Heavy Petting
An eerie bifurcated character drama about a queer encounter between two lonely cat enthusiasts, and a macabre test of one’s social obscurity.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Brendan Prost
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made this film because I wanted to examine the distinction between loneliness and desolation, and express the unsettling experience of degenerating from one to the other.
Although the gentle melancholy of loneliness may be a natural feature of the human spirit, as someone who has persistently descended into the aberrant solitude of mental illness, I know that it’s vital to develop an understanding of the difference between these two experiences, and how easily it can be to slip from one to the other without certain supports. I wanted to see what areas of overlap and difference became clear when you put these emotional worlds next to one another, and what kinds of triggers or traps pull you into the darkness.
In a way, the film is also a fuck you to people who have previously dismissed my work as low-stakes or frivolous. I've always been interested in characters teetering between sensitivity and invisible illness or disability, because it's a place I live somewhere between myself. So, it can be very hurtful to see people disregard my movies as insubstantial or dull. Although mental health issues often initially present as modest, they are an insidious social sickness that need to be confronted with compassion, dialogue, and the proper interventions. Evidence mounts that worsening patterns of depression and suicide are becoming generation-defining problems. People need to take it seriously, and the morbidity and creeping horror of Heavy Petting is a way to confront people with the high-stakes.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
This is a film for people who have ever felt invisible or disposable, and have been driven to despair because of it. My work has always been primarily for young adults— whose experiences of alienation are especially acute. But, this film is especially for queer people who know the sting of marginalization and fetishization better than most. And, even more particularly for bisexual folks, whose suffering often goes unnoticed or is dismissed entirely.
But also more generally... if you've ever done something stupid, desperate, or gross because you were lonely— you should watch this movie. Woke up regretting who you slept with? Pretended to be into something sexually to get someone to like you? Masturbated to pictures of your ex? This will probably be a movie that resonates with you in an unsettling way.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
With this film, I really tried to embrace the weirdest and darkest parts of my imagination. There's been times in the past where my desire to reach a certain audience has guided me to make safer or more familiar choices as a filmmaker, which has led to a certain degree of emotional murkiness I wasn't pleased with. But, on this film I gave myself permission to let my freak flag fly, and I think it has yielded something quite idiosyncratic and unnervingly personal. This film really makes me feel "seen" as the desperately sad and horny person I am.
I don't know how universal it will be! It is pretty weird and morbid. But, seeing how much people love Phoebe Bridgers— who also seems fascinated with the intersection between sex, sadness, and death— makes me feel confident that there's an audience out there somewhere for Heavy Petting.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I actually coalesced two distinct stories together when the emotional thesis for the film emerged in my spirit somewhere. I had two half-baked projects sitting on the backburner, and when I developed an interest in this idea of distinction/degeneration they each seemed like the perfect counterpoint to the other. So, the writing process was also about discovering an opportunity for the two characters to intersect and go their separate ways, and how to draw the contrasts between their individual stories.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Most people tell me that the film is upsetting, which pleases me. I think it should be. But, some people hate that. Lots of people think we need cinema to be more positive and aspirational these days. I happen to think that cinema should be a lens to interpret the difficult things in life we can't quite understand. I also happen to think there's room for lots of different kinds of movies out there! My last movie was a holiday comedy.
The narrative structure of the film is also quite polarizing-- it works for most people, and but really doesn't for some. I agree that it's disorientating, but I think that element of surprise is part of what makes the film's tonal journey so unexpectedly forceful.
Overall though, I think people are impressed by the courage and vulnerability of the two lead actors, the uniqueness of the cinematography, the unpredictable nature of the story, and the harrowing nature of the film's ending.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
To be honest, no. I knew what elements of the film would be polarizing, and they have been. If anything, I feel proud to have made strong choices and stuck with them through the whole process. I think at a different point in my life I may have buckled or compromised in some way.
If I'm surprised by something, it's by the fact that mainstream audiences seem more open to bifurcated narrative structure than most of the film professionals I've heard from.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com
Right now I am hoping to introduce the film for the first time, and get folks excited to see it. I've been a bit reclusive and tight-lipped about it during the post-production process, but now that we've secured our festival premiere I am eager to connect with potential audiences that I know frequent your site.
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 principally looking for opportunities to share Heavy Petting with audiences via film festivals and their programmers, and would also love to connect with critics and journalists interested in writing about the film along the way. I've always got my eye on an eventual online premiere for the film as well.
But, I am also looking for a producing partner for two feature film projects I'm developing at the moment. They are similarly dark and genre-infused, with unusual emotional textures. Film producers who are intrigued by Heavy Petting should definitely give me a shout about collaborating on what's next.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope that the film will shock people out of complacency about the epidemic of loneliness, and inspire empathy and intervention in the lives of folks yearning to have their pain acknowledged.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How do people become invisible, how do we contribute to their isolation, and when does loneliness turn to desolation?
Would you like to add anything else?
No animals were harmed during the making of this film, but the cat did scratch my friend and 2nd AD Jennifer Ferris.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am developing two horror/thriller features, as well as a personal documentary about my days as child actor.
One of our lead actors, Sam Calleja, is starring in a Superstore television commercial that's airing here in Canada. I am thoroughly enjoying the notion that this film and that commercial are out there at the same time, and hope we can scare the bejesus out of some poor naive Superstore marketing person.
Our DOP Gayle Ye just won an Emmy Award for her work on the television show Odd Squad, and I understand is pivoting to feature work right now.
My producing partner Brendan Whelton just finished a feature called Erin's Guide to Kissing Girls.
I worked with an exceedingly talented and successful group of people, so my fear is that eventually they will all become too busy to work on my next movie.
Interview: August 2021
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
Heavy Petting
Length:
17:39
Writer/Director
BRENDAN PROST is a dogged and unabashedly personal filmmaker from Calgary. He is best known as the creator of four DIY feature films that have screened theatrically across Canada, and are now available to everyone on-demand. His credits also include an eclectic collection of short films that have played major international film festivals like Edinburgh, Rhode Island, Vancouver, Ashland, Inside Out, and more. Brendan graduated with distinction from Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts, is an alumnus of the Directors’ Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, and is currently completing his Master of Fine Arts in Film and Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.
Producer
Brendan Prost, Brendan Whelton
BRENDAN WHELTON is a Toronto-based filmmaker and alumnus of the Reykjavik International Film Festival Talent Lab and the Canadian Film Centre Producer Lab. His production credits include several features and short films, including Sebastian, which was released by Wolfe Video, the world's oldest LGBTQ+ distributor; Vertical Lines (Best Men's Short, Boston Wicked Queer Film Festival); and The Indestructible (Best Canadian Short, Fright Night Theatre Film Festival).
Key cast:
Sam Calleja (Jordan), Haley Midgette (Marina)
Looking for:
journalists, film festival directors
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/bprost/
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/brendanprost
More info:
https://www.brendanprost.com/heavypetting
Where can I watch it?
Nashville Film Festival/Nashville, TN - September 30-October 6, 2021