{"id":61661,"date":"2011-11-11T07:36:59","date_gmt":"2011-11-11T07:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2011\/11\/11\/dee-rees-talks-pariah\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T13:15:49","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T13:15:49","slug":"dee-rees-talks-pariah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/dee-rees-talks-pariah\/","title":{"rendered":"Dee Rees Talks Pariah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pariah<\/a><\/strong>An Interview with Dee Rees interview<\/strong>
\nBy Fred Topel<\/p>\n

November 11, 2011<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Pariah’ <\/a><\/strong>made an impressive premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Focus Features bought the first time feature by Dee Rees<\/strong> and has given it a Christmas Day release. They also entered the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, where we spoke with Rees and her cast.<\/p>\n

Based on her own short film, Pariah tells the story of Alike (Adepero Oduye<\/a><\/strong>), a teenager who comes out within a sometimes intolerant community. Rees\u2019s film explores a common experience for people\u2019s development, and communities reacting to those individuals. Indeed it was based on Rees\u2019s own story, somewhat, as she explained to us.<\/p>\n

The film also stars Kim Wayans<\/a>, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mallesse, Aasha Davis, Afton Williamson<\/strong>, and Rob Morgan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dees spoke to Blackfilm.com<\/a> <\/strong>about her film and personal experiences.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When did you decide you wanted to write about your own experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dee Rees: <\/strong>When I was coming out, so 2005\/2004 I was going through the process myself and wasn\u2019t sure how to be or who I was. So writing this was in a way cathartic and gave me the courage to be myself.<\/p>\n

Were hesitant to put so much of yourself and your life on film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> I was, and this is only semi-autobiographical. I came out really late in life. I was 27. The character here is 17 so this film more answers the question: if I had known at 17, if I had even had a clue, would I have the courage to be that person? I\u2019m not from Brooklyn, I\u2019m from the south. I\u2019m a nerdy chick from the suburbs. So in a lot of ways my experience is very different from Alike\u2019s world. Growing up is very different. I was able to test those same kind of insecurities and questions that I was having in my life, kind of project them onto this 17-year-old Brooklyn girl.<\/p>\n

Was it any bit of wish fulfillment, like if only I could have known earlier in life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> Maybe not I wish I knew, because I appreciate my journey for what it was but more I guess the ending might be more wishful kind of like wanting to see the healed relationships and seeing the acceptance. I love the moments between Alike and Arthur, so maybe some of that was wishful, like getting to write your ending but I wouldn\u2019t change my beginning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Was it also a combination of speaking to other women who have gone through similar issues and your own?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>No, I just kind of wrote it without a lot of research. When we were shooting the short version of it, we workshopped the scenes with some kids from the Harvey Milk school but ultimately ended up casting professional actors to do it but no, I don\u2019t really research before I write. I just kind of write and let it go.<\/p>\n

Have you been surprised when people tell you they went through exactly the same thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>Yeah, it\u2019s been really good but I\u2019m not totally surprised because I know that even though this is a really specific story, identity is a universal struggle and a universal experience. So when I was that age, it wasn\u2019t my sexuality, it was other things. So when women come forward and say, \u201cOh, my parents did this. My parents said this to me or did that to me,\u201d it was really kind of affirming and inspiring but not as surprising because as we were writing it and shooting it, we kind of felt that this is truthful. This is going to connect with somebody. I\u2019m just glad that it happened.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How did you cast Adepero Oduye?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>She actually came to auditions when we were shooting the short version of the film. We just did an open casting call, Breakdown Express, and she submitted herself and came in and blew it out of the water, and she had it.<\/p>\n

How instrumental was working with Spike Lee?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> It was great. He gave me a lot of creative feedback and actually he gave me my first film business job. I interned for him on Inside Man with the script supervisor and then also on When the Levees Broke again with the script supervisor. So getting to watch him on set and his interactions with actors and getting to watch his compositions and all that stuff was a really great learning experience and just how to run a set. Beyond that, he teaches at NYU, he teaches a masters class in directing so I\u2019d sign up for weekly advisement sessions. He\u2019d give me feedback on the script and go through with a sharpee and mark it up, be brutally honest about things and that was great. Also after I had a cut of the film, he would watch cuts of the film and give feedback. He was a good creative advisor and also just a good morale booster too. He kept encouraging us, \u201cJust get it in the can. No matter what, just get it in the can.\u201d That\u2019s what Nekisa Cooper The producer did. He shared with us his experiences on getting Do the Right Thing done. So we drew a lot of inspiration from that. Basically he said, \u201cIf I can do it then you guys can do it. Just take each step one step at a time and just get it in the can, then get it cut. Then you can keep gathering resources to take things to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Has he remained involved as it\u2019s played festivals and gotten distribution?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>He has. He\u2019s been great. When we were figuring out the deal at Sundance he would talk to Nekisa and give her advice. Post that, he\u2019s given us marketing questions and things to think about and things to look forward to. He\u2019s just been an advisor on what to expect and what we should be asking, what we should know, what we should be doing. He\u2019s played the role as kind of an advisor and mentor. Nekisa and I can always call with a question or e-mail him and he\u2019ll get back to us and just be really generous with his time.<\/p>\n

Is doing a film yourself as a startup a lot different now than when Spike did She\u2019s Gotta Have It?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> I\u2019m not sure. I don\u2019t know what it was like totally back when he did his first film, but I think in terms of financing it\u2019s still as difficult because we knew that we had to do this film with private equity. On the face of it, people thought this film was too small and specific. They thought it was too black, too guy. Still the process of finding investors who believe in the material and believed in us as filmmakers was difficult. The mechanics of it are the same. You need the camera, you need actors, you need space. I guess that hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How did you condense your original 140 page script to a workable feature length?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> Initially, like 2005 first version [was 140 pages.] Obviously the process of shooting the short film and going to the Sundance screenwriting lab and director\u2019s lab, it got whittled down and refined so I think it\u2019s kind of actually great that it had that long gestation period because it was able to get better with every round, become truer and refined. We as artists, the cinematographer, Bedford Young, Nekisa the producer and myself and the actors, we all matured as artists so I think it\u2019s a much more subtle, more nuanced piece.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What has the film done for you since Sundance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> It got me an opportunity to write another script for Focus Features which I\u2019m excited about. Also there\u2019ve been other actors I love and respect who\u2019ve seen the film and now I\u2019m going to get a chance to work with. It\u2019s just kind of been great because it\u2019s getting communities of color in dialogue about this issue. It\u2019s gotten a chance to be an outreach to gay teens who are seeing the film or talking about the film and thinking, \u201cOkay, that\u2019s my story, that\u2019s my experience.\u201d It\u2019s just been a connection to community in a bigger way than we imagined it would be and it\u2019s just been a chance to tell a meaningful story.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Have other gay themed films been an inspiration to you as a filmmaker?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>I like Paris is Burning by Jennie Livington. It\u2019s actually a documentary so that\u2019s the film I would say I saw the film and was like yeah, I want the film to be as impactful as that at least.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What do you hope the film does for the gay community?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>I hope that it just gives people a reference point. I hope it gives LGBT youth and particularly LGBT youth of color another kind of marker, another reference point. They don\u2019t see themselves necessarily in everyday media so here\u2019s one more thing they have to point to to look at. It just gives them something to grow up with. Coming up, there was very little for me to see. There\u2019s Watermelon Woman but my parents wouldn\u2019t let me look at gay cinema. The only two gay things I had in terms of film were the kissing scene in Color Purple which was like a heartbeat, and then The Women of Brewster Place had one relationship. That was the extent of my gay cinema knowledge. Hopefully this film will be to some other youth in Nashville, TN or in the Midwest or someplace where things aren\u2019t as accessible, it\u2019ll be a reference for them or something as affirming for them. For me, books were my source of affirmation. Alice Walker, Audrey Lord, it was these authors who wrote about their experiences. It was this weird thing where I was censored in terms of what I could watch but not in terms of what I could read. Hopefully through Pariah it will break through to someone, they\u2019ll have something to hang onto or look at.<\/p>\n

What do you hope it does for the African-American community?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>I hope it starts conversation and helps get people talking about the issue. I hope that it heals families and it increases acceptance and allows people to be themselves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How is your relationship with your family now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> It\u2019s fine\u2026<\/p>\n

Okay. What is the HBO project you\u2019re doing with Viola Davis?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> It\u2019s a TV series project and that\u2019s all I can say about it now, but you know, I love Viola and it\u2019s an absolute dream to work with her so I\u2019m excited for whatever comes of it.<\/p>\n

What is your process for doing episodes and long running stories versus a feature?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>For me, it\u2019s the same because it\u2019s all about character. It\u2019s just about making characters specific, giving them a world and making sure everyone has their own wants, needs and desires. To me it feels the same so far but I guess we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Are you still dealing with similar themes \u2013 gay themes, youth themes, gay black youth themes – or are there new themes to the series?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> I think in all my work there will always be kind of those things but they won\u2019t be plot points. They\u2019ll just be part of who people are. There\u2019s lots of other things so it\u2019s just one layer among other things that will be talked about.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t that the goal, that it\u2019s no longer a \u201cgay movie\u201d but becomes a movie that happens to have gay characters?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>Yeah, even Pariah I don\u2019t feel is just a gay movie. it\u2019s a film about identity, so straight or gay, black or white, you can identify with trying to be yourself. Sometimes you know who you are but you\u2019re not given a space to express that in a way that\u2019s authentic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the feature you\u2019re working on for Focus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>It\u2019s a thriller. It\u2019s called Bolo.<\/p>\n

Is that an original or based on a property?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> Original idea.<\/p>\n

What kind of thrillers did you admire as a film lover?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>I like the Coen Brothers. I like Blood Simple. I like Fargo even though it\u2019s maybe not technically a thriller but I like films where the characters are very specific and they\u2019re characters you don\u2019t typically see, so yeah, we\u2019ll see. Walter Mosley is my favorite crime writer so he\u2019s a big inspiration.<\/p>\n

How much higher a budget will you get to work with on that film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>I don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

How far along on the script are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> I finished it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Was the poster for Pariah Focus\u2019s idea?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> Focus basically did 30 poster ideas and they\u2019re all great. I think Harlan Gulko led the charge with that. They came up with 30 different concepts so he picked five to help us narrow it down.<\/p>\n

What do you think of the idea of sounding out the word \u201cpariah\u201d on the poster?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> I think it was important because when we did the short film, on the festival circuit, people had questions about the word and the pronunciation. So I had to clarify that no, it\u2019s not a film about a carnivorous fish. That\u2019s a different word. We actually got a lot of questions about the word and what it meant so it was important to define that for people.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t realize it was a difficult word for people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR: <\/strong>I didn\u2019t either but we got a lot of questions about it on the festival circuit, what a pariah was and what it meant.<\/p>\n

How do you feel about the Christmas Day release date?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong> It\u2019s exciting so we\u2019ll see what happens. I know that I personally go to movies on Christmas but we\u2019ll see how it pans out. Yeah, it definitely makes a statement to have that day and hopefully it\u2019ll be something. Given that it\u2019s about a family, hopefully it\u2019ll be something that families go to.
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