5 Questions with Nat Gee
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I originally moved to NY from Australia for acting and after finishing school interned at Washington Square Films and then started working in production. At about the same time I started programming the narrative shorts for the Brooklyn Film Festival. I'm lucky that I get to be a part of both the prep/development and shoot process working in production, and then also celebrate filmmakers and their work at festivals. I was also writing on the side and in 2017 directed my first short. I realized I had more fun behind the camera creating new worlds and so have since begun focusing more on filmmaking.
2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?
I really enjoy the production design process and wanted to create something with a dreamlike tone and loved the idea of playing around with space and memory. I really wanted to capture desires through fantastical ways.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?
One of the biggest challenges was finding the locations. My father in-law works in real estate and the bathroom was an original 1970s bathroom that was in a building he owned. The owners happened to move out a few weeks before the shoot and he allowed me to shoot there before he renovated it for the new owners. The bar was at the Wythe hotel and they were so kind to let us shoot there. I've never shot anything before and this was also my first time working with film. I took a class at Mononoaware and learnt the aaton ltr camera one day, and the next day was on set. Mononoaware is a really special place. Music was also tricky to get right but composer Rolando Gori has done an amazing job and we worked on finding the different story beats for many weeks.
The easiest part was working with the cast and crew, everyone was really supportive of me shooting and figuring it out as I go. Rose and Matt are a pleasure and dove right in and we had a blast playing around with ideas.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
I recently watched Beanpole by Kantemir Balagov and loved it, its pacing is brutally honest and the performances are so full of heart. Plus the cinematography by Ksenia Sereda is like watching a moving painting.
5) What’s next for you?
I've just wrapped shooting Waves, a movement/dance piece starring Lily Baldwin on 16 and 35mm. It's about the physiological effects of anxiety explored through magical realism. Excited for post!
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IG: @_natgee