Feature Story
Hone Your Gaydar at ShortFest
By Scott Brassart
Jackie, an attractive lesbian, has malfunctioning gaydar and it’s
ruining her life. So her sympathetic friends drive her out into
the middle of nowhere, push her out of the car and point. Jackie
follows their suggested path into the wilderness and meets the Master,
an eccentric woman with a unique ability to teach the art of gaydar
in four not-so-easy steps.
Happily, similarly lost souls needn’t travel to the edge of
civilization to learn the mysterious ways of differentiating those
with like-minded libidos from breeders. Instead, they can attend
the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, better known
as ShortFest, and watch the wonderfully comedic Four Steps, written
by Jennifer Medvin and directed by Karen Wilkens.
How did the two of you meet?
Jennifer: Karen and I actually did a film class
through an organization called POWER UP. We met through the class.
During that time I had a short film I’d written and I knew
that Karen was an established director so I let her read it.
Karen: Basically I went into the class having mostly
directed soap operas. I was looking to make the jump into either
films or episodic television. The class was my way of jump-starting
the next step in my career. So it was great when Jen came to me,
particularly because it was a comedy. I loved the fact that it was
a funny, and it had a lot going on. I read it and thought, Cool,
let’s do this.
Was the film world new for you, Jen?
Jennifer: I started with film in 2006. I’ve
been writing for ten or fifteen years. I placed really well in the
screenplay competitions, but it never seemed to get me anywhere.
So finally in 2006 a friend of mine and I collaborated on a short
film called Breakup Bob, and it did really well at the festivals.
We collaborated on another one last year, Helping Hand, which starred
Paul Marshall. That had its premier at the Palm Springs ShortFest
last year. This year Karen and I are having our U.S. premiere with
Four Steps at ShortFest. It’s really exciting to have, for
the second year in a row, a film of mine premiering here.
Karen, did you do anything prior to directing
soaps?
Karen: No, right out
of college I went to a soap opera called Another World, which is
no longer on the air. I started off as a secretary, and worked my
way up to director. Then I moved to Guiding Light and directed there.
That was all in New York. Then I got hired to come out here [to
Los Angeles] and start Passions on NBC. I started that ten years
ago and was on it until it ended. So it’s a little bit funny
that I’m thought of as a first-time director in the film world.
Are film and TV that much different?
Karen: You can take
a little more time in the film world, but not that much more time,
particularly in the independent film world. In both places it’s
all about getting done quickly and getting the most bang out of
your buck. As a director, it’s about telling the story, about
making sure the actors know what they’re doing, what you want
them to do. On the soaps, typically I was just given a script and
some floor plans, and I showed up to shoot. With the film, Jen and
I produced it together so I entered realms I had never dealt with—asking
for donations, dealing with craft services, dealing with agents,
finding locations, dealing with SAG, although Jen mostly dealt with
SAG. That was all new and different.
What are your goals for this film?
Jennifer: Film festivals, definitely, getting into
the top film festivals, which we’ve been lucky to do so far.
That’s the biggest goal. It’s a short film, and short
films are typically on calling cards. You never recoup your money.
It’s basically so you can say, “Hey, this is my work,
this is what I can do. Take a look and see if you’re interested
in anything else.”
Do you plan to collaborate on other projects?
Jennifer: We’ve done a few other things already.
We did a PSA for Equal Marriage Rights. Once again we both produced
it. I wrote, and Karen directed. Lucy Lawless narrated the English
version; Eva Tamargo narrated the Spanish version. Prop. 8 is a
horrible thing. We’re both married, not to each other, but
we’re both married and we’re in that 18,000 that are
lucky to remain married. It’s a horrible thing. We’re
also in post-production on a pilot series hosted by Erin Foley.
It’s called Dishing It Up. Karen directed that, and I’m
the supervising producer.
Karen: It’s a reality show. It’s cooking/interview/talk
show. We also did one other little tiny short called Will You Be
My…?, which we just submitted to the gay and lesbian center’s
Project Pushback. They’re doing a contest where you submit
a video about the gay marriage thing.
Will the two of you be at the Four Steps screening
in Palm Springs?
Jennifer: Absolutely.
Karen: Wouldn’t miss it.
If You Go — Four Steps will be screened at ShortFest as part
of the Chix Flix program on Saturday,June 27 at 4:30 pm in Camelot
2. For more info log on to psfilmfest.org. To view the Equal Marriage
Rights PSA log on to CAEquityNow.com
Courtesy of The Bottom Line Magazine
June 19, 2009, Volume 28, Issue 21 pg 50-51
www.psbottomline.com
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