Amazon Prime: Discover Indie Film 2019 - She & Her
Daytime Emmy Winner Carolyn Hennesy (True Blood, General Hospital, St. Agatha) stars as Poppy Sinclaire, an aging ex-actress whose world is turned upside down when young up-and-comer Mattie Morris (Mackenzie Breeden) drags her out of her self imposed exile and convinces her to share her story of Hollywood abuse. Together with super-producer Addie Banks (Gwen Hillier) the women work through their shared traumas as they fight and forgive, ultimately taking back the narrative, and shaping a future that they want to live in.
Interview with Director Nate Hapke
Watch She & Her here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I was drawn to this story for myriad reasons. When the Weinstein story broke, I started to think about the victims and how they were the ones that people should be talking about. I cared about their stories, and how they coped with the horror. I wanted to tell a story about the importance of solidarity, and about how we can move forward beyond tragedy together. I didn’t want to see or hear the abuser. Rosie and I wanted to do this in a respectful and non-exploitative way, in an effort to be sensitive to decades of abuse at the hands of those in power.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
As an avid audience member myself, I find films, regardless of genre, that approach human characters with empathy, sensitivity, and verisimilitude are the ones that I connect with most. I approach any material that comes my way with a focus on those characteristics in an effort to evoke a genuine human connection with my audience. This film, in particular, dealing with such timely and poignant subject matter, meets those criteria for emotional resonance and I think that's why these characters have connected with audience members at every screening we've had so far.
My hope is that, as a member of the audience, you'll see the depiction of a healthy and productive way to move beyond trauma in an effort to heal and move forward in your life. It's not always easy to heal on your own. Sometimes with empathy and solidarity, we can heal our respective wounds together.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Empirically, I wanted to tell a story about healing from trauma. That's how I found my connection to the material. And rather than glorifying or romanticizing it, the focus was on the efficacy of finding solidarity in order to work together to help each other find some semblance of purpose or positive catharsis for the traumatic experience.
To tell this story more effectively, we experimented with multiple timelines, weaving them together in a way that encourages different interpretations of the material, and adds layers of meaning to the finished film. Specifically, the flashback sequences were edited in such a way that you're left wondering: is this Poppy's story or Mattie's? Or is it possible that the flashbacks are foreshadowing of Mattie's portrayal of Poppy in the movie that she's trying to make? There's also another reading of the film that Mattie doesn't actually exist; she's merely a figment of Poppy's imagination that she created and uses as a way to work through her trauma. An externalization of her younger self in an effort to compartmentalize and heal.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The film began as a desire to collaborate between myself and writer Rosie Grace. We had been talking about it, anecdotally at first, for years and finally, the opportunity presented itself. Carolyn Hennesy and I expressed mutual interest in collaborating after she came to the LA festival premiere for my short film One More and I attended her awe-inspiring performance as Maria Callas in the play Master Class. From there, I looked to the Nate Hapke Player's (a term created by Gwen Hillier, who portrays Addie Banks in She & Her) and rounded out the cast with two of my frequent collaborators Mack Breeden and Hillier. I was hit with the idea that Mack and Carolyn could play the same role at different times in their lives and presented the idea to Rosie.
From there, we discussed the possibilities for the story. I told her if it's a short film, then, from a viability standpoint, she has these three actresses, max two-day shoot, max two locations: Go! Initially, she wrote the story as something larger; a stage play where this character deals with having been sexually assaulted early in her career over multiple timelines. We both agreed it was something we wanted to explore further with more time and money, but without either, we adapted it for the screen and made the movie you can see now. There's a mutual interest to adapt the film into a feature and to also get it on stage at some point as the original play idea.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been incredibly rewarding so far. We had a private premiere back in March, at the Harmony Gold theatre in West Hollywood. The comments and constructive discourse following the screening and Q&A confirmed externally that we had achieved what we had set out to do with the film.
For me as a white cis man, there was a tremendous responsibility to tell this story correctly. Rosie and I agreed very early on to approach the material in a human way and to avoid any appearance of exploitation of the subject matter and any stereotypical tropes associated with these types of stories. I care about people and the pursuit of truth, healing, and catharsis.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It has not. I can't make people like or love my art. I just have to make it and do my best to appreciate the collaborative art process and be enriched by that.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The only thing I'm looking to achieve by having She & Her more visible on this site is the potential for a larger conversation about the subject matter discussed in the film. Abuses of power are still happening and they are egregious, unnecessary, and harmful. Through conversation and continued awareness, my hope is that we will find a day when they don't happen anymore.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Anyone willing to genuinely champion the story and the characters. There's a lot more story to tell and Rosie and I are ready to tell it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I'd love for the film to inspire a continued discourse about the subject matter of sexual assault in the industry, the importance of getting to the truth and believing victims, and the different ways that we can work together to heal the wounds of the past regardless of the trauma.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The title of the film is She & Her. Two different pronouns that can describe the same person. For me, it brings attention to the idea that there can be a public perception of what happened and the truth. The question I would pose to spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film is, what is the emotional cost of not being able to correct the public perception about the trauma you experienced because you're not in power? How do you heal from that?
Would you like to add anything else?
I'm always open to conversation about this film or storytelling in general and would love to interact with more people about it.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We're in post-production on another short To the Moon and Back, pre-production on our next short Good Grief which shoots in September, while She & Her is just beginning its festival run. I just finished my second feature script, with my eyes on shooting it next year. Rosie is working on an original pilot, as well as a feature of her own.
Interview: June 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
She & Her
Daytime Emmy Winner Carolyn Hennesy (True Blood, General Hospital, St. Agatha) stars as Poppy Sinclaire, an aging ex-actress whose world is turned upside down when young up-and-comer Mattie Morris (Mackenzie Breeden) drags her out of her self imposed exile and convinces her to share her story of Hollywood abuse. Together with super-producer Addie Banks (Gwen Hillier) the women work through their shared traumas as they fight and forgive, ultimately taking back the narrative, and shaping a future that they want to live in.
Length: 16:43
Director: Nate Hapke
Producer: Sophia Zach
Writer: Rosie Grace
About the writer, director and producer:
NATE HAPKE is an award-winning writer-director with a passion for people and stories, predominantly focusing on characters dealing with grief and trauma. Hapke has been working full-time as a DGA Production Associate as a member of the Emmy-Winning Directing team for Disney/ABC’s General Hospital, where he won a Daytime Emmy in 2017. He was nominated for the same award in 2018 and 2019. He has been writing/directing 2-3 short films a year since 2014, screening in festivals around the world (including the Short Film Corner of Cannes 2015, 2017, and 2018) and having garnered 13 awards.
As a writer, ROSIE GRACE enjoys exploring the sometimes simple, sometimes heart-wrenching, and often ridiculous experience of being human, telling universally affecting stories with equal parts humor and heartbreak. She & Her is her first collaboration with Nate Hapke (not counting an ill-fated group project back in 2012), and she couldn't be more excited to be working with him to tell such a timely and important story.
Born and raised in the movie industry’s capitol, SOPHIA ZACH has 25+ film credits to her name - both short and long form. Sophia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema Television Arts with an emphasis in Film Production from California State University, Northridge. After graduating from college, Sophia ventured into the freelance arena in the capacities of Producing, Assistant Directing, and Production Managing. As a freelance filmmaker, Sophia has accumulated extensive experience working on film crews and partnering with a wide variety of production companies and vendors.
Key cast: Carolyn Hennesy (Poppy Sinclaire), Gwen Hillier (Addie Banks), Mackenzie Breeden (Mattie Morris)
Looking for: journalists, distributors, film festival directors, producers
Facebook: Nate Hapke
Twitter: @YourFavN8Hapke
Instagram: @n8hapke
Hashtags used: #womeninfilm #alifenotastory
Website: www.natehapke.com
Made in association with:
Funders: Self Funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Film Invasion LA, Los Angeles - 6-8-19; Vero Beach Wine + Film Festival - 6-9-19