FAQs #3 Q&A with the Writer-Director of SALLY'S WAY

Director's Cheer: 20 FAQs # 3

Q: You plunged headlong into a feature length film.  It goes against all that is taught in film.    

A: This project from inception, and at every step,  has felt "right for me" and timely.

I have grown into the opportunity of course, so there was and is a tremendous foundation of professional/ personal creative experience and a rock solid network of colleagues in all the related creative industries. There is a lot of inner and outer support.

Well, about "all that is taught in film" - that point is moot perhaps, and I don't really compute my creative work in a 'how to', text book sense. In any case, I haven't studied formally like that. I've been guided all my life by an innate respect of my own talent, purpose, and creative impulse. I've learned and am always learning through reading, self-education, risk taking, on-the-job training, and discerning apprenticeships/ mentorships/ partnerships, so thinking that it ought to be done or not done according to some expert idea or convention, did not and does not terrify me out of taking creative risks.  

Really, the project did start as a "short film"; 48 minutes was my original intention. We took the script to a feature length at 60 minutes when, as producers, we felt we would potentially have more access internationally. We've come out around 74 minutes. 

I've  written and produced 60 and 90-minute documentaries, television specials and live programmes. My stage plays for children and teens were 60 minutes (The Island, 1990) and 70 minutes (The Last of the Super Models, 2010). So I had a sense of 48 minutes being doable, even though the cinematic approach as a film maker/ director was definitely new for me. Having published several stories and edited 6 "tween" novellas around 60,000 plus words each, I had a 'felt' sense of what 48 minutes of storytelling time would require. 

During principal photography it became clear to me that my writing of action in the script was very dense, and as a first-time director my shot list expectations very ambitious. I had to rewrite scenes to accommodate the short shooting days and the overall budget and schedule. But even with the rewrites, after reviewing a few days' rushes, Robert (MacFarlane, the editor) and I, could see that we easily had, without any frantic effort, a feature length film. 

I didn't feel daunted by this. Luckily, he didn't either! 

His camaraderie in this, helped focus me on 'getting the story', and this is what I did each day.

I think it is egotistic really, the rigid approach that starting small must always be more realistic, humble and conceivable. You know, "beginners must know their place and follow some set of rules", and all that. 

That's quite limited and limiting and therefore, not absolutely true; especially in the deeper sense of what is real.

  

What is  very, very difficult and most excruciatingly uncomfortable is not related so much to the scope of a work. The hardest thing in life for creatives, is to feel that you are out of your own groove or flow. No matter what the circumstance, field or genre - to feel 'out of step' with yourself, is the worst thing. 

And that can happen whether the work feels too big, or even, too small.

Anything we are creating has a life of its own. All working creatives have spoken their awareness of that truth at some point. If we don't move flexibly, with  a project that shows itself to be changing in some way, that can be detrimental. The same way taking on too much, with too little time, knowledge, experience, resources or support can be quite fatal.

For cultural creatives in such a pioneering environment as ours, (in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean), I think the frustration we all share, may be a feeling of being so very full of effort, of overflowing with ideas and daring, yet we contend in each moment with the sheer 'smallness' of our island, our population, our market, our sense of self, of how others may see us etc. etc. 

Why  should we shrink away from our own Unknown territory of First Ever Land while we ache for challenging projects that excite and stimulate at the essential core of our individual creative purpose?

I would say that making a feature film is the hardest creative work I've ever done because it employs all the art forms and is a business minded art. 

The process itself was also the most 'in my own flow' I've enjoyed professionally so far.

Plunging whole heartedly into my projects is typical, because the motivation comes from such a deep sense of purpose, even calling. This is a reflection of my passion and commitment to celebrate and express everything deep within my own "Caribbean belly", to draw from  the vibration of David Rudder's "Calypso Music". 

Throughout my life I've just had  this keen sense of urgency, that this time, here and now is for me; for we; for I and I and I, all of us. 

And it is not forever.

I want to do all that I can do, to toil for something more than the rat race; for that which feels greater than myself. 

So why NOT plunge in?!

And then SALLY'S WAY went in a short, and came out an award-winning feature with an international world premiere!

Whatever is on offer I am willing to work at spinning the straw of our ordinary lives into golden dreams for all of our children; so that they claim their sovereignty and right to self-love.

Doesn't everyone feel that? I think so. I hope so!

JJ

(L-R) JJ with Alyssa Highly and Dyani Ramah, on lunch break during rehearsals.

Director's Cheer: 20 FAQs # 2

From the Director's Cheer:

FAQ #2: What was the most inspiring moment during filming?

A: I know it sounds cliché, but the whole experience was so inspiring and instructive in many, many ways. The moments that awaken real heartfelt memories for me are the ones of Alyssa Highly, who plays Sally, sidling up to me and revealing her inner experience of the work.

I remember the day we set up the rain rig for the scene when Sally goes out of Granny's hut to play in the rain. Alyssa came to me later and said quietly, You know, Sally is changing me, and  for the better I think. 

She described that Sally, the character, not just the work of acting, was chaging her life.  Hearing her speak fondly of the character was inspiring. I realised how much she was internalising  the work of building character. She was gainfully employed in the  craft of acting - how inspiring!

Alyssa explained that Sally was helping her to remember a time when she was more fun, and had more fun. When she played outside and was more energetic. "Mostly, I only play indoors on my iPad games, but Sally and I do  have one thing in common, we both love to read!"

On set, Alyssa had this way that voracious readers and diligent, talented writers/ artists/ actors have. She spent time observing everyone and detecting something essential within each member of the cast and crew. She assigned nick names and offered nuggets of poetic wisdom well beyond her years. "Aunty Jo, I see you as "Nature". I see you love everything so natural." 

I think we were all inspired by her effort and presence, and as a director I would say her work ethic was inspiring. Remember, she was 11 at the time of filming and turned 12 just as we wrapped principal photography. She came to set in northwest Trinidad every day from far out in the east, past Arima. A trip that took close to 2 hours daily. (Thank you to Leslie Caton and others who helped facilitate her travel!) And since she was in almost every scene, I have to say it was remarkable that she showed up so fully and willingly day after day, with no complaint. It's the kind of devoted work ethic that most grown ups struggle to manifest.

And I am inspired too by Alyssa's family who supported her, and us.  In fact all our children's families - Granny's, aunty's, siblings, Mom's and Dad's - their support was always ready and evident. They never groused about academics, or other extra curricular, yet Sally and many of our other child actors successfully completed their SEA exams just prior to principal photography. 

This is crucial in a country without any realistic arts focus, either in schools or in employment opportunities. For film makers of children's content, it is encouraging to know that some parents and teachers are finally understanding that it is not an 'either / or' scenario. When we work together, kids can follow and fulfil their dreams in a stable and wholesome way. And that's inspiring!

All in all, it must be said  that finding and working with Alyssa and all our child actors, Alliana, Sarah, Dyani, Angel, Sydney, Abiel, the Mahadeo sisters - they all made this film project possible.

JJ

The First in a Series of 20 Frequently Asked Questions, with the Director

"A SUBLIME GROPING IN THE DARK" 

Q 1: Sally’s Way represents your directorial debut.  Children's/ family film is also a previously unexplored genre in Trinidad and Tobago's very young film making industry.  (TTFILM Festival will celebrate it's 10th anniversary in 2015). To what do you think you owe your success?

A1 : Well it’s regenerative to have a debut at this age and stage of life. Lucky me! I am 52. But when does a born educator and mother stop caring about children, hers or anyone else's? I have directed children’s and teen theatre productions and been tacitly immersed from time to time in all forms of content creation and production over the years: from live television, to series and documentaries. 

The confidence to debut in anything must come from somewhere I think, be rooted in previous experience even if it is not seen by others, the work may not always be directly related to the field of the new start, but it (the work) is there, as a foundation. So it’s not just "a good idea". Everyone has good ideas. It’s getting started and staying the course. I always think about Spielberg as a kid with his super 8 or whatever, then later as a father and legendary film maker humbly going to university for the first time to set an example for his own kids. And guess what was on the syllabus at film school? Yes, he studied his own films!  

We can complain about The  Great Nothingness here,  or think like adventurers. I like to say, " I am cutting bush to clear a path at night". No one except a few of our heroic elders have hastened before us and the bush done grow back by the next generation. (Yes, I am becoming an elder, but always give thanks to my elders!)  How exciting to begin again and again. In Walcott's words, and I quote him loosely," If there [is] nothing, there [is] everything to be made. With this prodigious ambition let us begin."

I love innovating and risk taking and pioneering. So I tend to ask "Why not?!"  and then "OK, How?!"

Had I not found equally adventurous and talented partners I may have worked instead to have someone else produce and direct the script for SALLY'S WAY. Having Louris Martin Lee Sing (Brown Cotton Outreach NGO), and Tracy Farrag  ( freelance writer-producer) coming on board to co-Executive Produce and agreeing to support me as a first time director was a moment I count as a success. 

So I think 'success' needs to be understood personally as well:

Having local DOP Sean Edghill agree to support my directorial debut  I count as a success, when to my mind he must surely be an international, award-winning cinematographer in the making. When the multi-talented actor, singer, writer, director, producer Patti-Anne Ali mid-scene, holding script in hand turns to me and says, "It's so well written," I felt successful.  When I thanked the Oscar-waiting-to-happen, Conrad Parris for taking a small role in my children's film he said, "It's a good story. I am happy to play a part in it." The child actress, Alyssa Highly, Trinidad's first-ever child star in this context, swings by me on set and says quietly, "Aunty Joanne, you look like you are doing what you are meant to be doing."  And the list of supportive cast and crew, sponsors and investors making it possible - All of this taking place in the context of talented people I love, respect and admire. How could I 'debut' without it, without them all?

Having such confidence and support - who knows how to get there? Except to say, "Thank you."

And really, personal  truths are only sustained when we recognise the broad contexts in which they unfold.

If the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, and the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival hadn’t been championing the industry needs and causes over these years, there would have been no fertile environment in which to have these successes - for any of us.

And if all the other local documentarians, film makers, writers and producers like Christopher Laird, Tony Hall, Frances Anne Solomon, Christopher Guinness, Mariel Brown, Lisa Wickam, Dion Boucaud, Francesca Hawkins, Elspeth Duncan,  and so many, many others hadn’t been carrying their own brave torches I am not sure I would have been encouraged to come out from behind my lap top as a children's story writer and dive back into the world of production, far less film production. 

The creative industries have looked really bleak and dark here in T&T for a long, long, long and it is not superfluous to add another two, long, long  time. The Rennaissance wave is still building, and the best part is not what the government and corporate sponsors are contributing. The best part is what will make our work sustainable:  audiences are finally voicing their interest as consumers, and voting for local film content with their dollars. They are showing up and growing the industry for us. 

I guess if Derek Chin’s Movie Towne hadn’t been conceived, believed and built, we may still be in the Dark Ages and that was a change I resisted as a consumer. 

So moving through resistance and surviving failure is part of this territory. The most exciting of all my life's work is the one that is least recognised, and much maligned because the You Tube standard of Everyman is a producer did not then exist, but technology has caught us up to the experimental and avant grade community cable television project SUN TV. We were handheld 'reality' styled before cell phones and an entire television industry spawned "Reality Television". I did it then for the same reason international producers do it now  - because I see it is the way to produce volumes of content at low cost. This was a kind of living thesis with which I  had hoped  to serve as a kind of local Research and Development prospect; to show the local television industry that it is in the context of this high volume that we will have enough fertile creative ground to grow more refined and specialised productions. 

The Film community is figuring that out for us I think, while the TV guys are still employing air time as they would rent 'land' so to speak. But local film is changing that and it's only a matter of time before consumer  demand may precede any legislation to regulate 50% local content.

It's all inevitable, these changes and I am so grateful that I am not sitting on the sidelines of life wishing and wanting and waiting for something good to happen. Having been a published children’s book author since 1998 and a series editor of 6 teen novellas between 2006 and 2009   ( all with Macmillan, UK), I’ve learned a kind of creative process that is deeply patient, passionate and committed.  Some times the work we do is in and of itself . Sometimes we don't see until hind sight - but simultaneously, the  muscles we strengthen now are  enabling our next step. Realising this, we work with deeper integrity with each opportunity that comes our way.

My creative process is more and more guided as I grow. I felt guided to pursue this path and there are specific circumstances, a story behind the stories of it all (that I won't go into here),  that gave me the confidence to move in this direction.

Intuition is impossible to formulate and difficult to convey because it is so intimately personal. My expression of the creative process is clothed with spiritual words, meanings and feelings that not everyone may share or relate to. It is as though I have always known I am meant to be creating content for Caribbean children and yet so arduous the effort of going uphill all the time, it surprises me again and again that I am still at it. 

I guess perseverance pays off at some time in some ways. 

But we must not mistake the glamour that surrounds the industries we work in for the work at hand. So 'success' - well, we must caution ourselves in believing and buying into it, not just about ourselves but others 'Away' as well.

To be specific and practical I would say I came to SALLY'S WAY film project through a series of nudges and  with a keen  awareness that the work of Writing is key. Not merely crafting words you understand, but clothing a potent intention that is first intuited within the authority ( see the root of that word is ‘author’). This feeling of creative authority can be a brutal nag. It is a voice that won’t be denied when it has something to say. Even if the work is a simple story for young audiences that may be of no great merit in literary circles, it just doesn’t let your soul rest until you are fully immersed in fulfilling the duty of expressing it. 

As a writer, I see everything in the created world as beginning with the word.  The 'word' meaning a universal energetic impulse that I can detected and feel fully before it emerges to be clothed in a specific style or formatting of  language.

So, if I had to point to one thing for me it would be 'writing', in the sense that within myself I feel clearly that I am doing what I meant to be doing and at the right time and in the right place. Writing, as a matter of conceptualising, visualising, choosing, editing, deciding and all that for communicating with a clearly identified audience. 

Someone on this kind of creative path may know more of what I mean when I say it is really  about clarifying intention more than selecting words. Perhaps some will feel this  is  'more' true  when we are considering the great West Indian novel, or an epic feature film but it is certainly true for me with what ever I create: my children's books and now this film, SALLY'S WAY. I felt that clear impulse to create in this direction and the caring about fulfilling it is all-consuming some days and nights.

I would add that attention must be paid to writing  both in crafting the script/ manuscript  and in researching and compiling a thorough proposal with an understanding of the industry in which you are submitting. I did my best with both, when I applied for T&T Film Co's scriptwriting grant in 2011 and then the production assistance grant in 2013. 

So yes, I am just happy and relieved that what has been offered is well received. That's pay day there already.

Listen.

 Anything that can be counted as “success” is evolutionary and symbiotically personal and communal. 

In so far as Directing goes, who else is there now but we ourselves? We’re the ones to write and tell, direct and produce our own dreams, visions and  stories - with as much help from our  friends, family, fans and well wishers as we can get - whether they are local or international. 

For me, I want to be brave and sure - going up the steps one-by-one, and earning my place alongside my peers, as we grow in stature to share our collective place on the world stage. My confidence to debut in film as a director came from all of this, and my confidence as a writer who knows this specific audience best, Caribbean children. 

I decided to identify my strength, passion and  growing expertise,  occupy a space that no one else had already filled in my shape and in my way. Then I focussed on a simple story well told for an audience I have had the privilege of creating content for over a decade. However, none of this was so calculated as these statements sound. 

It has been and continues to be  a sublime groping in the dark.

JJ