Phyllis Nagy earned Oscar and BAFTA nominations and won the NY Film Critics Circle award for “Carol,” her adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel “The Price of Salt.” Nagy garnered Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Writing for her work on the HBO film “Mrs. Harris,” which received a total of 12 Emmy nods, as well as multiple SAG and Golden Globes nominations.
“Call Jane” is screening at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, which is running online from January 20-30. More information can be found on the fest’s website.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
PN: When Joy Griffin is faced with a life-threatening pregnancy, she must navigate a medical establishment unwilling and often unable to help. Her journey to find a solution in an impossible situation leads her to the “Janes,” a clandestine organization of women who provide Joy with a safer alternative — and in the process, change her life.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
PN: The potential to make a film that’s provocative, politically urgent, and entertaining. A light touch is always the most serious of approaches.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
PN: My hope is that “Call Jane” surprises people, that it in some way confounds preconceived ideas audiences might have about what a narrative that deals with women’s rights, with choice, and particularly with abortion, can be. To make one person’s thinking shift in even a tiny way would delight me.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
PN: Shooting a period piece on film and largely with a single camera — I’m old school, for sure — in 23 days and with the usual lack of money. We often shot five or six pages per day.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
PN: Our producer, Robbie Brenner, is the real hero here. She and her team raised a great deal of private equity. This is an indie production through and through. I know it was challenging to raise the money, but you’d have to ask her for the nitty gritty of it all.
Later, Protagonist came on board to sell international territories, which helped a great deal.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
PN: Watching films at the St. Mark’s Cinema as a kid. It was a repertory and second-run house, so I could spend all summers there for about a dollar a day and see all sorts of films on double features — some pretty age-inappropriate films, too. I wouldn’t trade that education for the world.
Later on, the films of Ida Lupino, Elaine May, Bob Fosse, and Billy Wilder were — and remain — primary inspirations. Their handling of tone is, to me, without equal.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
PN: Best advice: “Ask more questions than you answer in your films.”
Worst advice: “Relax. Women are making great strides in the industry.”
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
PN: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink — insisting that the gatekeepers “hear” you doesn’t work. Break down the gates yourself.
Remember, you are in control only of your own behavior and choices. Say “no” to any project that you think will advance your career but that you don’t really have a personal passion for. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Be nice to everyone, but don’t let people take advantage of you. Easier said than done, but you live and learn.
Quality over quantity.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
PN: I have two, sorry! Elaine May’s “A New Leaf” and Claire Denis’ “Beau Travail.” Both sterling adaptations of tricky material — beyond that, watch them and you’ll immediately know why I love them so.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?
PN: I am always working on something, even if it is taking the time the lockdown provided, to further develop a long-gestating passion project. I’m very lucky to have had writing and directing work — “Call Jane” was shot during COVID times — throughout this pandemic. I got a lot of pleasure reading done as well.
W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make it more inclusive?
PN: The question really is, whose feet need to be held over the fire to begin the process of instituting real change? Individual artists have always been in the vanguard of pushing for change. But we don’t hold the keys to the gates. All we can do is continue to insist on working with people who share our values and aesthetic concerns.
