>> Steve!
Ow...
Why don't you go back
to band practice?
( laughter )
>> We should go.
>> I don't think so.
>> Come on!
>> Excuse me, when have we
ever been invited
to one of their parties?
>> Never.
So what?
>> Face it, we're total geeks.
>> Speak for yourself.
>> You know what I mean.
We're not popular.
>> I know, but we could go
anyway.
>> I don't think so.
>> Come on, they'll have a keg.
And when have you ever
passed up on food and beer?
>> Hello, and welcome
to Director's Cut.
I'm your host,
Charles Monroe-Kane.
Here at Director's Cut,
we're dedicated to bringing you
the best in independent films
and filmmakers.
Our film this week
is "Heather."
The film is a high school drama
that follows Heather, a teen
outsider, as she tries to get
closer to one of the popular
boys named Steve.
It's a dark,
and well, realistic film.
And for me, a refreshing view
on what high school
can really be like.
"Heather" was written and
directed by Melissa Lawrenz.
Thank you, Melissa,
for being on our show today.
First, tell me about Heather.
Who is Heather?
>> Heather is a mixture of me,
growing up and the joys
of high school.
>> The joys of high school.
So she has the dark make-up,
kind of the body posture,
even that clip shows,
maybe a little insecure, quiet.
>> Yeah, definitely.
I mean, growing up, you know,
I obviously didn't fit in
with the popular cliques,
or whatever.
But I always wanted to standout,
so I did whatever,
which was wear black,
which was nothing, really.
>> Is that what you did?
Did you do the mascara?
>> I don't think I did
that much.
But you know.
>> It doesn't take much
in high school though.
>> No, it doesn't.
I grew up in the '80s,
so wearing bright clothes
was the time.
You know, aqua and all that.
So you know, my opposite was
to wear black all the time.
>> When you wrote it and were
directing it, were you like,
Heather's me?
Were there moments where like,
I want this to be, I remember
this moment in my life, and
I want Heather to be like that?
>> Yeah, definitely.
I modeled her after me.
I had blond hair, and whatever,
so that changed, obviously,
going through casting.
Definitely, I was the model.
>> I want to show another clip
from the film right up front
here, because I want to kind
of get in the mood of what
high school's really like.
This one actually doesn't need
any set-up, because it totally,
to me, epitomizes the horrors
of what high school
can really be like.
So let's see another clip.
>> All right,
please settle down.
I need to take some papers to
the main office, so while I'm
gone, I want you to work on
problems 1-10 on page 35.
>> Okay.
>> Lisa.
Lisa!
>> Give that to me!
>> Hey Matt, check this out.
>> That's mine!
>> What's it say?
>> Is there a problem in here?
Lisa, is there a problem?
>> No, Mr. Watts.
>> Gentlemen.
>> Listen up, everyone.
( laughs )
Heather...
>> Matt!
Shut up!
>> Is in love with Steve!
( laughter )
Oh, isn't that sweet?!
It looks like Heather would like
to get to know you a lot better.
( laughter )
A lot, a lot better,
if you know what I mean.
Jane's going to be pissed
when she finds out.
( laughter continues )
>> God, high school sucked!
I hated high school!
I was such a dork.
In high school, I wore
a big Army coat, a big,
huge Army coat
and these big, thick glasses.
I hated high school.
That's such a painful scene,
in a sense, because it really
shows there's a pecking order.
Tell me a little bit more about
some of the details of your
high school experience.
What was high school like
for you?
>> You know, I guess, really,
looking back,
it wasn't horrible.
But things happened that
you know, I wasn't part
of the popular group.
I was like, I don't care,
I'm going to go against them
and do the opposite.
But deep down, you really wish
you could be part of it.
>> Right.
>> And things always happen
where you get so embarrassed
by the stupidest things.
Like, things happen.
And you know,
it's like mortifying.
It's like your emotions as
a teenager go from one extreme
to the next.
>> It's interesting, I'm
curious as I watch this film--
and we're going to see
some more clips from it.
There's a sense that this
subject matter, unpopular girl,
jock guy, it has been done
a million times before.
What do you bring to it
that makes it more fresh than
what we've seen in a thousand
after school specials?
>> I think the subject matter
is different.
I mean, it's been done before,
but I'm hopefully doing it
in a different way.
>> When I watch this film,
it doesn't feel--
It has a subject matter
of say, an after school special,
but it doesn't feel like it
at all, nor does it feel like
"90210," or some other,
like "The OC," or something.
What are you doing as a director
differently, to bring in the
same thing to it, but having it
not feel in that contrived way?
That scene has even been
done before, but somehow
it's more real.
What's the difference?
What do you think
the difference is?
>> I don't know.
I grew up with John Hughes,
who I thought was brilliant.
He always had really strong
female characters.
And where I think in modern day
Aptow films, they don't have
those strong female characters.
Although he says he's a big
proponent and he loved it.
So I think I'm trying to bring
that back, the essence.
I love John Hughes.
And I really would like to see
those type of teen movies
back again, where in it you had
equally strong female,
strong male characters.
>> For a lot of people
John Hughes, "Pretty in Pink."
>> "Sixteen Candles."
>> Who's John Hughes?
We're from the '80s, where
John Hughes was a big deal.
He did it as well.
He was able to have these scenes
in the classroom.
I remember, I think it was in
"Pretty in Pink," where they
were in detention.
And you're just like, man,
that's how it is.
That's really, really how it is.
Over dramatic, but at the same
time, it's real, because,
you know, it's a cusp age.
Have you ever thought about
that?
I would never want to be 17
again.
You're treated like a kid.
But you actually are an adult.
You're grown up.
You can join the Army.
You can get pregnant.
You can drive a car.
It's kind of an interesting
moment.
A lot of the filmmakers
we've had on, and a lot of
filmmakers in general, are men.
I think a man dealing with
this film, even that scene,
passing a note in class,
a woman made that scene.
Because there's really empathy
for her.
There's this moment at the end
where she's like, the one
friend says, "I'm sorry."
And the girl says, "Okay."
That's real.
How do you feel
as a female director?
How are things different
for you?
>> I don't know.
I've had men look at this film
and they're like,
that's so typical, the jock
gets, you know, whatever.
But I don't know.
It's hard to say.
Maybe I'm giving it more
of an emotional true,
real stance to it.
I don't know.
I mean, I think it would be hard
for a man to do this film,
from that respect, because it's,
I don't know, girls go through
high school differently
than guys.
>> There's another clip
we want to show.
And I would like you
to set it up.
This certainly shows what
I think a woman would do
differently in a film
than a man.
Also, I think it shows what
makes this film atypical to even
what John Hughes would've done.
So if you could set up
the next clip for us.
>> Heather goes to a party
that she shouldn't
really be going to.
She's not invited.
She meets up with her crush,
the guy that was written
in the note.
So they meet up.
And he finds her in his bedroom,
and things happen.
>> Well, let's see another clip
from the film, "Heather."
( door closes loudly )
>> What are you doing?
>> I was just looking at
your pictures.
>> What's the rush?
>> Um, my friend Lisa, you know?
She's really drunk,
so I thought I'd go find her.
So...
>> So.
You're in love with me, huh?
>> You weren't supposed to
see that.
>> Relax.
>> ( whispering ): Okay.
Stop.
>> What's wrong?
>> I just--
I don't want to do this.
>> Sure, you do.
>> So of course, we couldn't
show the rest of that clip,
because a bit graphic.
But then Steve rapes Heather
in that scene.
Very, very powerful.
I didn't think that was going to
happen, actually, when I saw it.
So you went to that moment.
What, as a writer and
as a director, why to that
moment in the film--?
>> Why did that happen?
>> Yeah.
>> It's a multitude of things.
I mean,
I never experienced rape.
And I think people wonder
if I have been raped.
I haven't.
But I had experience in
sexual harassment at work.
And just how I was treated
through that process
kind of inspired, I guess,
needing to get that out.
And then, yeah, I guess how
society treats men and women who
are raped, specifically women,
just because they're always
treated as a sexual object,
and they want it, so obviously,
you know, it wasn't rape,
they were doing it for a reason.
>> Right, she said in the note.
>> Exactly.
The whole Kobe Bryant rape thing
was happening at the time.
And how the woman was treated,
how her name was released
in the press, and how
no respect was given to her.
>> Which is what happens
in this film.
Everybody in school knows it.
Even the accused, Steve,
sees her in the hallway.
There's a moment where she's
in the principal's office, this
horrible moment in the film.
And he sees her again.
And it kind of almost feels,
as some people talk about,
being raped again.
I was really surprised
to watch it.
Because one of the things
I thought about while
I was seeing this film,
is I've never seen this in
a film of this subject matter.
And that happens all the time.
Which I find annoying,
initially.
But then I'm like, there you go.
You did it.
What do you think of that idea?
Have you ever seen that before
in a film?
>> I don't think so.
I was inspired by a Swedish
filmmaker, Lukas Moodysson.
He did a film called
"Lilya 4-Ever,"
about the sex trade.
And he had multiple scenes
of her basically being raped.
But it was from her perspective
and seeing the guy's face
the entire time.
>> Oh, wow.
>> So it was very powerful, but
I wanted to do the flip side
of seeing just her face, and
seeing how she's taking it in.
I don't think we necessarily
want to see that
or think about it, we just
kind of want to gloss over
the bad things.
And I think because society
has a history of doing that,
trying to not talk about
the bad things,
and just moving on.
>> Yeah, which is what they
try to do in the film.
Her parents, not to give the
whole film away, but her parents
are basically like, they know
that it happened, but then
they want her to move on.
He's going to get suspended
from school.
He's going to get busted because
he had alcohol at the party.
He's not going to be able
to play football anymore.
But there's not going to be
criminal charges for the rape.
>> Yeah.
>> Which is pretty intense.
I'm curious as I watch a scene
like this.
And this is a director question
for you.
That scene, I assume
you're the person--
Are you the person
with the camera?
>> No, I had a DP.
>> You have the camera person.
There's you.
You have Steve, the actor.
I don't know how many
other people were there.
But that's a pretty intense
moment for Heather.
And for you.
What was it like when you
were filming?
What was that moment like
when you were filming,
you're choreographing a rape.
What was that like?
I couldn't imagine doing it.
>> Well, I mean it was hard.
When we choreographed it,
we practiced it beforehand,
we didn't get too intense
with doing it.
We went through the motions.
Okay, you need to block here.
This is where we're going to be.
And then we tried to save all
the emotional context with it
the night that we shot it.
We spent one night doing
this scene only.
>> And then left afterwards?
>> Yeah.
It was the DP who ran camera,
the sound guy, and me,
and the two actors.
And that's all we did.
>> What was it like for
the actress who plays Heather?
>> It was intense.
>> She must be a teenager.
She seems fairly young.
>> Yeah, she was 19 at the time.
So it was intense.
I think the guy was okay.
He was okay.
He just kind of joked.
That was the way he dealt
with it.
But it was pretty hard for her.
I mean, we had to go to
the bathroom afterwards,
after each take,
and just kind of sit there.
I had to make sure she was okay.
It was rough.
Even though you're shooting it,
and it's not real, she put
a lot of emotion into it.
>> Sure, yes she did.
It's a very intense scene.
What helped her?
Would you remind her of why the
film is important?
It's not gratuitous.
Is that part of what would
help her, or helped you?
>> I don't think we necessarily
said anything specific about it.
I was just, "Are you okay?"
You know, I just hugged her,
you know, just took the time
to make sure that she was okay.
It wasn't, you know, I mean
it's going to affect you
no matter what you do, because
you are playing that role.
You are directing it.
But you just try to, you know,
make some jokes
and keep it light.
>> There's a great ending
to the film, which again,
I was surprised by.
Her best friend, who for a while
didn't believer her in the film,
in the end she says,
"I believe you.
I believe you."
And I was like, that was
on purpose.
As a writer, as a director,
why, "I believe you."
What's so important about
those lines for you,
for Heather?
>> I think she's a very strong
character.
She's going through the motions
to prove that she's right.
And she's standing up
for herself.
So, she doesn't need anybody
to do that for her.
But the one thing she really
needs from other people
is the support, and the idea
that they do believe her,
that they actually believe in
what she's saying.
And not the outside core
of all the people
that are going against her.
I think when you're a teenager,
you just want somebody
to believe you.
>> It's interesting, I was
watching the film and it
felt like everything for her
was going down.
>> Yeah.
>> Then, as soon as her friend
said, "I believe you,"
boom, that's the start
of things going back up.
You have some other films.
We're going to show some clips
from some of the other films.
The next one is called
"Outside of this House."
I wonder if you could--
We're going to show a clip from
that film and talk about it,
but why don't you set it up
just a little for us.
Tell us a little bit about
what this film's about.
>> It's about a girl, she's 15.
Her brother's going away
to college, which is kind of
traumatic for her,
because that's her core at home,
which is not a very happy home.
Her parents are bickering.
Her dad's emotionally abusive.
And the morning that he's going
to leave, he slaps her.
That's the first time
it's become physical.
So she's petrified of him
leaving and her being there
alone, by herself.
So she tries to run away.
>> This is a scene from
"Outside of this House."
( van doors shut )
( engine starts )
>> I hate that house.
>> We'll get there
in about six hours.
>> Can we stop and get something
to eat?
I'm hungry.
>> Let's get a few miles in
first.
>> What classes did you
register for?
>> I'm in Astronomy
and I signed up for Trig.
And I can't remember what else.
>> You can't remember?!
Idiot!
( laughs )
( sneezes )
>> Was that you?
>> No.
Where's it coming from?
>> Back here.
>> What are you doing
in that van?!
We were scared sick!
>> Momma, let go,
you're hurting her.
>> A clip from the film,
"Outside of this House"
by Melissa Lorenz.
Melissa, as I see that clip
from that film,
"Outside of this House,"
and your film "Heather,"
the question is begged here.
There seems to be a lot of
tension between parents in both
films, very serious tension,
and their children.
Is this autobiographical?
>> Uh, yeah, obviously.
( laughs )
>> Is that something you feel--
You do fiction, mostly.
>> Yes.
>> Is that something you
feel like--
Is that where the creative muse
comes from, the tension
from that autobiography?
>> I think, at least for me
growing as a filmmaker,
when I started making films,
the story content
had nothing to do with me.
It was just, you know,
this generic, whatever junk
I was trying to write,
and make it seem real.
I guess when I realized I had to
start from within, and what I
was used to, what I experienced.
You know, what I know as
a person, starting with that
and moving forward, I think
I can break away from
doing stories that, you know,
the parents being awful
and blah, blah, blah.
So I think I had to start
with the inner me,
what I've experienced,
and deal with that first.
>> Woody Allen never stopped.
It worked for him.
>> Maybe I never will.
I don't know.
( laughs )
It worked for him.
He's pretty successful!
>> Yeah.
>> But there is an emotional
resonance to it, though,
because you're bringing to it.
I don't know if you ever
hid in the back of car
with the boxes, but I mean,
it's a very powerful image.
She is stuck.
She is trapped.
There's no way
she's going to make it.
You know that.
She knows that.
Everybody knows that.
But still, she attempts.
It's kind of a powerful thing.
I'm curious because we have
another film that we want to see
that is a documentary film.
We're going to show a clip
from it.
It's about your grandmother.
But before I ask about that,
I think about families a lot,
and be like, that is kind of
what many of us have.
I didn't live through a war.
I didn't go to space.
So the trauma and joys of my
family are what I have,
if I'm a novelist or a writer.
So it is what we bring.
And I think it's interesting
that you say you might want
to move away from it, because
I think it's pretty rich,
don't you think?
>> Yeah, I think that will
always be a core.
Even if you do a film about
space, you're going to have
some sort of context of being
a human being, and what
you've experienced in family,
and whatever, that generates
the person that you become.
So you can't deny any of that
experience, because that's what
makes it real, and hopefully
makes the audience understand.
>> We were talking earlier.
Sometimes you make a film,
and you see some of these films,
and you're like, yeah, there's
skill there, the editing,
and all that stuff.
But so what?
Where's the emotional resonance?
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> Well, speaking of
emotional resonance.
You have another clip
we want to show from your film.
Why don't you set up the
autobiography, the documentary.
>> Yeah, I took some 8mm footage
I had of myself growing up,
and with my grandmother, who
lived in Sweden her entire life.
I was born in Sweden,
but I grew up in America.
It's about after her death,
I kind of took that time,
I guess, to reflect upon
our relationship,
and review what happened.
And I guess some things
I just wish I could've said
to her before she died.
>> This is some things
you said to her here.
Let's see a clip from
"I Hope, Grandmother."
>> That is a clip from
"I Hope, Grandmother."
Melissa, that is so beautiful.
It makes me want to go back
and make one for my grandmother
as well.
Tell me more about your
grandmother.
>> She was an amazing woman.
And when she died, it was just a
huge loss for our whole family.
I guess, you know, this was just
an honor to her, because
she was such a big woman.
I felt like she needed
a little bit more, you know,
something to honor her memory.
>> It's interesting.
We see it a lot, you know,
from David Byrne, to a lot
of documentary filmmakers,
the old stock footage.
The filming of the photo.
Some music.
But it's such a great thing
to do.
There's a lot of aspiring
filmmakers out there.
How hard is that to do?
>> It's not.
My parents had actually
transferred that footage to VHS,
so that's what I actually used.
And you could just take still
photos and import them into
Final Cut, or whatever.
But I filmed the photos,
at the time.
But you can do anything.
>> But it's beautiful.
There's a slowness to it.
There's an intimacy.
If you have the camera and
you're on the photo, then you
can move as slow and as fast
as you want, as you would
look at that photo.
>> Yeah.
>> It's kind of nice.
Just seeing it reminds me.
It's a powerful thing.
We should all make films about
our grandmother, because
we all have photos.
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> It should be a home project
for everyone.
Melissa did it.
We should all make films about
our wonderful grandmothers.
Who did you make this film for?
Who is the audience
for this film?
A film in Swedish
about your grandmother
that's six minutes long.
>> It was for me.
I think it was an exercise
for me to really get at the true
emotion that was inside me
that I was afraid of sharing
with people.
And that was really the exercise
of this, was to tell the truth
about some painful things about
my past, which you know, was
the death of my grandmother.
So that was really the point
of it, was for me to grow
as a filmmaker.
>> When you screened it for your
audience, for yourself,
how did you feel about it?
>> I screened it for some
colleagues, and they loved it
because it was honest.
I think that's the real, true
goal of a filmmaker,
to be as honest as you can.
And my family loves it.
They cry every time
they watch it.
>> That's good enough.
To be honest
and your family cries.
Thank you very much
for joining us.
Very powerful films.
We wish you best of luck.
>> Thank you.
>> When you make a full-length
feature, give us a buzz.
We'll have you back on.
>> Thank you.
>> And thank you all of you
for watching today.
on Director's Cut.
For more information
on today's film, or to hear more
about Melissa Lorenz,
please go to our Web site,
where you can pick up a copy
of her film at:
wpt.org/directorscut.
While you're there,
send us an email.
We would love to hear from you.
I'm your host,
Charles Monroe-Kane.
For everyone here
at Director's Cut, thank you
very much for joining us.
Check the gate.