Erin Derham is an award-winning film director who began her career editing and directing for PBS. Her films include “Buskin’ Blues,” a music documentary exploring the secretive lives of street performers, “Julian Price,” a historical documentary about an inspirational philanthropist, and “Blue Air,” a narrative film following a young mother and child finding strength in the great outdoors.
“Stuffed” opens in New York on October 16. You can find screening info here.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
ED: “Stuffed” is a documentary feature film about the surprising world of taxidermy. Told through the eyes and hands of acclaimed artists across the world, the film explores this diverse subculture where sculptors must also be scientists, seeing life where others only see death.
From an all-female studio in Los Angeles that has elevated taxidermy to the forefront of fashion and modern art to fine artists in the Netherlands, these passionate experts push creative boundaries.
“Stuffed” is my version of an environmental documentary, but with an edgy, artsy twist.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
ED: When I was first confronted with the idea of a documentary on taxidermy, I was completely offended. I thought, “I want to do a film about conservation, about protecting animals — not the creeps that stuff them!” However, my partner Rachel Price, whom I respect greatly, had just read a book about taxidermy and saw an article in LA Weekly about an insurgence of women in the industry. This was confusing enough for me to take a second look.
I took the weekend before responding to her and was completely blown away. It’s changed my perspective on so many things having to do with conservation and art.
More broadly, I think any subject that has you rethink the way you have always thought is important, especially in this political atmosphere. I saw people as different as day and night working together, supporting each other. It was beautiful! That inspired me more than anything ever has. I am so excited to share that with the world.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
ED: As always, with anything I create, I want people to leave happier than they came! If they are inspired or just entertained, I have done my job. What I want more than anything is for people to have the same reaction that I had. I want people’s mind to be expanded, even if it’s just a little.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
ED: For me, the biggest challenge was convincing people a film on taxidermy would be beautiful, bright, and full of life. I knew I wanted over 50 percent of the filming to be done in animal sanctuaries, where we could show a natural world worth saving.
People, especially producers, heard the word “taxidermy” and ran for the hills. Who could blame them? I did the same thing! It took a lot of historical research, preliminary interviews with potential subjects, and exposure to the art form before I was truly on board. That complete change in perspective is such a valuable experience, and I want to share it with the world.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
ED: Funding for this project is a rather rare story. I had an investor, a female friend of mine, ask to partner on a project. She is an archivist and environmentalist, so I knew we would work well together. I knew I wanted to do a new take on an environmental documentary, one that wasn’t finger-waggy or depressing.
Rachel was going to be my partner but I wasn’t aware she wanted to fund it. That was obviously a very pleasant surprise. Once we got into production, potential for a really cool film increased as did the budget. We had international taxidermists interested in working with us. Because of that, Rachel and I started looking for additional funding and another producer to help us wrangle this beast.
I found that producer, Kaleena Kiff, at a film festival. We both spoke on the Women in Film panel, and I was impressed with her immediately. I am not sure what I was thinking, because I had not done this with anyone else yet, but I sent her the treatment and teaser. She wrote back almost immediately saying her dad was an ornithologist and she always found taxidermy interesting. Her investor came on board, another woman!
It was pretty spectacular that in the end, we had a female director, a female producer, and two female executive producers. In my case, it was risk-taking and a lot of luck! I put months into my treatment, spent an additional two months reading everything there is to know about taxidermy, and edited a strong teaser as my proof of concept. Those things convinced people to sign on to a very unlikely project.
My advice for funding: go to film festivals, partner with like-minded people, and work very, very hard. You need to both have a strong idea and get it out into the world.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
ED: For me, becoming a filmmaker was something so far out of the realm of possibilities. I dreamt in movies and wrote them down when I woke up; I wrote down dialogue from commercials and practiced line reading in the mirror.
Filmmaking has always been in my blood, but I was my worst enemy. I had a learning disability and went to a public school in Memphis, Tennessee, that stifled any originality.
My insecurities held me back for years until I started a minor acting career in undergrad. I was finally in the industry, and I was shocked at how unhappy people looked on set. I was either completely ignored or treated like cattle.
Then, while getting my MA in History, I got an internship at PBS and a producer took me under his wing. I don’t know what he saw in me other than a very positive demeanor, but he and his crew acted as my big brothers, training me in lighting, cinematography, sound, and directing. He pushed me constantly in fields I thought I could never do. I even got pregnant a year in, and he just gave me a chair to wheel around the studio when I got tired. This producer, Jere Thomas, is who inspired me.
I have never thought, since that first year of training, that I couldn’t do something. Because of that incredible gift Jere gave me, paired with my dad’s positive yet stubborn sensibilities, I made an active decision to help change this industry for the better. I would create a set that is happy, fun, and inspirational. I would let all crew members flex their creative muscles. I would listen to the talent and include them in our conversations. I have done that for six years now, and I cannot imagine doing anything else.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
ED: The best advice I ever received was to try — very simple. If you don’t know how to do something, try. If you fail, Google it, and try again. There is no excuse worthy enough of letting your dreams slip away without a fight.
The worst advice I ever got are multiple variations of the counterpoint to the point I just made. People told me not to try.
I wrote half a dozen grants to get funding for my first film, and each committee gave me notes equating to “Your idea is not good enough.” They said no one would want to watch a movie about street performers, like in my film “Buskin’ Blues,” or taxidermy, like in “Stuffed.”
I don’t fault these people. They don’t know what’s in your head. That’s where the magic lies. Nobody truly knows what you are capable of. Therefore it is up to you, and only you, to make it happen.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
ED: Find a mentor and surround yourself with positive, productive people. You don’t have to surround yourself with just women. There are plenty of men who will support your creative growth. A woman, however, will prepare you for what is to come. They will be able to share mistakes they made. I did not have this type of mentor, but I know I could have truly benefited from another female director.
Also, support other female entrepreneurs. You are only competing with yourself to make the best film you can. The women beside you, filmmakers or not, are valuable. They have experience you don’t have, they’re talented, and how beautiful would it be to champion each other along the way — to succeed together!
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
ED: Gillian Armstrong’s “Little Women” is one of those films that changed my life. It is based on such an incredible book by another powerhouse woman, Louisa May Alcott. I had read the book before, but when I sat down to watch this movie with my family, I think I stopped breathing. It captured my attention as a young, vulnerable girl so perfectly.
I could relate to Jo, the independent yet somewhat naive sister. It taught me about history but also love. I felt like it made being feminine and masculine acceptable qualities in a girl. I must have watched it a dozen times that first year and still watch it around Christmas with my little ones.
Greta Gerwig is finishing a new version of “Little Women,” which looks incredible.
W&H: What differences have you noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?
ED: I feel like the #MeToo movement gave so many of us not just a voice to speak on personal injustices that happened in our own past, but it also gave so many women, including myself, the ability to own exactly who we are.
I have always loved to dress up, smile big, hug strangers, and people in the film industry warned me, “You won’t be taken seriously,” or “It’s sexier to wear more androgynous clothes,” or “People will mistake your bubbly personality for stupidity.”
I feel like before #MeToo, I was in constant fear of being myself and what would happen if I was in fact so bold as to smile big. Now, it’s like I have a figurative badge granting me permission to be whoever the heck I feel like being.
I have noticed some negative dialogue suggesting the movement is over and the industry needs to get back to normal. I have heard men complain about it affecting their ability to get into festivals and sell films. The problem with that is the industry norm is not an acceptable future for us as a whole. We will all benefit from a more equal playing field, and our best future rests in the hands of all of us being kind to each other.
