5 Questions with Fareeha Khan ("Break Up, Baby")
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I'm a comedian and a longtime fan of comedic films. Zoolander is, dare I say, legendary. I've had film-like ideas in my mind for a long time and I've always wanted to create something that brought those visions to life. Break Up, Baby is my first time making that happen. And with the help of my friends, I'd say it turned out pretty much exactly as I'd hoped. Very wild and exciting to see this thing I dreamed up a few years ago outside of my head.
2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?
The initial idea was exploring my own personal patterns of dating far too many people who were emotionally unavailable and why that would make me feel bad. Or in very 2018 terms: getting bamboozled by too many fuckbois. I also had always wanted to make a live action film with animations in it, a la the classic vibes of Space Jam or the Broad City episode where they tripped shrooms. I'm also an illustrator and I'm obsessed with color and surrealist worlds. I brought up the idea to my friend Greg Wilson, who did all the animations, a few years ago after a show in Brooklyn and, lucky for me, he was interested!
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?
The hardest part? Making a film! Is so hard! I've never done it before and I learned so much. Organizing a group of people to make a film is truly a miracle. I'm blessed I had my friend (producer and director Lauren Greenhall) helped me wrangle it all together and my boy, director Alec Cohen, helped make it all professional and legit. Having experienced, smart people guide the way demystified the process of making a film, which I really needed.
The easiest part? Deciding to have integrity with my idea and just stick to exactly what I had thought of instead of questioning myself so much that I just let other people make decisions for me. That wasn't always easy for me, but this experience was an opportunity for me to step up and do that. And I'm glad I did! I feel so grateful because I worked with such amazing, talented people who all trusted me and my idea and genuinely showed up to help make it happen.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
Shiva Baby. My friend and peer, comedian Rachel Sennott, created it with her friend Emma Seligman and it's sooo good! It's pure chaos taking place in one day at a shiva where the main character Danielle runs into both her ex-girlfriend and sugar daddy, along with her parents and entire extended Jewish community. I love how realistic it felt, how perfect the comedic beats were, and the rich cultural mishaps. And I stan a film that happens in one place in one day. That's good vibes, in my opinion.
5) What’s next for you?
I want to write and create more and explore different mediums. I just launched a newsletter with essays exploring spirituality, meaning, and capitalism. It's called Let's Get This Bread. I'm having fun exploring certain ideas with long-form writing and comics I make. I'm also releasing a zine this month called, Is Art Under Capitalism Futile? (In Short No, But Here Are Socio-Economic Reasons it Feels That Way). Really stuck on the whole capitalism thing. That'll be a 5,000 word essay with comics doing exactly what the title says. Other than that, I'm enjoying acting in other people's shorts and writing new work. Maybe in a post-COVID world I'll do stand up and make films again. Looking forward to the new world.
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http://fareeha-khan.com | IG: @fareeeezy