Guest Post by Audrey Evans
They say timing is everything, but I never dreamed the timing of my lesbian sci-fi dramedy “Genesis: The Future of Mankind is Women” could be so dead-on and accurate in this zeitgeist of racism, homophobia, and misogyny — and this idea has only been germinating for 26 years!
I first came up with the idea for “Genesis” in 1990. I’d already been an assistant film editor for four years, and worked on films like “Thelma & Louise” and “The Doors.” I was at the famed Dinah Shore Women’s Weekend in Palm Springs when I happened to meet a woman who explained to me the legend of Parthenogenesis: that one day females would evolve into a species that could reproduce without fertilization. There would be no need for men at all. She explained that many life forms already procreate this way, including the South African Cape Bee, The Whiptail Lizard of New Mexico, and varied shark and underwater life. She went on to rail against all men and their inferior Y chromosome and I quickly became bored and directed my attention elsewhere.
I grew up in the ’60s and ’70s and the women’s liberation movement was a prominent theme in my formative years. It was a no-brainer for me — of course women and girls should have the same opportunities as men and boys and be paid accordingly. But that didn’t happen. As I matured, I learned to accept my place in society, having fewer opportunities than my male counterparts, and getting paid less. Worse, I started to identify with the oppressors! I formed strong friendships with men. This shattered my belief systems. It wasn’t all black and white. They weren’t all bad.
And yet I couldn’t get that Lesbian Separatist — or her legend of parthenogenesis — out of my mind. She was such a strong character. As a big fan of the women’s prison movie genre, the idea of a colony of women nurturing a pregnant fish-out-of-water-type intrigued me. I got to work on developing the story.
I created the extremes. A charismatic feminist leader fashioned on Camille Paglia — super-smart, sexy, and unapologetic — Dr. Alix Martel, who lost her license to practice medicine because of an “alleged” bias against her male patients. Then there’s Boyd Peterson, the leader of a Moral Majority type group that is lobbying congress to try to eliminate math and science for girls in the public school curriculum.
I got to work on a detailed treatment which I presented to my agent, who promptly dismissed it as being way too radical and edgy — and it was for 1994.
It lay dormant, gestating for another 20 years until I was able to get “Family Ties’” Meredith Baxter, America’s Favorite TV Mom and out lesbian, interested in the idea. After numerous revisions, she agreed to take part and the project started to fall into place.
Because the project is so so close to my heart I wanted to direct it myself. With 20-plus years in film editing, I’ve seen just about everything that can go right and go wrong in a production. I cut my teeth at New Horizons Pictures, AKA, the Roger Corman School of Film, where I learned, among other things, how to make a feature film in one weekend. My experience at New Horizons taught me how to do it fast, economically, and with style. That’s exactly how I see “Genesis,” a B movie with style. There is no better preparation for directing than spending time in the cutting room.
Having witnessed the heartbreak of numerous directors having to compromise their artistic visions to appease studios, I decided to take the crowdfunding route. It’s been such a positive experience. People who have always wanted to participate in the filmmaking process can now do it simply by making a donation or choosing one of the perks that lets them view a rough cut and submit their feedback. This is a labor of love and it’s our movie!
In a nutshell, “Genesis” is about the very first female to be giving birth by parthenogenesis. She’s kidnapped by a ruthless cabal of Male Supremacists who plan to study her and learn how they can stop this and save their species from extinction. She is then abducted by a group of radical lesbian feminists, led by Dr. Alix Martel. and taken to an abandoned Jewish resort in the Catskills to finish out her term.
And less than three surreal weeks since the new regime has entered the White House, what was once considered too radical and edgy is right on time. “Genesis: The Future of Mankind is Women”!
“Genesis: The Future of Mankind is Women” will mark Audrey Evan’s directorial debut. She’s spent over 20 years as a film editor working on features including “Waterworld,” “What Women Want,” and most recently, the upcoming “Battle of the Sexes” with Emma Stone and Steve Carell.
