Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2019 – IV Effing
Experiencing infertility is a wild ride. Sex becomes science. Every aspect of your life and health gets scrutinized. “Caregivers” benefit financially from the despair of their patients. IV-effing is a short comedy based on writer/actor Jean Villepique’s own experience navigating this often absurd process.
Interview with Writer/Actor Jean Villepique
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I had written a blog about infertility and loss and the death of my father called Griefing. IV-Effing was one of the entries, and when Gumption Pictures was looking for submissions, I created a short from it, which was selected but them!
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In my experience, in vitro fertilization is sold to women as a gentle and magical process, when the reality of it is traumatic and absurd. You should watch this short because it is a tiny taste of how insane it is to make yourself so incredibly vulnerable to so many people who just see you like another set of ovaries with dangling dollar signs. Also, it's funny. In a weird way. If you like that.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I don't know how to answer this, I'm sorry.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
It was a very quick process. We made a few location-specific changes. Gumption Productions is dedicated to realizing the artistic vision of the creatives, so we pretty much made the short I wrote, although the ending/credits were a last-minute suggestion from our amazing director, Anna Dokoza.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I haven't received any yet! Can't wait!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I don't have a creative goal here. I would like to shed some light on the absurdity of infertility. Maybe people will share it with their friends who are going through it or have gone through it and they can laugh a little bit.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope people find it funny but in a new way. It's absurd. It really happened just like this. So I hope they have the reaction I had and find it cathartic in some way.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How intimate is your physical vs emotional interaction with medical experts in your life?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thanks for your interest! This is a thrill for me!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Anna Dokoza is completing her latest project, The Busy Debras, for Adult Swim. Jean Villepique is about to go back into production for NBC's (now The Peacock's) A.P. Bio, and Gumption Pictures is winning awards and making more beautiful work!
Interview: November 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
IV Effing
Experiencing infertility is a wild ride. Sex becomes science. Every aspect of your life and health gets scrutinized. “Caregivers” benefit financially from the despair of their patients. IV-effing is a short comedy based on writer/actor Jean Villepique’s own experience navigating this often absurd process.
Director: Anna Dokoza
Producer: Gumption Pictures
Writer: Jean Villepique
About the writer, director and producer:
ANNA DOKOZA is a two-time Emmy nominated director and producer, whose credits include: Baskets, Three Busy Debras, Huge in France and Special (most recent nomination).
JEAN VILLEPIQUE studied theater at Northwestern University, studied improv at the iO Chicago and went on to perform and write for The Second City Chicago. She has written and performed several solo shows at the UCB Los Angeles and acting credits include AP Bio, Sharp Objects, Better Call Saul and The Office.
GUMPTION PICTURES is an award-winning micro-studio committed to creative integrity. We partner with diverse creators to tell irresistible stories that truly connect with audiences. We believe in maximizing each story’s unique capacity to inspire by keeping the creator’s vision as fresh as possible from development through distribution.
Key cast: Jean Villepique (Jean) Anjali Bhimani (Dr. Kahn)
Looking for: journalists
Facebook:
Twitter: @villepique
Instagram: @villepique
Hashtags used: #IVeffing #IVEF
Website: www.gumptionpictures.com/iveffing
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Sherman Oaks Film Festival