well.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Primarily to make people laugh. But if you dig a little deeper, it is a woman's appetite - both sexual and literal - that drives the story. Putting a woman at the center of lightweight comedic work is a great reminder that women's stories are everywhere, and should not be relegated strictly to the "women's stories" areas of our culture.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is there sex, love, or romance after death?
Would you like to add anything else?
On our set, several women were in various stages of pregnancy, nursing, and postpartum -- including our director, who ducked into the pumping pop-up every few hours, while her infant remained at base camp. Baby's first film shoot! Motherhood doesn't need to be an impediment to making art or getting a job done: some of the busiest, most awesomely talented artists I know also happen to be mothers.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Director Sarah Gurfield is developing a new comedy series...about death. And, to keep things light, she's directing a stage presentation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" later this fall. Writers Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin'S next project is a biopic about computer pioneer Grace Hopper for Middleton Media. And producer Liz Vacovec is working on a TV show for Netflix and in development on a variety of film projects.
Interview: September 2019
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
Boy Eats Girl: A Zombie Love Story
A short romantic comedy about two zombies who meet cute while fighting over a dead woman’s intestines.
Length: 7:10
Director: Sarah Gurfield
Producer: Liz Vacovec
Writer: Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin
About the writer, director and producer:
SARAH GURFIELD directed the first season of The Donors, a digital series for Lionsgate’s LOL network (executive producer Kevin Hart). Her short film, Thumb screened at over thirty festivals and won a handful of Best Comedy awards. For theatre, Gurfield has directed primarily in New York and LA, and is a resident director of Santa Monica Rep. She is a director at The Actors Studio, an SDCF Award winner, and a member of SDC and AEA.
LAUREN HYNEK & ELIZABETH MARTIN are writing partners who have been friends since high school. They love stories about fierce women. They co-wrote Disney’s upcoming live-action Mulan. Their next project is a biopic about computer pioneer Grace Hopper for Middleton Media. They are also co-chairs of the Committee of Women Writers at the WGAW.
Link to Grace Hopper press release: www.middletonentertainment.com
LIZ VACOVEC is an accomplished producer who has experience in film, television, and digital production. She has a resume consisting of thirteen feature films. Recently she produced an original series for SnapChat, Dead Girls Detective Agency, which, in four days received 7.32 million unique views. She also Produced an original web series, The Donors, executive produced by Kevin Hart that received 1 million views in the first week
Key cast: Alex Ryan (Zombie Woman), Annie Abrams (Big Boobed Woman), Brandon W. Jones (Zombie Man)
Looking for: film festival directors, journalists, buyers
Facebook: Sarah Gurfield
Hashtags used: #femalefilmmakerfriday, #romcom, #sexyzombies
Website: www.boyeatsgirlfilm.com
Funders: www.indiegogo.com/projects/boy-eats-girl-a-zombie-love-story#
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Boston Film Festival - Boston, MA - 9.21.19 ; Lady Filmmakers - Beverly Hills, CA - 9.27.19; Vortex @ Rhode Island International Film Festival - Providence, RI - October 19-26th, 2019