FRIMAS
In the near future, following the adoption of an anti-abortion law, Kara has no other choice but to end her pregnancy, using an illegal abortion clinic.
Interview with Director Marianne Farley
** Shortlisted for The Academy Awards 2022
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
As far as I can remember I’ve been passionate about human rights, and, as a woman, I am particularly committed to protecting women’s rights. After MARGUERITE, which delved on LGBTQ issues, I wanted to address in FRIMAS the threats that women’s right to an abortion were facing worldwide. In the US as witnessed recently in Texas, Mississippi and in other states, legislatures are moving aggressively to repeal Roe vs Wade either directly by bringing the issue to the Supreme Court or indirectly by stripping away at the existing laws.
The bottom line is that women’s rights are definitely in danger and have been so for the last several years. I wanted to draw attention to what illegal abortions could look like and to the level of physical and psychological trauma they could generate in the future.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
My film FRIMAS is a standard bearer for a cause that is closest to my heart, “Women’s rights”. It focuses specifically on women’s reproductive rights. The right to abortions. My passion runs wider and deeper. Every woman should also have the right to their voice, their choice of career, their choice of who they love and their right to have bodily autonomy.
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Women who have rights raise children who are free to pursue their own dreams. This in turn affects the prosperity of families, communities and countries. Empowered women lead to more empowered people and nations. We need to expand the consciousness of these rights to every country. FRIMAS is a call of consciousness to every individual of every gender, color and persuasion. The more conscious we become of how the infringement of the right to abortion negatively affects a woman in her personal relationships and in her relationship with her community, the more we can choose leaders who will support those rights.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I always choose a universal theme that I’m passionate about. In this instance it’s the right for women to choose an abortion for mental, emotional, physical or financial reasons. These rights are universal in the sense that they affect all women across the world. The consequences of abolishing women’s rights such as the right to abortion also affect society at large but they are also deeply personal.
In order to convey the importance of these universal rights I needed to demonstrate through the media of film the pain and trauma women experience when their rights are not respected and they go through an illegal abortion. That’s why I chose to centre the film around a search scene to underscore the constant fear and panic experienced by individuals who participate in illegal abortions either as patients or as medical practitioners. This scene was crucial to the message of the film: Forcing women to have to turn to illegal abortions is cruel and inhumane. A universal theme then becomes a personal reality that the viewer can relate to.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I started writing in 2018. We shot it early 2020. The editing was completed in early 2021. The pandemic definitely slowed down our post production phase but it allowed us time to explore different options. When I was writing the script I did a lot of research in order to identify interesting alternatives to convey the visual and emotional experience I wanted to create for my audience. This research helped me to further clarify my vision but it also forced me to be as specific as possible in the creative choices I made.
During the actual filming, we encountered many challenges. For example we had to figure out how to make it seem like the truck was on the highway without actually being out on the road. Obviously safety always comes first! It was also quite a technical challenge to shoot in tight spots and we needed to create a fake wall, a space where the protagonists could hide. The installation of the wall in the truck forced us to take into account its specific metal structure which was not an easy task. Thankfully our very resourceful production designer Melanie McNicoll and her team pulled it off masterfully. When filming things never turn out quite the way you expect them to, but it always forces you to be flexible and creative. And very often things turn out so much better than you had envisioned originally!
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We’ve had a plethora of reactions. Some audience members were taken aback by the cruel and painful experience of our main character. Others were deeply saddened that in 2021 this futuristic depiction can possibly become a reality in the near future. Finally most audience members felt compassion and empathy for the trauma that our main character had to endure.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I am very grateful for all the feedback received. We made this film in order to spark conversations about this very important topic. Although I am without a doubt pro-choice I understand that some people are not comfortable with the idea of abortions. I understand that some people do not have the same point of view as I do. But for me the bottom line is that women should have a right to bodily autonomy no matter what. If we want to live in a world where there is gender equality we have to allow women to decide what they want to do with their bodies. Anti-choice laws condemn many women to lives that lack dignity and deprives them of equal liberties. Anti-abortion laws lead people with the least resources to undergo illegal abortions with the attendant risks of death and suffering. Women’s rights are fundamental human rights.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We are hoping to share our film with the widest audience possible. I am grateful for having the opportunity to discuss such an important topic on your platform and to be able to share my views with your readers.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
To complete my answer to the preceding question we are hoping to get the greatest level of support available to us. Producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors film festival directors and journalists all reach a different audience. It will take a concerted effort from all of us to get the message across that women’s rights are human rights and that the future generations need us to protect and defend those rights.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Obviously I would like our film to be viewed by the widest audience available. It will certainly reinforce the level of support for women’s rights from those who already support them.
Philosophical and religious entrenched positions always lead to separation and conflict. With this film I want to go beyond the level of intellectual or faith-based discussions and dig in-depth in the REAL-LIFE experience of women who go through an illegal abortion procedure. I do hope that watching a woman go through this traumatic experience can elicit some level of compassion and understanding from those who wish to restrain or abolish those rights.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The key question that could spark a healthy debate or begin a conversation about this film could be: “What is the experience of a woman who is forbidden to have the medical procedure that she believes to be her only choice, an abortion?”
Women will continue to choose to have an abortion for various reasons. These may be mental, emotional, physical or financial. A woman may also choose to have an abortion because she knows that her child will die at birth or have a difficult life because of health issues. The traumatic reality for a woman who chooses for very personal reasons to terminate a pregnancy and the trauma that she will endure if this medical act is driven underground is probably something that we could all relate to.
Would you like to add anything else?
Bans and restrictions have harrowing consequences on all people but they also impact disproportionately low-income people, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and those who live in rural areas. If these restrictions come into effect, it will have devastating consequences on so many and create a deeper and wider gap between social classes.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I recently completed the post production of my first feature film NORTH OF ALBANY. It should be released in the fall of 2022. I am also developing two feature films. LA FAUCHE and À DEMI SOUPIR. Both will be produced through my production company Slykid & Skykid. Finally I’m collaborating on a few other projects with independent producers but I can’t divulge any information on those at this time.
Interview: January 2022
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FRIMAS
Length:
Writer/Director
Marianne Farley is a director/screenwriter, producer, and actress from Montreal, Canada. Her second critically acclaimed short film MARGUERITE won over forty awards around the globe and earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short Film in 2019. Marianne is in the post production phase of her first feature film NORTH OF ALBANY (co-written with Claude Brie). Her experience as an actress drives every decision she makes as a director. Marianne also produced LES NÔTRES by Jeanne Leblanc in which she plays one of the lead roles. Through her production company SLYKID & SKYKID she is also developing the feature films LA FAUCHE (written by Camille Trudel) and À DEMI- SOUPIR (cowritten with Claude Brie).
Producer
Ô Films is a Montreal-based production company founded by Sophie Ricard-Harvey and Charlotte Beaudoin-Poisson, which specializes in developing and producing projects by filmmakers whose vision stands out locally and internationally. The strikingly beautiful cinematography of FRIMAS was crafted by Benoit Beaulieu.
Key cast:
Karine Gonthier-Hyndman as Kara, Kent McQuaid as Benji, Alex Bisping as Agent Pelletier, Chantal Baril as Dre Hubert, Christian Jadah as Agent Johnston, Jean-Moïse Martin as Jacob
Social media:
https://www.instagram.com/frimasshortfilm/
https://www.facebook.com/FRIMASshortfilm
https://twitter.com/Frimasshortfilm