Fantasia International Film Festival 2019 – The Boogeywoman
In the fever of her first period, a curious teenager is drawn to her small town’s local legend, only to find that the “Boogeywoman” is flesh and blood--the mother she never had.
Interview with Writer/Director Erica Scoggins
Watch The Boogeywoman here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you. I came up with the concept as a counterpart to the notorious Boogeyman. When translating to a female villain, however, it becomes more complicated. We fear men for their violence, often against their own lovers. Women are feared and demonized for their agency, sexuality, and biology. So The Boogeywoman represents a rite of passage into womanhood, where your decisions and desires are often used against you. This is a story about claiming the innate power of womanhood despite the stigma.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's an intricate emotional journey layered with mythology and metaphor. There's something there for every level of film viewer. You can just enjoy the story or spend all night arguing over who the Boogeywoman really is.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Women, men, and everyone in between can relate to how the heroine is ostracized. She's made to feel there something wrong with her. If we don't fit a certain mold, whatever society has deemed appropriate for our particular make and model, we detach or shrink into less of a person. Mythology and Religion have long been used to inspire but also shame us into a certain moral and behavioral framework that somehow benefited society at that particular time in history. It's our duty to recognize many of those myths were only beneficial for the few and are damaging and oppressive as a whole.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This themes and characters in the short were plucked from a feature script. I reworked everything and came up with the idea for the Boogeywoman. Then there's always a time in the picture editing process when I just abandon the script completely. Less so in this film than my previous one, but there's definitely a moment when I realize the written word has been usurped and no longer serves the experience of the film.
I've since rewritten the feature and am currently in development. Stopping to make the short worked wonders for the bigger story and concept.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Overwhelmingly positive, which I didn't expect from a movie that stares down the bloody underwear of a girl on her first period. People have come at me with such smart and nuanced readings of the film and the nature of the Boogeywoman herself.
Of course, there have been the few outliers, like a young man at a recent festival (who was for some reason completely comfortable asserting what kinds of films I should and should not make) was adamant that I definitely should not be making movies about "the negative sides of women." My response: "Oh you think menstruation is a negative aspect of womanhood? Let's talk about how this was a horror film for you." I can guarantee you he doesn't casually stop male filmmakers after a screening to tell them not to make movies with murder or rape.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
My point of view is always in flux. I've always been someone who is sensitive to all sides of an argument. I like to figure out how things came to be a certain way. Sexism, misogyny, gender bias. None of this happens in a vacuum. People don't wake up and say I'm going to value this type of person less than this one. It's perpetuated both consciously and subconsciously through tired rhetoric and myth. I recognize that "we've come a long way" and "things are better than they used to be," but these are often excuses to diminish the very real discrimination that still happens. There's still a lot to talk about, and I always want to present material that provokes conversation without attacking individuals in a system when it's often the system to blame.
I've had women come up and thank me for making the film, and I've had men say they could really feel with the main character even though they hadn't experienced that specific event. I love to be challenged by those who were challenged by the film. I'm constantly at war with myself when I'm writing, asking myself if each person represented has a real history that brought them to this point.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope people are interested in seeing the short and that they are then ready for the big Boogeywoman, in development now.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I'm in talks now with some distributors so the film will be coming out later this year or early 2020. For the feature film, my producer and I are currently taking meetings to see which partners will be the best fit.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope the film sheds light on the absurdity of shaming and fearing girls and women for their natural biology and for having sexual desire. That's why The Boogeywoman is set in the thriller-horror genre. It simultaneously asks "oh, you're afraid of this?" and also recognizes the innate power of the female body. So maybe that fear is valid, but that's a personal problem so let the ladies blossom and be all that they were meant to be.
And then on an every day, easy fix level, maybe just stop taxing pads and tampons and stop making period jokes to discount women's natural emotional reactions to the bullshit surrounding us.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Have you even been shamed for having your period? Have you ever shamed someone else?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thanks for reading!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Sinah Ober, producer and Albrecht von Grunhagen, DP, are on board for the feature version of The Boogeywoman. Sinah is also producing a feature film in Colombia with another colleague or ours. Albrecht is shooting all over Europe until I can get him back to Tennessee!
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
The Boogeywoman
In the fever of her first period, a curious teenager is drawn to her small town’s local legend, only to find that the “Boogeywoman” is flesh and blood--the mother she never had.
Length: 18:00
Director: Erica Scoggins
Producer: Sinah Ober
Writer: Erica Scoggins
About the writer, director and producer:
ERICA SCOGGINS is a Chattanooga-based artist and filmmaker nurtured by the beauty and ghosts of southern soil. Her multi-disciplinary practice examines altered states of consciousness brought on by adrenaline, desire, disease, and trauma and draws on myth and archetype to challenge modern social standards. Her films have screened around the world and she is currently developing a feature film drawing on the themes and relationships in her latest short, The Boogeywoman.
SINAH OBER was born in Germany’s Black Forest. After traveling to India, she studied at the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg and the University of Iowa. Sinah then received her MFA in Film Directing from California Institute of the Arts, where she met and began working with Scoggins. Sinah has worked on over 50 short films and currently works as a freelance producer, actor, and director in LA, Bogota, and Berlin.
Key cast: Amélie Höferle (Sam/lead), John Henry Ward-Trevor, Raquel Asencsion-Carrie, Grace Turner-Jessica, Nathaniel Ford Jr.-Jake, Keenan Carter, Katherine Morgan-the Boogeywoman
Looking for: producers
Facebook: The Boogeywoman
Instagram: @the_boogeywoman; @redhairredpants
Hashtags used: #theboogeywoman #theboogeywomaniscoming #womeninfilm
Website: www.ericascoggins.com/the-boogeywoman
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Moonshine Postproduction
Funders: Mix of fundraising with Devereux Bedding of Nashville, in-kind services, and fundraising
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? North Bend Film Festival / North Bend, WA - August 2019; Buffalo International Film Festival / Buffalo, NY - October 2019; Brooklyn Horror Film Festival / NYC - October 2019; and more to come!