The quirky tale of longing, “Loveseat,” by director Grace Kim, follows a middle-aged man trying to track down a mysterious woman he meets over the phone. We asked Kim how the project started, what the biggest challenge was, and what comes next for her…

1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

I originally wanted to be a screenwriter. I didn't go to film school and was studying English Literature in undergrad and first got the idea that I would really like to pursue writing as a career. For about two years, I was busy reading and writing screenplays and then in my senior year of college, I had the opportunity to pitch my script to the film studies department and direct it. It was a horrendous experience and the final film was terrible because I didn't know anything about filmmaking. But it served as a film bootcamp where I learned how to make a short film. I graduated shortly after and then moved out to New York to pursue independent filmmaking and have directed four short films since. 

2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?

The initial idea was something very silly. I was in the kitchen of my apartment with a friend who was also a filmmaker and I, as a joke, brought up a banana to my ear and pretended to answer it. He mentioned that that would make a great premise for a short film, and then I followed up that it would be great if someone actually did answer on the other line but hung up before we could find out who it was. From there, idea sparked idea one after another until I had fleshed out almost all the beats of the short film in a span of 30 minutes. I expanded it over time and it developed and changed a lot since that original idea but the major breaks in the film came about in one sitting. 

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most, and the least?

The biggest challenge was that I was rewriting and in pre-production at the same time. It's probably due to my impatience but I would advise to lock your script before you start doing any kind of pre-production work.

It's hard to say what part of the creative process I enjoy the most. They each have their own charm. I love the visualizing and imagining that comes when you're writing. I love seeing everything come together as you make decisions about production design and cinematography. I also love working with actors on set.

The least favorite part is probably watching dailies or seeing the initial string out in post-production. It's so awful because you just spent all this time and money to make a film and the thing you see in front of you is nowhere near what you thought you would have at the end of it. It gets better after your editor throws together a rough cut for you and there's some semblance of a cohesive story in there. But that first viewing of your footage is truly excruciating. It's a very visceral experience and I usually react poorly -- screaming into a pillow, running out of the room, that kind of thing. 

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

I recently watched First Wives Club and I loved it. I grew up with immigrant parents who never really turned me onto American pop culture, so I kind of missed the big wave of 80's and 90's Hollywood. It's the first time I'd ever seen Goldie Hawn or Diane Keaton in a film (I know what you're thinking). But it was great! It's make-your-face-hurt funny but also charming and heartwrenching at the same time. I love that straddling of genres. It's about real fears and anxieties -- friendships lost, marriages wrecked, feeling old and worn out by society's standards of female beauty -- but it handles it with such levity and whimsy. I really enjoyed it, especially the musical sequence at the end. I love me a good musical sequence. 

5) What’s next for you?

Lots of things! In the fall I was announced as a fellow for the Viacom Viewfinder Emerging Directors Program so I spent a month in November shadowing a director on a TV series with Paramount TV. I'm going to LA soon in a few weeks to finish up the program and to set up meetings for a TV show I'm trying to pitch with my co-writer later this summer. It's called The Grand Tammy and it's an animated series about a Indian entrepreneur and his mutant sentient belly who's trying to save Mumbai from his drinking water shortage. I'm in post-production right now for two short films, and I got some exciting news that I won a small arts grant for my next short film (It's not public yet so I can't announce which one) and I've been commissioned to make a one minute short for an exciting client (that I also can't share until the announcements go public). It's a bummer that I can't share what those last two bits of news are for, but if you follow me on Instagram at @gracekime you'll find out in a few weeks. :-)

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http://www.gracekime.com/director