Megan Park is an actress, writer, and director. She starred in seven seasons on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” She is the recipient of the Toronto International Film Festival’s Rising Star award, several Teen Choice Awards, and an Emerging Directors award from Cannes Film Festival. Park’s first foray into directing and writing was her 2017 short film “‘Lucy In My Eyes,” which premiered at the 2017 Austin Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short. She has written and directed campaigns and high profile music videos for some of todays biggest artists such as Billie Eilish, Gucci Mane, Alina Baraz, and Blackbear which have grossed upwards of 500 million views. She wrote and directed a short film, “Goodnight,” for Janelle Monae’s “Beautiful Future” campaign, a platform to highlight four female filmmakers in 2018.
“The Fallout” is screening at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, which is taking place online March 16-20.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
MP: “The Fallout” explores a teenage girl’s unconventional journey to heal after a traumatic incident at school. Inspired by her peers who are able to turn their pain into change, our hero Vada feels guilty she isn’t able to do the same and we follow her private shame and the rebellion it [inspires].
W&H: What drew you to this story?
MP: I sat down to write the film after almost a year of wanting to talk about the subject of school shootings. I was upset and enraged and really scared.
I knew I didn’t want to make a movie that would ever incite more violence or be triggering to anyone who had been through this experience — I felt a huge responsibility to do it justice but to also make it really honest.
I also felt that if I was a teenager right now, I’d be terrified to go to school every day. I wanted to tell that side of the story.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
MP: I do hope people feel a connection to the characters and are reminded that maybe we’re all getting a bit immune to it. This problem is far from solved.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
MP: COVID-19 was a huge logistical challenge but the producers and I were really clear that we would only make the movie when we had a plan and a budget to do so safely. We had to push about five months to get that in order, but I can say that our safety and testing protocols far exceeded any mandates and we got through our entire shoot without any issues. That was more important to me [than the timing]; none of it was worth jeopardizing anyone’s health and I feel lucky that my producers felt the same.
Because of our strict COVID-19 protocols we couldn’t shoot nights, had limited hours with no rehearsals, and pre-production was totally virtual. I basically directed the movie from a separate room with a monitor and headset and limited interactions with the actors. It was challenging for everyone.
As I look back, I feel so lucky and grateful to have made my first movie despite COVID-19 — especially when so many people were and are struggling around the world.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
MP: I took meetings on the film for almost a year before we got financed. I had creative producers on board from the get-go and their connections brought us to our financier. After one meeting with them we had our full financing. It was pretty wild and lucky.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
MP: I honestly never saw this coming. I grew up in a small town without a TV. I saw my first movie in a theater when I was 12. No one in my family was in the “biz” but my mom is really artistic and values the arts, so took me to see lots of theater, concerts, and ballet performances, and we visited galleries.
I was involved in lots of arts programs and was exposed to all art mediums, but I never knew it was an option. I did love acting on stage and that progressed to getting my first professional job as an actor in my native Canada as a teenager. I then booked my first audition in Los Angeles which ended up being a show that ran for seven years.
I was very fortunate to be working non-stop in front of the camera and soaking up so much knowledge about the behind-the-scenes goings-on at the same time. But truthfully I became a bit numb — I felt like something was missing for me. It [didn’t make sense to me] until I worked with an actress I really admired — who was also a genius writer — and she simply said, “Have you ever tried writing? I think you’d be good at it.” As silly as it sounds, her vote of confidence set a fire in my belly and the second I put pen to paper for the first time, it all made sense to me.
I knew immediately — this is where all that education in front of the camera was leading me. The thrill I got being able to tell stories and create characters I was passionate about was so immediately addictive. I hope I’m lucky enough to continue writing and directing forever.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
MP: This is hard. One thing that was challenging about this movie was how much advice and how many opinions I was always getting from all sides. I didn’t know how to take it all in and not get lost with all the conflicting notes and opinions. Everyone has an opinion and everyone’s opinion is different.
The editor of this movie, Jennifer Lee, was a really incredible sounding board for me, especially when I’d get overwhelmed with notes and opinions. She’d say, “Watch the scene and ask, is this the best version creatively? Will anything haunt you later? Then, quiet everyone’s voices and opinions — including mine — and make the choice that works for you.”
My other good friend, Aidan Shipley, a genius director himself, texted me, “Don’t jump in the ocean after you see the first rough assembly cut.” That was honestly really solid advice.
Worst advice? “We’ll just fix this in post.”
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
MP: You will ask yourself several times throughout the process, “Would I be getting this pushback, this rude e-mail, this aggression for having a conflicting opinion if I was a man?” The answer is probably not. Brace for it.
Adding to that, hire as many women as possible. Don’t get me wrong, there were many amazing men who worked on this production, but there was something really special about having so many incredible, strong women running so much shit. From our DP, to the producers, our editor, our casting directors, most of the keys — it was fucking rad.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
MP: It’s a tie between “Breathe” by Mélanie Laurent and “Tomboy” by Céline Sciamma. Those films were so monumental in inspiring me to want to write and direct my own movie. There’s something about the stillness, the realness, and the breathtakingly honest performances and visuals of these films that have stayed with me.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?
MP: It’s been really hard for personal reasons. I don’t know when life will resume to normal for me because of them but I also have it so easy compared to many. I feel lucky. I’m struggling to find the new normal, but as we are coming up on a wrap in post for “The Fallout” I am starting to have time to devote to my next scripts, which I am so excited about. The hardest thing is just finding the time to do all the writing I’d love to be doing!
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 Hollywood and/or the doc world more inclusive?
MP: I want to see more people of color in positions of power in the industry and hope to see the mandates for inclusivity take hold.
I hope more attention, time, and money is put towards funding films written by, directed by, and starring people of color. I hope that every white filmmaker understands their privilege and uses it to showcase, hire, support, and mentor filmmakers who aren’t so innately privileged. We have a long way to go, but I feel hopeful that more people in power are being intentional about eradicating these negative stereotypes.
