Scrap
After getting laid off, a young single mom (Vivian Kerr) struggles to hide her homelessness from her estranged brother (Anthony Rapp) and his wife (Lana Parrilla).
Interview with Writer/Director/Actor Vivian Kerr and Producer Rachel Stander
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
VIVIAN: The feature Scrap evolved out of a period of my life in which I was really dissatisfied with where my career was going. I didn’t feel that I was really expressing myself fully with the acting roles I had access to, and I had wanted for a really long time to take the reins and direct a feature. Simultaneously, my neighborhood in Los Angeles was shifting and there were a lot more homeless people, more people who seemed to really be struggling and on the brink of disaster, so I started to get really obsessed with this theme of, what do you do when life isn’t working out for you the way you planned? And how does that slide even start? What are the circumstances to beginning to go down that road?
RACHEL: I had been involved with the short version of SCRAP, and when Vivian presented me with the feature script, I was so impressed by how she’d built out these characters’ stories and relationships. And what really resonated with me about the script was that the three characters at the center of the story were all at pivot points in their lives. They were each grappling with having to let go of some aspect of how they’d imagined their lives would turn out. I think that kind of reinvention is something so many people have to go through, but often get pulled into it kicking and screaming. It was exciting to get to show it in these three interwoven stories and have them resolve on a hopeful note.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
VIVIAN: It’s really a film about personal responsibility, and how difficult it is to claw your way forward when you feel immense shame and feel like the chips are down. In the film, my character Beth says, “Maybe for some people, the road just doesn’t rise to meet you,” and she’s just in this hopeless, cynical place. I feel so many people can relate to that. I know I feel better when I see characters on screen that are really at a crossroads in their life. It makes me feel less alone.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
VIVIAN: It’s interesting, because I think each time you work on a film, it sort of teaches you something about your own life. When I wrote and directed the film, I really saw Beth’s journey as outside myself — like, on the surface she’s this ridiculous fuck-up, lying about going to spin class, deluding herself that she can get back with an abusive ex — but now as I watch the completed film I really do see a personal theme in it, too, that you have to accept responsibility for your own life. There’s no way out of that. You can’t move forward unless you have real, honest accountability. And really that’s where Beth lands at the end. I love it when Stacy, the sister-in-law character, says, “No more bullshit.” Maybe that’s the theme! Maybe that should be the tagline!
RACHEL: I would also just argue that there’s really no difference between personal and universal themes. A theme is universal because people can find themselves, and their own personal stories, in it.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
VIVIAN: It evolved so much! I first got the idea in 2016, so I have been working on this project for over six years. And it’s interesting because originally it was just a short film and when I was trying to get the feature made, I originally was open to possibly collaborating with a director and just acting in it, but every director I met with just didn’t “get” the feature script. They wanted Beth to be driving a really rundown car, or be super dirty, and to have Los Angeles be a lot more gritty or grimy. They wanted this kind of stereotypical urban squalor we associate with stories of homelessness. And I remember one of the first conversations I had with my incredible DP, Markus Mentzer, was that the first act of the film should look like a commercial, a glossy advertisement for Los Angeles, and he really got that and fully delivered. I wanted to show Beth’s delusion. So for me, part of the evolution was learning to trust my vision.
RACHEL: And there’s more humor in the feature! The short film introduced us to Beth and Ben (and a little bit of Stacy) but it was really more about establishing Beth’s circumstances, so it leans towards being maybe a little bleak. When Vivian expanded the story to follow the characters as they end up living under one roof, there was a lot of potential for humor in those sibling dynamics and in how Beth interacted with her new reality.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
VIVIAN: We had our World Premiere at the Deauville-American Film Festival last year, and honestly, just getting into a festival with that level of renown was the best feedback we could have had. We submitted totally blind — we knew no one. So the fact we were one of the, I think, only 12 films chosen to be in competition, was huge for us!
RACHEL: We’ve also gotten a lot of feedback from audience members who want to share some personal stories after watching the film. Of course that can be a little awkward sometimes, but it’s gratifying to know that the film is making people think about their own lives.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
VIVIAN: To have programmers really appreciate the film has surprised me and it has also been incredibly validating. It’s taught me that I waited way too long to decide to direct. I should have trusted my instincts earlier but, frankly, I was scared. I’m also surprised that private conversations I had with our DP Markus Mentzer, our editor Toby Yates, or even with our key hair/make-up designer Lily Von Isenberg, have become topics of conversation with audience members. It’s fun to see them pick up on so many of the small things that were intentional, from music choices to costume decisions, but I assumed no one would ever notice.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
VIVIAN: Just to keep getting the word out! We screen at the Phoenix Film Festival later this month and next month we’ll be at Julien Dubuque Film Festival. We are having a great time doing festivals — we want to share the film with as many people as possible!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
VIVIAN: We have a great sales agent, Derek Kigongo at APA, so we’d love to find a great distributor for the film — a company that believes in the project as much as we do!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
VIVIAN: I would love this film to have an enduring soft spot in people’s hearts, just as You Can Count on Me or The Savages does in mine. There aren’t a lot of movies about brother-sister relationships, and I am really proud of the relationship that Anthony Rapp, who plays Ben so brilliantly, and I created. It feels authentic to me and I’m so lucky he is in the film.
RACHEL: I hope that people go away from the film feeling a little more compassionate for people in their own lives. Everyone has their own stuff going on, and you don’t know what someone might be dealing with. And compassion for themselves! It’s okay to give yourself grace as you navigate changes in your life.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
VIVIAN: How do you heal a fractured sibling relationship? Why is dysfunction between siblings so challenging to approach?
RACHEL: What are the ideas or plans you had for your life that maybe aren’t serving you any more? Is that path making you happy? Is there a different way you could go?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
VIVIAN: I just shot my second feature film, a psychological thriller and period piece called Séance, so I’m now in post-production on that. Hopefully, that should come out in 2024.
Interview: May 2023
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Scrap
After getting laid off, a young single mom (Vivian Kerr) struggles to hide her homelessness from her estranged brother (Anthony Rapp) and his wife (Lana Parrilla).
Length: 1:45:00
Director: Vivian Kerr
Producer: Rachel Stander
Writer: Vivian Kerr
About the writer, director and producer:
VIVIAN KERR is an LA-based actor, writer, producer, and director. Scrap, her feature film debut, world premiered in competition and was nominated for the Grand Prize at the 2022 Deauville-American Film Festival. Her screenplay for Scrap was a Top 10 Finalist in Final Draft's Big Break. Her next feature, Séance, was selected for the 2022 Wscripted’s Cannes Screenplay List and is currently in post-production.
A Season of Rain is helmed by Los Angeles-based producer RACHEL STANDER. Her first feature, Scrap, world premiered in 2022 at the Deauville American Film Festival in France. Previous work highlights include Julian, a dark comedy short film, and Lysistrata 2.0, a PSA-style get-out-the-vote project.
Key cast: Vivian Kerr (Beth), Anthony Rapp (Ben), Lana Parrilla (Stacy), Beth Dover (Esther), Julianna Layne (Birdy), Khleo Thomas (Marcus), Brad Schmidt (Joshua)
Looking for: distributors
Facebook: SCRAP
Twitter: @scrapthefilm
Instagram: @scrapthefilm
Hashtags used: #scrapthefilm
Website: scrapthefilm.com/index.html
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: A Season of Rain
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Phoenix Film Festival /
Friday, March 31st, 2023 - 2:25pm
Saturday, April 1st, 2023 - 4:35pm
Sunday, April 2nd, 2023 - 4:40pm