BFI Flare 2020: Jen Bagley & Mary Hewey
We spoke with Jen Bagley & Mary Hewey about their film Jack & Yaya, which was due to screen at the since cancelled 2020 BFI Flare Festival this year, despite this cancellation we still wanted to share our interview. Read about how their friends inspired their film making journey, the heartbreaking edit cuts and their favourite queer films.
How did you find your way into filmmaking?
Jen: My parents bought me a camcorder for Christmas when I was 10. My two very first projects were an original music video for Sisqo’s “Thong Song” and a collection of extended interviews with a neighbourhood woman who fed the feral cats in our backyard marsh. I watched a lot of movies about weirdos as a kid because I felt like a weirdo and wanted to escape reality. I kept making nonsense shorts and then went to college and made more movies. I can’t remember a period when I wanted to do anything else with my time.
Mary: I didn’t have any filmmaking experience leading up to this project. I had been good friends with Jack for years and had met Yaya once. I’m not sure exactly how the idea came to be, but one night, while I was trying to fall asleep at my grandparent’s house, I got this idea about doing some type of creative project about Jack and Yaya’s friendship. Jen and I had been dating for a number of years so I thought “Perfect! We can do a film.” Clearly, I was blissfully ignorant about what making a film actually entails but I guess that was ultimately a good thing.
Tell us about your film?
Mary: Jack & Yaya is a documentary about two best friends who met when they were two and three through their shared backyard fence in South Jersey. They are kindred spirits who have remained friends for thirty years and have supported each other as they both came out as trans. We followed them for a year, documenting their challenges and victories, and interviewing their friends and family about their remarkable bond. We also wove in footage from their childhood from an archive of footage that Jack’s mother graciously shared with us.
Jen: We shot the film in about a year going back and forth between Boston and New Jersey. We felt so at home and welcome in Jersey and around Jack and Yaya. It felt like a really fun family reunion even though we were (mostly) meeting people for the first time. There’s a feeling that hangs in the air when you’re with Jack and Yaya and crew and the whole point of this film was to capture it and for the audience to soak up all the love that radiates out through these people.
How did you take the news of being accepted into the festival?
Mary: I got the email while I was at my day job and I’m pretty sure I immediately called Jen to more or less scream into the phone. Ecstatic would probably be the right word. Then, of course, I had to text Jack and Yaya. There were many gifs and London-related emojis.
Jen: I was so honoured! I immediately called my Mom cos she’s a very big fan of mine. We’re such a teeny film in a giant industry and it’s extremely affirming for BFI Flare to have accepted us. We may not have as many tools or resources as other documentaries out there but we told an important story and the festival acknowledged that and we’re so thankful.
How has the process of being in the festival circuit been for you?
Mary: Participating in film festivals has been amazing. In the beginning, I definitely felt intimidated since I was so new to the film industry. I felt a bit like an imposter going into a filmmakers meet-and-greet. Like, what could I possibly have to offer to a veteran filmmaker? But we were very lucky to have our world premiere at qFlix Philadelphia and everyone at the festival, from the staff to the fellow filmmakers, were so warm and welcoming it helped put me at ease.
It’s been such a privilege to share the film and be able to see in real time how it is received by audiences. After such a long time being alone with the film, so many hours of editing and debating what to keep and what to cut, and it was really nice to kind of see it through new eyes. It’s always fascinating to see what parts of the film speak most to people.
Jen: First of all, let me say that I feel so lucky and can hardly believe that we’re on a “festival circuit” because that’s always been the dream/goal. But I have found that it’s nerve-wracking for me because I live with social anxiety. I have a hard time talking to groups of people of 4 (sometimes 2) or more, which is probably why I choose to live most of my life behind the camera.
After going to a handful of festivals I have to say that the responses and conversations after the screenings are quite worth the anxiety. Also I get a free pass to see all the movies I want in a week, which is heavenly.
Funding in this industry can always be a challenge, how did you achieve yours?
Mary: We debated a bunch in the beginning about whether we would try to apply to get funding. Ultimately, we decided to try to move forward on our own, even though that would mean having vastly less resources. We were very lucky to have had some help from family for some initial costs for a camera and a couple other pieces of key equipment, but after that we funded it by ourselves. One of the main ways we kept costs low was that it was just the two of us until post-production. Jen shot the whole film by herself on one camera and I did the interviews and basically acted as her PA. While there were some days when we definitely kicked ourselves for trying to do it all on our own, in the end, I'm not sure we could have gotten as intimate a view into Jack and Yaya’s lives if there had been a whole crew with us.
What was the most challenging aspect of making your film?
Mary: It was very challenging to decide what to keep and what to cut. We had originally thought we were going to make a short film, but we realised pretty quickly that we couldn’t squeeze a thirty-year friendship into twenty minutes. Still, even keeping it to eighty-ish minutes was super hard. There were some scenes that were truly heartbreaking to cut. Luckily, we brought in our Executive Producer, Jorgy Cruz, for post-production and he was able to give us an outside perspective, which was truly invaluable. We really needed someone who hadn’t been staring at this footage for months to help us suss out what needed to stay and what could go.
Jen: Keeping up with everyone and trying to capture all the action with one camera was definitely the most difficult. I always felt so guilty when I missed moments because it was all on me. Given the pace of the party around me, I quickly realised that magic was constantly occurring and those moments kept flying by so I tried not to mourn them too hard because if I did, I'd probably miss another.
If you could have gone into any other role in the industry, which would you be interested in?
Mary: I’ve always been interested in film scoring. Music has always been a huge part of my life and I feel like a score can really make or break a film. Sadly, I have absolutely no rhythm so I leave it to the experts, like our fantastic composer Matthew Connor.
Jen: I’m super happy where I am but if I had to pick something else I would say voice actor/artist. I would love to make and voice a cartoon. I do lots of characters, sound effects and I am teaching myself (with the help an Austrian dude named Chris from YouTube) how to growl and scream like a metal singer. More updates on that later.
Do you have any favourite queer films?
Mary: While we were at Inside Out Film Festival in Toronto we had the opportunity to see Fabiana, a documentary following a trans woman who is a truck driver in Brazil. It was a beautifully shot film that offers a really intimate portrait of Fabiana, who is this funny, strong, and intriguing woman. One of my favorite parts of the film was the choice by the director/director of photography, Brunna Laboissière, to hold long shots. It’s a very bold move, in my opinion, but it produced some of the most moving scenes. I still find myself thinking about that film a lot, which is always a good sign. It was very inspirational to me.
Jen: But I’m A Cheerleader is an OG for me. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and also a documentary called Tarnation really influenced me in my teens. I loved Pariah and Moonlight was stunning.
What’s the next project for you?
Jen: We’ve been in pre-production for a short about a septuagenarian, her tortoise, and her new cat. Shari lives alone in a beautiful brownstone in Boston with a jungle of 30 - 50 year old thriving house plants. Like her plant children, she has had quite a life and has a lot to say. We follow her as she gets a new roommate, a tiny black cat who she names Forest, after her ex-lover who died by suicide twenty years ago.
And finally, what film are you most looking forward to seeing this year?
Mary: I would really love to see Border South, a 2019 documentary which follows migrants on their way to the US/Mexico border. When I’m not making films, I work at the Harvard Immigration & Refugee Clinical Program, which offers pro-bono legal assistance to immigrants and asylum-seekers, so I love to see films that uplift the stories of immigrants.
Jen: I want to see Whirlybird, a documentary that was in competition at this year’s Sundance about helicopter reporter Zoey Tur. It tells much of the story through behind the scenes footage taken from a news copter traveling over Los Angeles that she works on with her wife. The film sounds like a fascinatingly intimate and unique way to get to know two people and their relationship and I am so excited to go on that ride.
You can follow the film makers and their film’s journey via the following social media channels.
Website: www.jackandyaya.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackandYayaFilm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JackandYayaFilm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackandYayaFilm
