Your upcoming movie Morning After
- in a few words, what is it going
to be about?
">Morning After (https://www.facebook.com/
MorningAfterMovie/)
is a story of five friends who spend the night playing a cheeky,
explorative game where they pick a chocolate, put it in their mouth, and
French kiss someone else in the group. The person who is kissed is also
blindfolded and must guess what the flavor of chocolate is.
This
game is the story’s catalyst, causing the five characters to explore
their own intentions and desires, particularly the character of Michael,
who has to acknowledge his feelings and learn to embrace them.
How did the project fall together in the first place, and what got
you interested in it actually?
This
project came to me through Kristian
Hodko (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3579885/)
[Kristian Hodko interview -
click here],
my dear friend and close collaborator. We were at the Female Eye Film
Festival in Toronto when he told me about his latest story – five
friends who play a game of French kissing with chocolate. I said, “You
had me at French kissing. I’m in!” - he he! The
next day he handed me the script and I knew it was exactly the type of
material I wanted to get involved with. It’s been an interesting
experience for both of us, as I’m used to collaborating with Kristian as
an actor and acting coach, but the transition is working out well for us!
We have the feature in development and we will be moving the short film
into production this summer, as a prequel or proof of concept if you will.
Do talk about the film's
intended look and feel for a bit?
The
film will be colorful with rich textures and deep, earthy colors. We’ll
integrate this palette into every aspect of the film from the costumes and
makeup to the color of the walls in the decor so that at the end the
apartment, where the story unfolds, will feel cozy, welcoming, and
intimate.
We
also want the film to mimic the sensuality of the kissing game, so the
movie is set during a humid, summer night that leaves droplets of sweat to
trace over skin. Dana’s red lipstick against her cigarette as she
smokes. Close shots of hands running over one another, smooth and sensual.
I’m working with my DP, Martin
Bouchard (http://www.martinboucharddop.com/demo-reel/),
to make this film an experience that engages all the senses so you can
feel the tension and sensuality. Smell the cigarette smoke and taste the
wine and feel the weight of damp skin during a sweet kiss.
Morning After
has been written by one of its stars, Kristian Hodko [Kristian
Hodko interview - click here] - so what's your
collaboration like, both in preparations and on set, and how did you two
first meet even?
The
first time I heard about Kristian Hodko, I was blown away. It was back in
2011 and I was casting a film when I received Kristian’s audition video.
The intelligence, sensibility, and depth that he brought to the role
proved how talented he was and completely impressed me. I requested a
meeting with him, and when I found out he spoke Spanish (like a Mexican)
after growing up in Mexico, I was intrigued even more!
Patricia with Kristian Hodko |
We
started collaborating on Ceramic Tango
(https://vimeo.com/61140188)
and I offered him the lead role of Riley, which he refused. I was
devastated. But he explained to me that he had to embody the character and
didn’t think he was the right person to play Riley. I respect him for
being truth to himself and for being honest with me. It shows that he has
integrity. Instead he became the acting coach for the two non-actors I
ended up casting in the film, so we bonded behind-the-scenes and became
very good friends during that shoot.
By the time he told me about Morning After, it felt natural for us to work together and it’s made the
preparation process very pleasant because we see eye-to-eye. Kristian and
I have the same vision of what makes a good movie and what a message
should be about and there is always a higher purpose behind everything we
create, which makes collaborating with Kristian a treat! What can you tell us about the rest of
your cast, and why exactly these people?
Rather
than go through the normal audition process, we prioritized making sure
the actors had chemistry with each other – both as a group and in pairs
– and so casting was approached more like going on a date. We wanted to
have that instant connection between the characters and actors.
Thomas
Vallières (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4866802/)
and Luca Asselin (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3023926/)
were
picked first as Kristian felt artistically seduced by them. When casting
Dana we had two women in mind and decided on Cristina
Rosato (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2171480/)
for her strong acting skills, and she played an incredible version of the
perfumist. Zoé
De Grand Maison (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5046516/) as
Teegan was my idea, as I had just met her and she was bubbly, talented,
and charismatic. Kristian then also met Zoé for lunch and knew instantly
that she was meant to play Teegan.
All
of the actors in our cast are professional, working actors in either Montréal,
Toronto or Los Angeles, who are so incredibly talented and wonderful to
work with.
In my last two films, Ceramic Tango (https://www.facebook.com/
CeramicTango/)
and Serpent’s Lullaby (https://www.facebook.com/
SerpentsLullaby/),
I had first time actors and I had to coach them for 4 to 8 weeks before
filming. On Morning After, the
five actors showed up the day of the production, with no preparation. We
just did a table read and then we were shooting immediately after. We
didn’t have time for rehearsals, but they are so perfectly cast that I
had to do very little directing to achieve amazing raw footage.
As far as I
know, only a teaser for Morning After
has been shot so far - so
what can you tell us about that shoot?
We
shot the teaser of Morning After
in one long night because it
just so happened that Kristian and I were both in Montreal at the end of
the summer, just before I came back to Los Angeles. We decided we wanted
to shoot something and try out the characters as an experiment, so we shot
the second draft of the script to see how it would land on camera. It was
really more of a screen-test that gave us material we could use for the
Indiegogo
campaign teaser (http://igg.me/at/MorningAfter)
while also allowing us to get to know one another.
The
teaser was also great for Kristian and me on a creative level because it
inspired the direction of subsequent script drafts and now the story has
evolved and the characters have become more profound and fleshed out. So
the teaser was great chance to polish the project even more.
You're currently
running a fundraiser for Morning After
- so do talk about your
campaign for a bit!
Our
Indiegogo
campaign (http://igg.me/at/MorningAfter) is running until my birthday on May 28th, and all the funds
that we collect will go to the production and post-production of the short
film version of Morning After,
as well as to help us develop the feature even further. We are excited and
welcome the support from readers and fans who want to get involved in the
creation of this film and our creative process. You can be part of our
team by becoming an associate
or executive producer – the executive producers have access to the
set, will be able to interact with cast and crew, and get an inside look
at how I direct actors with energy. I also offer “dates” with me as an
acting coach in private sessions, or as a PR and marketing consultant.
You can also meet the actors and go on individual “dates” with Kristian
Hodko, Zoe de Grand Maison, or Thomas Vallieres. Have a coffee, go to a
museum, or take a walk in the park with any of these actors and get a
chance to know them. Once your funds are raised, what's
the schedule ... and any idea when and where the film might be released
yet?
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Once
the funds are raised we will be in pre-production for June and July, then
we will film in August in Montréal so that by the fall we’ll be in
post-production. My goal is to send Morning After
to the Sundance Film Festival for its world premiere, but we are
also considering SXSW, Berlin, Cannes, TIFF and my favorite festival, the Oaxaca FilmFest
(http://www.OaxacaFilmFest.com).
Any future projects beyond Morning After
you'd like to share? I’m
also developing a feature called Montréal
Girls (https://www.facebook.com/Montréal-GIRLS-1066416686718668/)
with my friend and collaborator, Kamal
John Iskander (http://www.KamalJohnIskander.com)
[Patricia
Chica and Kamal John Iskander interview - click here].
It has some of the same cast from Morning After
and it’s in the same vein of dark comedy, so I’m thrilled to
be working on it. The film is being produced by Samuel Gagnon and Bahija
Essoussi of Objectif 9
(https://www.facebook.com/objtf9/),
and I’m actually on my way to the Cannes
Film Festival right now to have some meetings for this particular
film. Your/your movie's website,
Facebook, IndieGoGo, whatever else?
Website:
www.PatriciaChica.com
Patricia
Chica Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Patricia-Chica-185993898124050/
">Morning After Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningAfterMovie
Twitter:
@PatriciaChica
Instagram:
@Chicatronica
Indiegogo:
http://igg.me/at/MorningAfter
Anything else you're
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
want to say thank you to all the readers out there for connecting with me
through social media and getting excited about Morning After
with us. If you want to discover more about my work
and process, I invite you to contribute to the campaign (http://igg.me/at/MorningAfter)
(even for $1) as it’s the best way to stay in the loop of what’s
coming next. We want to get great collaborators involved and make this
film the best it can be!
Thanks
for the interview!
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