Christina Choe — recipient of an HBOAccess Directing Fellowship and a MacDowell Colony artist residency — is a writer and director whose short films have screened at Telluride Film Festival and SXSW. Her prior credits include shorts “The Queen,” “Flow,” and “I Am John Wayne.”
“Nancy” will premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 20.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
CC: Craving connection with others, Nancy creates elaborate online identities and hoaxes to get close to people. After her mother dies, she begins to think she could be the long lost daughter of a couple whose child went missing 30 years ago. “Nancy” is psychodrama about love, intimacy, and trust — and what happens when lies become truth.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
CC: My obsession with the blurry line between truth and lies — and documentary and fiction — is a constant theme in my work and my life. In college, I found out my favorite writing professor was an imposter. He wasn’t who he said he was. Ultimately he was really inspiring and profoundly influenced my creative process, so when I found out he was a fraud, it made me question: “Does it matter if it was a lie, if my experience felt real and genuine?”
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
CC: We are living in a really strange era of “post-truths” where the art of the lie is challenging the world as we know it. As a society, we are redefining the meaning of truth in a really disturbing way. It’s my hope that people are engaged by Nancy, and go on a suspenseful, emotional ride with her as she is exploring what truth really means to her.
I also hope that audiences will raise their threshold for female characters who are morally ambiguous and complex — in the same way we are regularly entertained by male counterparts like Travis Bickle and Walter White.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
CC: Financing!
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
CC: We were primarily funded by private equity, which was supplemented by crowdfunding and grant support.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Sundance?
CC: It’s a dream realized and a chance to get the film out there to a bigger audience. I’m most excited for my cast and crew to be able to share the film and celebrate their contributions.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
CC: Best: Your gut instinct is always right.
Worst: Notes from a man about what was feminist and what wasn’t feminist about my character, Nancy.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
CC: No matter what anybody says you have every right to be here and tell your stories. There are people who want to hear them. It’s a matter of perseverance.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
CC: “Wanda,” directed by and starring Barbara Loden, is a little known but masterful film from the 1970s. Wanda is a lost woman who abandons her husband and children to go on a road trip with an unsavory man and rob a bank. The first time I saw the film, it blew me away. I had never really seen a film about a morally ambiguous woman before. A major reason I created this character Nancy is the need to change these archetypes — from female characters who are just girlfriends or wives of a male co-star, to leading characters who are actually driving the entire narrative.
W&H: Hollywood is in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women and some men in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences of being assaulted and harassed. What do you think of the recently announced anti-sexual harassment Commission made up of industry leaders? Do you believe that it will help make systemic change? What do you think needs to be done to address this issue?
CC: I think it’s great, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There’s a ton of work that still needs to be done to hold the industry accountable, and ultimately equality and justice will probably only occur once there is true parity behind and in front of the camera. It’s obviously a big issue that is not just restricted to Hollywood but pervades every other industry — so it’s a societal shift that needs to happen, which needs to extend past hashtags, panels, and commissions.
