A young woman’s fiercest self takes over to fight for her life when’s she attacked.

Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Catherine Fordham

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

The idea came after a friend and I were leaving work late at night and a male colleague said, "be careful getting home." My friend had just gone through a breakup and a look flashed across her eyes, like, "If anyone messes with me tonight I'll F them up." I wanted to communicate the raw visceral experience women share on city streets at night, and ask the question; What is an “appropriate response” to sexual assault?

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

For a satisfying feeling of catharsis and a surprising turn of events.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

I and many women I know have violent fantasies about how we might respond to men that threaten, or actually attack us. Consommé is an exploration of that idea, a subversion of the usual damsel in distress/female victim story. The main character is named Kali, the Hindu Goddess of destruction, and inspired by images of female protectors in Hinduism and Buddhism.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The script was 1.5 pages long and just came out that way, for the most part! But the film evolved as my vision came into focus and each new collaborator made their mark.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

My favorite piece of feedback was from a young woman at a film festival, "Your film makes me feel like I'm worth fighting for."

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

It's been exciting to experience the strong reactions people feel of either love or hate!

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I'm about to get my new film, KAYA, out in the world, and I'm in development for a feature film, WILD CRY HA. Visibility can help find new partners, collaborators, funders and supporters!

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

For the feature film (which is an evolution of this film), we're seeking funding! The screenplay is written, we have an amazing core team, and we're ready to go.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I want to make people feel like they are worth fighting for, internally by protecting their self-worth and sanity, or externally by protecting their bodies. I also hope it brings a feeling of catharsis to a pretty dark topic.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

What is an "appropriate" response to sexual assault?

Would you like to add anything else?

Monica West is the star of the film and a long time collaborator of mine. We worked on her series together, Best Thing You'll Ever Do, our new short film, KAYA, and a few other projects currently in development.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Catherine and Monica have a new short film about to hit the festival circuit! KAYA is a neo noir thriller shot in New Mexico and also a proof of concept for the feature version, Wild Cry HA, about a woman's desperate search for her teenage sister which erupts in vigilante justice.

Monica West is also developing a limited series about a traditional Midwestern woman who goes to computer coding school as a last resort to support her growing family.

Interview: January 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

Consomme

A young woman’s fiercest self takes over to fight for her life when’s she attacked.

Director: Catherine Fordham

Producer: Catherine Fordham

Writer: Catherine Fordham

About the writer, director and producer:

CATHERINE FORDHAM is an award-winning writer, director, and producer. Her short film Consommé was licensed by AMC's Shudder, and screened at MoMA in 2018 as part of The Future of Film is Female series spotlighting up and coming female directors. She directed Monica West's series, Best Thing You'll Ever Do, which won best short drama at iTV Fest, and her latest short film, KAYA, will premiere at the Las Cruces International Film Festival in New Mexico, where the film is set.

Key cast: Monica West

Looking for: sales agents, distributors, buyers, producers, journalists

Facebook: Catherine Fordham

Twitter: @CathFordham

Instagram: @top_salt

Website: www.topsaltstudio.com

Other: Vimeo

Funders: Self and Angel funded

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Coven Film Festival in San Francisco on Feb 9th.