Kelly Fremon Craig started out writing sketch comedy and spoken word poetry in college, then landed an internship in the film division of Immortal Entertainment, where she read her first film script and began to pursue screenwriting. Her screenwriting credits include “Streak” and “Post Grad.” “The Edge of Seventeen” marks her directorial debut.
“The Edge of Seventeen” will premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 17.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
KFC: “The Edge of Seventeen” is a coming-of-age film about feeling like everyone has life figured out except you. It’s about a 17-year-old girl who’s always struggled with fitting in, then her best and only friend begins dating her overachieving brother, requiring her to fend for herself socially and emotionally.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
KFC: It’s always interesting to me what happens when your comforts and emotional crutches fall away and you’re suddenly forced to take a real look at yourself.
I also find it fascinating to explore the way we view ourselves compared to other people, particularly the ways in which we unconsciously romanticize other people’s lives and in turn feel worse about our own. I think that tendency is more prevalent today than ever with everyone on social media and the barrage of beautiful filtered pictures of people who are having more fun than you are. I think on some level that’s making each of us feel a little lonelier everyday.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
KFC: I hope they recognize pieces of themselves in the film, and I hope it makes them feel a little more understood and less alone. I hope they leave feeling that life is messy but we’re all in it together. And I hope they’re still laughing.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
KFC: The search for our lead, Nadine, was massive and lengthy. We literally auditioned a thousand girls over the course of more than a year. We scoured the entire planet.
We knew we couldn’t make the film if we didn’t have the right actress. Nadine is a tough role to pull off because she’s many antithetical things at once — she’s tough as nails but incredibly fragile, she makes you laugh then shatters you completely, and she feels everything deeply but pretends like it’s all rolling off her back.
Hailee Steinfeld came in to read very late in the game and she captured all of it and more, and with a miraculous effortlessness. She’s a force of nature.
W&H: Please share some insights into how you got the film made.
KFC: Jim Brooks, our producer, tirelessly pushed the boulder up the hill to get this film made. He deserves every bit of credit.
This wasn’t an obvious film for a lot of studios to make. It’s not high concept, and it’s a marketing challenge because it’s a lot of things at once — it’s comedy but it’s also drama, it’s a film about a teen girl but it’s not a “teen” film, it’s not an indie but it’s not quite big commercial fare either. It’s easier to sell something when you can say exactly what it is in a sentence. But STX, god bless them, understood what we were after from day one and said, “We believe in quality and we’re sophisticated enough to know just how to do this.” They’ve been exceptional partners.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at TIFF?
KFC: There’s no place on earth I’d rather premiere this film. I’ve never been to TIFF but have watched from the sidelines for a long time and am always so inspired by their programming. I just feel honored and grateful.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
KFC: I got a lot of great advice and now that I think about it, really no bad. I’ve had the unbelievable opportunity to get to make this film with Jim Brooks, the person I’ve admired creatively more than anyone else in the world.
He’s taught me so much, but here is one of his best pieces of advice: “When you’re shooting a scene, get choices. Get variations beyond whatever you had in your head. You make your film in the edit and you will be so glad to have the option to push the energy one direction or another when you’re staring at it all in context.”
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
KFC: This is not specific for female directors, but to directors generally, particularly those doing it for the first time: There are no small things. Everything matters. I find that filmmaking requires brutal precision, little details matter hugely, and a wrong costume or prop or music cue can sink a scene.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
KFC: I love Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation.” I think it captures loneliness and intimacy and connection so beautifully, and I love that empty feeling juxtaposed against the busy, flashing-lights backdrop of Tokyo.
W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue? If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?
KFC: It seems like opportunities may be opening up more. I don’t know what needs to be done exactly to increase those further — I wish I did. My hope, though, is that the more the world sees women doing it successfully, the more opportunities open up, creating a sort of snowballing forward momentum. I hope in some small way this film contributes to that.
