Interview with Sabina England

Interview with...

Sabina England

Filmmakers

Please tell us more about yourself:

I'm an aspiring filmmaker with one film (a narrative short which I wrote, directed and produced) under my belt and I've also had a play of mine which was produced in London. I'm a multimedia artist and so I often dabble in making and acting in silent comedy videos and creating art/experimental videos, and "dance" videos. You know when a musician makes a music video featuring his or her song? Well, I'm deaf and I can't hear or play music, so what I do is create "dance" videos instead. I come up with some visual concepts and then film myself dancing and dancing and after I'm done editing the video, I pick a random track and put in the audio. A lot of my videos, both comedy and experimental, have been shown at various festivals around the world. Since I consider myself an artist, I am always interested in exploring all kinds of arts, except music.

What inspired you to go into filmmaking?

I've always loved films since I was a kid. As a teenager I was very antisocial and didn't have many friends, so I often watched loads of foreign and classic movies in the basement at my parents' house. I also used to read loads of stage plays by playwrights such as Tennessee Williams and Caryl Churchill and Edward Albee, so I was always into theatre and film from a young age. Also, I used to be a major Star Wars fangirl. Yeah I actually collected some Star Wars figurines and I even wore Star Wars shirts. The very first screenplay I read was actually Star Wars: A New Hope, which I checked out from the public library. Since I'd often read a lot of stage plays, I was intrigued by the format difference in film scripts, so I started writing film scripts.

What are some of the challenges you face as a filmmaker?

Honestly, the number 1 challenge that I face as a filmmaker these days is - MONEY. If I had loads of money, I would love to be able to keep writing and directing films, and then send them off to film festivals all over the world. But that's not possible. If you had asked me the same question a few years ago, I would tell you that the challenges I faced as a filmmaker was being deaf and brown and female, but that's not the case anymore. I wanted to write scripts about South Asians, Muslims and women of color in strong, independent leading roles. I also wanted to write scripts with Deaf actors in leading roles. But you know what? They're not really saleable. Not from what I have seen anyway. It seems like a lot of agents and production companies want scripts about all white people or stereotypical roles for women as bimbos or whores or supporting characters, or if they want a script about Muslims, they want a story about something to do with terrorism, 9-11, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all that other bullshit. I don't wanna write those stories. I write stories about real people, people who are like myself - angry bored South Asian punks and feminists and riot grrls and drag queens and nerds. Now I don't give a fuck if nobody in Hollywood buys my scripts anymore. I will write what I want and I gotta do it myself. if I write a script and I so badly want it to be turned into a film, nobody would probably buy it. I'll just figure out a way to make the film myself and do everything by myself. So I hope to figure out a way to get money when I write and direct my 2nd film in Africa in 2012, insha'allah.

And don't people doubt your abilities because of your lack of hearing?

yeah, definitely, but I know it's not out of spite. a lot of people happen to have internalized prejudice toward deaf people - especially deaf females, but they don't realize it until I point it out to them by the way they treat me. A few times during the film shoot on my first film "Wedding Night" people would ignore my orders and not take me seriously. That pissed me off and sometimes I shouted at people to let them know I was in charge. I don't regret it at all. A lot of people always assumed we deaf females are quiet and dependent, and well, they're fucking wrong. There is a new organization called Deaf Women in Film which is based out of Los Angeles. The organization consists of filmmakers, screenwriters, editors, actresses, dancers, producers, all kinds of jobs you can think of in the film and TV industry. I think DWIF started about 1 year ago, they have a very active Facebook page and group mailing list and youtube channel. I have met some other deaf female filmmakers (both online and in real life) and they were amazing and cool. Some of them are profoundly deaf like me, and some others are hard of hearing. There is a lot of mutual support we give each other as Deaf Women in Film, and they gave me so much encouragement when I started pre-production for my first film "Wedding Night." I think that really helped me and lept me going.

How about the ethnicity part? Don't you get a lot of discrimination?

I don't think I get discriminated for being South Asian, but rather I get discriminated for being Deaf and female. being Deaf is a huge part of my identity, it overrides everything else. and of course, the being Muslim part... if I want to write a script about Muslims, I'm not gonna write about stupid terrorists, and then no one is gonna want to read it if I try to sell the script. Heaven forbid if I try to portray Muslims as actual human beings with feelings and hold American citizenship.

If you do face these problems how do you overcome them?

Well I've been a punk since I was a young teenanger, so I've always had a punk rock "fuck you all" attitude and I still hold that attitude, I don't care what people think of me and I'm not going to let anyone make me feel worthless or untalented. I believe in myself and I'm gonna go for what I want. People can talk shit about me and make fun of me all they want, it won't change how I feel about myself as a filmmaker and artist. I don't let anyone drag me down.

Please tell us all about the first film you ever shot...

I originally had written a 15 minute One Act stage play called "The Whore of Lahore." I published it on my blog ("The American Dream is Dead") and I got a lot of great feedback from people who said it was beautiful and intense. I think someone made a passing remark about how the play would also work as a short film. At that time, I'd been thinking a lot about making my own film with a professional cast and crew, but I didn't have a story. I looked through my scripts and came across "The Whore of Lahore," it was perfect. It only requires 2 characters (wife and husband) and is set in a hotel room. Nothing else! I tried to keep the script as low budget as possible. I changed the title to "Wedding Night." "Wedding Night' is a contemporary narrative short that explores arranged marriages in Indo-Pakistani cultures. It is very common for many women to have never met their husbands until on their wedding night. I've always thought about how uncomfortable and nerve wracking that must be. My mom and all of my aunts have had arranged marriages, and I know they didn't meet their husbands until on their wedding nights! Since I was born in the UK and raised in America, I just can't fathom that idea. It's so alien and strange to me. Also, there's a notion that Desi (South Asian) women born and raised in the West are rude, loud, obnoxous, and have no respect for traditions, so a lot of Desi American and British Asian men often seek wives in India and Pakistan, because they assume that women who are born and raised in the Indian subcontinent are quiet, submissive, obedient, and traditional! I've always hated that. It's extremely sexist and racist. So I wanted to make a story about a Pakistani American man who meets his new wife on their wedding night - his wife came to America from Pakistan just a few days ago - and he expects her to be a good girl, a sweet obedient submissive virgin. When he finally meets her, he is shocked because she's nothing like what he expected. She is strong and independent, assertive and in charge of her own body. "Wedding Night" challenges the stereotypings of South Asian women.

And I know you will be going to Africa soon please tell us more about that and what you will be doing there?

yes, I am hoping to go to Ethiopia later in 2012 to work with the deaf and volunteer at a deaf school. World Health Organization said that over 80% of deaf people in developing nations do not get any form of education. I've always wanted to go to Africa, and Ethiopia seems like a good fit for me. I also plan to organize drama workshops - acting, mime, storytelling, playwriting, poetry, for deaf students to help build self esteem and to help them express themselves in different ways. Drama is always a great tool to build more confidence. When I'm done volunteering, I want to stay a few more months in Addis Ababa and write and direct my next film, which will also be a short, but much longer (my first film is only 20 minutes long, but this film should ideally be around 30-40 minutes long). I want to incorporate Amharic, Ethiopian Sign Language, English, and American Sign Language into the storyline. I want to use both deaf and hearing Ethiopian actors in the story. I don't have a story yet, but I know I want to make a narrative drama, a beautiful film, something extremely moving and passionate. Hopefully I can get enough money to go to Africa.

Where do you hope to see yourself in five years time?

I have no idea!

Do you think there'll be a time when you will pack your bags and head to Hollywood?

I would love for it to happen, but I don't know. I don't feel like I'm Hollywood material and I don't think anyone there would like any of my stuff.

Who are some of your favourite screenwriters/filmmakers?

Diablo Cody, without a question, is one of my favourite screenwriters, I know she's only written 3 features so far, but I love what she does with her writing style. I'm also a huge fan of Woody Allen as a director and screenwriter, he is brilliant at creating conversational dialogue that just keeps the story moving, he is very good at invoking intellectual debates yet he keeps the plot moving. If you watch his films, you know that all of his characters just talk and talk, talk and talk. There is virtually no action - but the dialogue keeps the story moving. I just love that. I'm also a huge fan of Ingmar Bergman and Jim Jarmusch and Wong Kar Wai, their films have greatly influenced me as a teenager growing up. I know Lucille Ball wasn't exactly a filmmaker, but as a woman in Hollywood and as an actress and producer and with her wits and determination, she was a great influence on me, as well.

How have they influenced you as a filmmaker?

They all have influenced me in terms of visual and storytelling style. My film "Wedding Night" is stylistic, with a lot of pauses and visual shots. It's very inspired by Jarmusch and Bergman. A lot of people have told me that my film has a very European feel to it, which is nice.

What are your thoughts on the fabulous four?

I really like that there's a group of community and solidarity with female screenwriters/directors who support each other and have each other's backs. I have some friends who live in Los Angeles and they're always complaining about the cutthroat, dog-eat-dog attitude in Hollywood and no one has your back. I always hear that people are fake. but the Fempire is still going strong after "Juno" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" and other films came out, and they're still good friends. I love that. One of my fantasies is that they will become very powerful and wield enough power in Hollywood and demand for more films with strong female characters and for more female-directed, female-written films. If you look at the past 5 years, you would see we have had so many gung-ho superhero and comic book film adaptations, all featuring MEN in superhero roles, yet we don't have one film starring a female superhero in a leading role! How ridiculous is that? And the only mainstream big budget box office female action star we have is Angelina Jolie, and she looks like she's gonna slow down. I don't understand how we can be in the 21st century and women are still lagging behind the camera in terms of technical/creative roles and in front of the screen in strong leading roles. And come on, Kathryn Bigelow was the first and only woman to win an Oscar for Best Director, and that was barely a few years ago. Can you believe it?

Any last words?

Check out my website and my videos if you're interested in having a look. Also, I'm on Facebook. I'd love to meet more filmmakers out there - especially female filmmakers who write and direct and produce their own films!