A LUCKY BOUNCE

In Dave Chapelle‘s standup called The Bird Revelation, he spoke of in a stand-up comedic form of what it was life like a black man and the pressure that society has upon you of being that colour.  He also mentioned the #MeToo movement and all the Hollywood scandals surrounding some of the industry’s moguls and how women were fighting back in the industry and against a lifetime of oppression.  Despite Chappelle’s art coming in comedic form, it is very difficult for those who are not in the know of the reality of being in an oppressed group but the awareness if raised.  Other forms of media should bring consistent and groundbreaking content to the forefront to relieve the ignorance and swing the pendulum of fear to the other side.  Director Natasha Kermani and writer and main actress Brea Grant are doing just that in the film Lucky which screened recently at the Fantasia Film Festival.

               The film focuses on May, played by Brea Grant, who is a novelist and an influencer trying to land her next deal on her book.  The audience quickly learns that she takes her work home and tensions begin to build with her husband Ted, played by Druv Singh.  On the same night, she quickly sees that a man is standing outside of her house and watching them.  This does not excite Ted by any means as he says to his wife that the intruder has always been around and then he is going to break into the house.  Eventually, Ted does take care of the intruder once he does break in but then says to May that he will disappear afterwards in which he does in seconds.  Confused about the whole incident and trying to sell to the police that the intruder is trying to kill her, the anxiety builds within May causing Ted to leave her to her own devices.

                From this point on, the intruder pays a visit to May every single day and she must find ways to kill him before she becomes prey to him.  After each intense quarrel where a lot of blood is shed, the intruder then disappears like that of Michael Myers. She then has to report the same story over and over again to the police who never buy into what she is saying and that extra security around her house is not necessary.  Ted just vanishes from her life like she doesn’t exist and the confusion and the anxiety are so overwhelming for Brea that she is not able to concentrate on her work in hopes in landing that important deal for her book.

               This is the pressure that women like Brea experience in their everyday life.  Lucky is a film that is a reflection of what it is exactly like to be a woman or of an oppressed group and be gaslighted and hampered daily.  It is an ongoing battle that never ceases because once the fear sets in then it becomes a torturous defeat.  Lucky suggests the courage one must exemplify to stand tall and let nothing impede on your well-being.  The film is a sign of encouragement for all oppressed groups and that there are things that are worth fighting for especially when it comes to your own life.  FERNTV spoke to director Natasha Kermani about Lucky which sets a precedent and tone for future films that fight that oppression and where the ball bounces their way.

Natasha:  No, not at all! Brea and I had not yet met at the time that she wrote LUCKY. The script was sent to me by producer Rob Galluzzo, who envisioned Brea in the main role of May. I emailed Brea halfway through reading the script telling her how much I loved it and that I wanted to meet with her to discuss. From there, we quickly realized that this would be a great collaboration, and went to pitch to Epic Pictures shortly after.

Natasha:  I have, yes – I first worked with Lauren Ashley Carter in a web series she created with Lewis Black called The Mentors, which was a very funny dark comedy series that she starred in. Later, I directed the short film Pole, which was co-written by and starring Stefanie Woodburn. I’ve always really enjoyed coming to other writers’ work, and in many ways, there’s a wonderful shorthand with a lead actor who is so intimately familiar with the character and the story. The trick is making sure that we are 100% on the same page creatively, and any questions or differences are settled early on in the process. I’ve been very lucky that in all of these experiences, the actor/writer has been very receptive to my ideas as a creative partner.

Natasha:  I think our film uses the idea of being stalked in a more broad sense – we see this masked killer as a stand-in for many of the issues that women face and didn’t choose to go too far down the path of exploring the specific repercussions of 21st-century technology. With that said, I hope that the film opens up conversations about all these issues, including how to deal with social media and evolving technology in our daily lives.

Natasha:  Those films were certainly part of our conversations, Most of our comparisons and influences during prep with our production designer and DP were more about style, especially since Brea’s script is so unusual and unique! We looked at a lot of Nicolas Winding Refn films as well as Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal tv show for tone comparisons.

Natasha:  Genre has always been a space to take a hard look at serious issues and to push limits. Women filmmakers have so much to say, and genre is such an incredible paintbrush to use – I hope that the community and the industry at large continue to make space for women to tell their stories.

Natasha:  The most challenging aspect is always the same with indie – not enough time!! We had a very short shoot schedule – 15 days of production – so we tried to be very smart about how we used every hour of the day. We had to make some changes to the script, but we tried to hold on to the “bigger” set pieces that mattered to us. It’s always a balancing act.