Queens World Film Festival 2019 – Pay to Stay
A lesbian couple takes a mini-vacation to repair their relationship, unaware the apartment they rented online may lead to their untimely end.
Interview with Director/Writer Heather A Taylor
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Driven to create a new landscape of who we see in movies, Pay to Stay focuses on a multi-racial LGBT love story nestled in the heart of a monster movie. Thematically, I’ve always been fascinated with the trust we give to technology. We say yes to terms & conditions we don’t read, we give away our intimate secrets to strangers online, and we casually give away all of our information to companies that make millions of it. With news stories surfacing about the assaults on women in Ubers, and the case of the man who was trapped and assaulted in an AirBnB in Spain, how can we continue to blindly trust what technology allows us to do?
Often we trust these larger, faceless entities more than we trust our own partners. The people we’re supposed to be the closest to can be the ones we trust the least. Will they break our heart? Will they always be there for us? When will the other shoe drop? This is why I made Pay to Stay, to explore these ideas.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
This is a horror film that gives an audience a hero not normally focused on. It lulls an audience into following the relationship of Rikki and Jenn but then dives deep into horror so it will give that horror hit that audiences crave for.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Featuring a diverse, all-female cast & crew, Pay to Stay is a short horror film juxtaposing trust in relationships with trusting strangers via technology. It looks at our need for consumption no matter the consequences as we put our trust in things that we shouldn't trust.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
As we developed the script, it became deeper and more tied to the themes of consumption and trust. In the edit, we found ourselves tightening the story even further, helping us get to a place where the audience was really drawn into the film.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We are premiering at the Queens World Film Festival so I'm excited to hear what people have to say.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The more places we showcase our work, the more accessible it will be.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be great to find distributors, film festival directors and journalists to help get this film screened in more places and seen by a broader audience.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I want more people to question who and what they trust in the world when it comes to technology, media, and the government. By exploring this through the central relationship of Rikki and Jenn and the monstrous trap they find themselves in, we’ll create a mechanism for conversation and reflection as films are one of the most accessible forms of art experienced by most walks of life.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Who should you trust?
Would you like to add anything else?
I’ve created this film with a multi-racial female cast because I think there is a need for more stories that center around complex and fascinating women, especially in the horror genre. The US is over 50% women, yet 79% of the programming we see on screen features casts with more men than women. We base our view of the world on what we see in entertainment and media, so if we’re going to help tackle people’s biases, we need to create more films that give an alternate perspective.
Interview: March 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
Pay to Stay
A lesbian couple takes a mini-vacation to repair their relationship, unaware the apartment they rented online may lead to their untimely end.
Length: 11:53
Director: Heather Taylor
Producer: Kathryn Henderson and Hillary Nussbaum
Writer: Heather Taylor
About the writer, director and producer:
HEATHER TAYLOR is a writer, director and co-founder of the creative studio, Cereal Made. She was a 2018/19 resident of the Bell Media Prime Time TV program at the Canadian Film Center sponsored in part by ABC Signature Studios. Her career highlights include her first feature film script, The Last Thakur, which premiered at the London International Film Festival; her sci-fi web series, Raptured, which had over one million views; and Stitched, her award-winning horror short, which played festivals internationally.
KATHRYN HENDERSON is an executive producer and line producer of documentary, narrative, digital & broadcast content. Her shorts and features have played festivals around the world and have been distributed through Dish Network, AT&T U-Verse, Direct TV, iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Google Play, YouTube, and Amazon Video. She continues to work with filmmakers and directors on both short and feature films with a focus on social and environmental issues, the human experience, and spirituality.
HILLARY NUSSBAUM is a writer, director, and producer. Her background is in television development - she previously worked at the Emmy-winning production company, Lion Television, developing unscripted series for national cable networks like TLC, AMC, and A&E. She has produced branded content for clients including 1000heads, MME, Arm Technology, and Palmer’s, and her comedic web series, Keep Me Posted, is currently streaming.
Key cast: Debbie Campbell (Brenda), Melody Cheng (Jenn), Lydiana Medellin (Rikki)
Looking for: journalists, distributors, film festival directors
Facebook: Pay to Stay
Twitter: @paytostayfilm
Instagram: @paytostayfilm
Hashtags used: #PaytoStayfilm
Website: www.redonblackproductions.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Red on Black Productions and Suite One Productions
Funders: Seed and Spark; self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Queens World Film Festival/ Kaufman Astoria Studios - Zukor Screening Room (34-12 36th Street, Astoria, NY) - March 27th, 2019 at 8pm.