Companion
The unspoken romance between Cats and their Humans.
Interview with Writer/Director LaTajh Weaver
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made this film as an ode to my dear cat, Oats - who continues to hold me accountable.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch this film to laugh, to be engulfed in weirdness.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
It's all about interpersonal relationships we kind of create within our own minds. Narratives we project onto our pets.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
When I originally wrote this script, it was so much more silent. Both visually and figuratively. The whole story existed in his head. During the edit with sound design and working with our composer NYRE added more life to this film and made it feel more grounded.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People love the absurdity! Lots of laughter, lots of emotional avoidance.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I will say I was really blown away by the positive feedback and reception. I made this film with my friends and I thought it was silly and no one would see it as an art film. So I was surprised to screen at so many festivals and hear the audience laugh and sigh.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope that people connect with the story and reach out to talk about it!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would love distributors to maybe pick up the film and journalists to highlight it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I mean the reception it's getting is exactly what I could have hoped for. People are understanding this idea of finding humor within pain. Using such a ridiculous metaphor of the relationship between a cat and a human to process how we exist in either toxic or not so healthy relationships.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Ha ! Are you in a toxic relationship with your pet?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm about to film another short. A screenplay I wrote , Can I Paint, Here? is similar in tone to companion, using eeriness and humor to discuss the idea of feeling othered.
Interview: October 2023
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
Companion
The unspoken romance between Cats and their Humans.
Length: 4:53
Director: LaTajh Weaver
Writer: LaTajh Weaver
About the writer, director and producer:
LATAJH WEAVER is an Oakland based screenwriter and film director. She is dedicated to reclaiming and telling the overlooked stories of Black and Queer dynamics and engaging ways these communities learn to cope with everyday injustices. One of LaTajh’s previous projects, Cycles, follows a youth advocate worker and a young gang member as they search for their purpose amid danger in Oakland, where the murder rate remains the second highest in the country. After successfully raising $25K for production, Cycles was selected to screen at over fifteen film festivals and was awarded Best Screenplay at the Liberated Lens Film Festival. In early 2019, after directing a short film reflecting on her experience as a black woman growing up in America, she was chosen for a National Queer Arts grant followed by being selected for the Las Vegas Writing Downtown Residency to commence work on her screenplay, Pipeline a satirical drama about the school to prison pipeline. She has also been commissioned to direct a series of short films for the SF Arts Foundation, Prisoner Support Committee and Black Girls Code. After assisting award winning director, Savanah Leaf, LaTajh was hired as an Associate Producer on the film Earth Mama (A24, Park Pictures & Academy Films), which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Currently, LaTajh is in residence at the SFFILM FilmHouse for her feature length film, Queerling, a dark comedy challenging identity politics amongst the ever gentrifying Bay Area.
Key cast: Elijah Jenkins (Cat), Jerusha Krebs (Human)
Looking for: distributors, journalists
Instagram: @latajh
Website: www.latajhweaver.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Indie Memphis Film Festival - 10/24 Stream online & 10/2812:30 PM @ Hattiloo Theatre