Bess Wohl is a writer, director, and playwright. In theater, her play “Grand Horizons” was nominated for a Tony Award. In film and television she has developed projects with Amazon, HBO, Paramount, ABC, Disney, Netflix, and MediaRes, and is writing an episode of the upcoming Apple series “Extrapolations.” Wohl also wrote “Irreplaceable You,” which premiered as a Netflix original film in 2018. Wohl is an Associate Artist with The Civilians, an alumna of Ars Nova’s Play Group, and holds new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club and Williamstown.
“Baby Ruby” is screening at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which is running from September 8-18.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
BW: “Baby Ruby” is a psychological thriller about new motherhood. It tells the story of a woman who becomes a mother for the first time and finds herself plunged into a terrifying new world where everything — and everyone — could be a danger and she can no longer trust her own reality. Ultimately, she has to confront her worst fears in order to free herself.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
BW: Much of my work emerges from a tiny personal spark that I can then push to extremes. Becoming a parent was a deeply transformative experience for me –as it is for many. I quickly realized that I hadn’t seen a lot of movies that really portrayed the complexities of this transformation, even the parts that are dangerous, taboo, and scary to talk about. I wanted to find a way to say the things that are rarely said, and to make space for both beauty and terror.
It’s still sadly rare to see a story about a female character that portrays her in her full humanity. I hope that someday treating women as full human beings won’t feel like such a radical act.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
BW: My hope is that this movie speaks to both parents and non-parents alike about the raw courage it takes to transform. We all experience enormous moments of change, moments that ask everything of us, and push us to our limits. This film happens to be about a birth, but I think one of the surprises of the film is that the mother character is also reborn in the film, into a new self.
I hope the film makes people think about their own life moments of rebirth and the glorious pain of that experience.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
BW: It was my first film, and I made a movie that centers on a tiny baby, and we were in the middle of the pandemic– so the challenges were plentiful! Having a baby in a film presents a host of complications. A baby can only work for a small number of minutes at a time, and that is rightly reduced to seconds if the scene is at all emotionally intense. A lot of our planning centered on how and when to use our precious time with our wonderful twin babies, Lucas and Gabby, with their safety and well being as our top priority.
Another challenge was just the short amount of time we had overall with a very small crew of only about ten to fifteen amazingly committed, talented, and hardworking people. The benefit of that was we were able to work in a very focused, streamlined way with clear priorities, and had planned meticulously which helped us move both quickly and safely.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
BW: Through my representatives, I was introduced to a fantastic producer, Alex Saks. Alex sent the script to the producers/financiers at Point Productions, who she had just had a wonderful experience working with on a film with Diane Keaton. Thankfully, they loved the script and jumped right in. It was wonderful to just have one source of financing since it limited the number of voices and kept the process very focused.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
BW: My background is in theatre, first as an actor, and then as a playwright. As a playwright I’m always trying to push the boundaries of what the medium can do. To me, making this film was a natural evolution of this process of pushing at boundaries– and it allowed me to find new ways to explore my love for world-building, storytelling, and character exploration.
I never could have told this story in the theater, for many reasons, including that it involves a small baby.It was really the story, and my deep commitment to telling it, that demanded that I learn to make the film. I simply followed where the story told me to go.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
BW: The worst advice has generally been to adopt a certain “tough” style of managing and interacting with people that’s different from how I naturally am. There are many ways of being a director and many ways to hold power– it doesn’t always look like a typical “director” might. It doesn’t matter, as long as you get across the finish line. In fact, I think true power comes from being your authentic self. And the best advice is to get the wide shot. I didn’t always heed it!
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
BW: Every movie is so different, and the requirements of each are so specific that it’s hard to give overall advice. As a woman director, the truth is most people will be expecting you not to be up to the task, because so many of the clichés about what it means to be a “director” have been invented and reinforced by men who mostly have no interest in giving up their power. But when you really look at what a director does, the job is to listen deeply, to nurture, to mediate, to collaborate, to pivot quickly if needed, to be flexible, to create a safe space, to pay close attention. These are all things that women have been doing since the dawn of time, and do every bit as well as men.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
BW: There are so many that it’s hard to pick one! Right now, what’s springing to mind is how much I love the films of Lynn Shelton. One of the first movies I saw that made me excited to find a way to get my own movies made– at any price tag– was “Humpday.” I just thought it was so brilliantly funny and deeply intuitive about what it means to be a man, a friend, a lover. I loved the improvisatory style, which gave way to these incredibly natural performances. It was so deceptively effortless in its artistry, a rare, gorgeous piece of filmmaking that somehow simultaneously awes you with its genius and makes you feel like maybe you could do it too.
W&H: What, if any, responsibilities do you think storytellers have to confront the tumult in the world, from the pandemic to the loss of abortion rights and systemic violence?
BW: I think every storyteller has a responsibility to tell the stories that matter to them as authentically as possible. A truthful story creates empathy, and more empathy is, I believe, a meaningful and necessary response to the violence and tumult in the world. Beyond telling stories, I think each of us– filmmakers or not– has a daily responsibility to take whatever actions we can, big or small, to help heal the world and each other.
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?
BW: I think we must examine and actively address the structural barriers to entry and visibility for artists of color and identify resources to support them. I believe that it’s the job of the decision makers and gatekeepers– a group who must become more inclusive and reflective of the global majority– not just to open the gates, but also to actively reach out and help people enter. Hollywood is a land of imagination and making the seemingly impossible manifest– let’s imagine a better world together, roll up our sleeves, and make it happen.
