Sidewalk Film Festival 2019 – Princess Rita
A lonely insurance adjuster becomes consumed by his desire to meet his internet girlfriend, who claims to be a princess from a faraway country.
Interview with Director/Producer/Editor Blair Waters
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I’d never made a narrative film before, and I wanted to make something that could act as a tonal blueprint for the world in my mind. Like the place that I want my future projects to live in, one that’s sort-of unsaturated and sad and smells like stale air fresheners, that looks somewhere between the early 90s and now.
I’ve written several scripts but didn't really like any of them enough to fully commit, and when Mallory (the writer) told me about this story she wrote about an insurance adjuster who falls in love with an email scammer, I just fell in love with it.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think it’s really funny, which most people don’t fully agree with me on. And you rarely see a man portrayed as this vulnerable. And there's a scene where there are four different shades of that Band-Aid tan color, which I'm especially proud of.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
It’s about loneliness, baby!
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
So much. Mallory is brilliant and it was really fun to work with her to morph the original story into something that would hopefully work on film, as the initial story was much more layered and intricate.
Although I was new to narrative, I have made lots of (mostly very bad) music videos, and the main thing I learned from those is to keep things as simple as possible. So staying hyper-aware of that throughout the whole process was really beneficial, and extended to everything - like we had basically no gear, (which sounds hellish in theory, and a lot of it was due to financial restraints) but it also enabled us to move really quickly and forced us to get to the core of the image versus spending hours perfectly setting up a light or something.
We only had two days to shoot this (and the initial cut was 5 minutes longer) so bringing on Logan (DP) who is the kind of person who will just run with something and not obsess, was essential to the evolution of the whole thing.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
There have been some really lovely reviews! The one in Vice was like the nicest things that have ever been said about me and I was really grateful for that.
And my friends and family have all been so supportive and encouraging, which really has warmed my heart.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I’m just glad people like it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’d like a very rich person who has no idea what to do with all of their billions to call me and give me money for a feature. My number is 917-667-7133.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We should have applied to more festivals so if you want us in yours, let us know. Also would be great to have a place for her to premiere online, and always down to talk to people about future stuff.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is it really so wrong to live in a fantasy if it helps you cope with reality?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m continuing to direct fashion + beauty pieces for various brands, and I also just finished a script for a feature, which is also about Florida. I also have a documentary series with Atlas Obscura that’s very special to me, and am actually leaving tomorrow to go shoot three new pieces for them! Also, am always working on music, and have a few shows lined up for the fall.
Mallory continues to write fiction and is currently the Executive Editor at Man Repeller, Logan (DP) and Drew (Wonder Boy) work together all the time making music videos and shorts, Keegan (Art Director) is a wonderful photographer and just made a zine called Doggity Doggy Dog, Stephen (Sound Design) just opened a really cool new recording studio in the city, Sam (color) owns Irving Harvey and is an insanely good colorist, and Grace (my assistant/AD) moved to LA where she is developing a series and casting and doing a million things. They're all the best and without even one of them, this film would have sucked.
Interview: August 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
Princess Rita
A lonely insurance adjuster becomes consumed by his desire to meet his internet girlfriend, who claims to be a princess from a faraway country.
Length: 10:00
Director: Blair Waters
Producer: Blair Waters
Writer: Mallory Rice
About the writer, director and producer:
BLAIR WATERS is a Brooklyn-based director, originally from the Virgin Islands. Her debut short premiered at the British Film Institute in 2019, as part of BFI Future Film Festival. She’s worked with clients like Amazon, Netflix, and Target, for publications like Elle, Refinery29, and Harper’s Bazaar, been part of Clio winning campaigns, and her music videos have been highlighted by The New York Times and named MTV Hits of the Week.
MALLORY RICE is a writer and editor who was raised in Tampa, Florida. She studied fiction writing at Brooklyn College and was an editor at Nylon magazine for 7 years, was the EIC of Sweet ( a Webby-nominated, Hearst-owned digital magazine for teenagers that is published 7 days a week on Snapchat) and is currently the Executive Editor at Man Repeller.
Key cast: Fedor Steer (Alan)
Looking for: journalists
Instagram: @blairlorien
Website: www.blairwaters.com
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Sidewalk Film Festival - Birmingham, Alabama - 8/24; Nitehawk Shorts Festival - Brooklyn, NY - November 12 - November 18, 2019.