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Me with horror film
producer Lynne Hansen, who inspired my t-shirt.
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February isn’t
just about chocolate hearts and bouquets of roses. It’s also the
official Women in Horror Month!
While I’m nowhere
near high enough on the food chain to be showcased on the big horror
websites and magazines (I’m working on getting up there though!), I
do want to share a little about my experiences as a female director
in the horror industry.
First of all, I
never wanted to be a director until I was dragged kicking and
screaming into that position a few years back. I knew how tough it
had been just getting my foot in the door as a special effects artist
and I was certain that my foot would be completely amputated if I
tried to enter the ring as a director. But I had some very
supportive men by my side who talked me into the director’s chair
and then talked me off of all the virtual window ledges when all I
wanted to do was jump.
About halfway
through my first film project as a director I felt like I was getting
the hang of it. By the end of that production I had to admit that I
enjoyed directing.
While my first film
was in post I did a couple more shorts that were pretty much slated
to just be YouTube videos and I went back to doing special effects
for other production companies. Not surprising but nevertheless
annoying, I did run into a bit of misogyny on a couple sets. My
favorite was after being held up all day because the director wanted
to “shoot a quick scene” before the big effects scene that I’d
told him would take at least 5 hours to do, my FX team ended up
having about an hour or so to kill several people. Obviously things
had to get cut down and in the end we ended up just sloshing a lot of
blood everywhere. What did the director have to say to me afterward?
The men on my team were great but the women sucked. Seriously.
Then I started
working on my fifth project as a director and a strange thing
happened. I stopped getting calls to work. True, I had taken myself
off the market for a few months to shoot “The Family Way: Coming
Home”, but after it was safely in the editor’s hands I put myself
back out there. And to be completely honest, it bothered me to know
that other companies I’d worked for a few times in the past were
working on projects and I’d not been invited to the party.
Was it a coincidence
that I stopped getting FX job offers after announcing I was directing
again? Maybe. But I’ve also been told by more than a few people
that it may be because I dared to enter the Boy’s Club. I really
hate to think that that is true.
So instead of being
up to my eyeballs in fake blood and silicone, I spent nine months
promoting and touring with “Coming Home” on the festival circuit.
Given how often I’d been kicked in the teeth with reviews on my
past work, I was very surprised at how well my latest film was
received. One big lesson I learned was that you should always have a
speech prepared when you are in attendance at a festival and your
film is nominated for an award. I’m sure everyone has seen the
photos and videos floating around that should all be captioned “Shiva
gets caught off-guard and fumbles her way through public speaking.”
I’m very glad that
I did a festival tour. I attended some very memorable ones and met a
lot of fantastic people who are very much in favor of female
directors. I got a lot of encouragement and some great advice on
moving forward. Now I’m working on my sixth and (hopefully) seventh
projects in hopes of having the opportunity to do it all again.
My advice to any
women thinking about entering this Thunderdome: Prepare to wear your
skin like heavy armor and take no shit from those who would try to
stomp on you. Keep working on projects and don’t give up, no
matter how battered you get from bad reviews, nay-sayers, and haters.
Be honest and realistic with yourself while at the same time reaching
for the stars. But if you are just in it strictly with the goal of
having a glamorous life and making lots of money, get out now!
#WomenInHorror
#WIHFF #WIHM #IMakeFilmsLikeAGirl
