WXFF 2020: Maya Witters
We spoke to Maya Witters, director of the wonderfully funny short The Turtles which is screening in the Unconventional Connections strand at Women X. Here, Maya talks to us about her experience as a first time filmmaker, the role of labels within the LGBTQ+ community, and the importance of having male characters seen through the female gaze.
Tell us about yourself and the work you do
MW: I’m Maya Witters, a Belgian-born, London-based filmmaker. The Turtles is my first film; in “real life” I earn money with copywriting, translations and journalism work. I had long wanted to explore something more visual and made making a film my 2019 New Year’s resolution.
What is your proudest moment of your career so far?
MW: Actually, getting The Turtles made is something I’m very proud of. I learned everything about filmmaking while doing it, so it was a huge challenge; I knew very little about post-production, the technical side of filmmaking etc. before we started. Given my cluelessness, it’s quite a miracle that it turned out this well. I got very lucky with the people who came on board and who decided the script was worth putting their time into.
‘The Turtles’ is a wonderful film about a woman exploring her sexuality in a positive light. How important is it to you, as a filmmaker and a writer, to create positive LGBTQ+ stories?
MW: It’s mainly important to me to create nuanced female characters and perspectives. The Turtles is really more of a queer film by accident; I didn’t set out to write a gay story. It just happened to come out like that, and Emma’s storyline was certainly inspired by several female friends of mine having similar experiences: they had dated men all their lives, and then just happened to fall in love with a woman at some point.
I wanted to showcase that perspective, because very often the only queer stories we see are either coming-out stories or struggle stories. In my experience, things are usually not that clear-cut: sexuality is fluid, your perspective on it can change, and while for some people it’s obviously a huge part of their personality, for others it’s just a fact of life that doesn’t necessarily make a huge dent on their sense of identity. Not everyone feels the need to come out or even to define their experience. I personally never cared about labels because they seem to reduce my lived experience to something neat and boxed that never quite rings true. I think it’s essential that we get to see the full range of female and queer perspectives, not just the butch lesbians and the exuberant queens – important though it is that they get screen time too.
Was the inclusion of turtles and biology inspired from anything in particular?
MW: The film started from a visual idea I had: the opening track shot and monologue of the film, with the reveal that Emma is chatting to her turtles rather than to her boyfriend. I don’t know how that idea appeared in my head, but it seemed funny – much funnier than a cat or a dog – so I developed it further and ended up making her a biology student. I don’t have any other particular connection to turtles or biology, apart from my beloved stuffed turtle toy, of course.
What themes do you want to explore in your future work?
MW: Feminist perspectives will creep into my work no matter what I do, so I certainly intend to explore more female-centric storylines. That doesn’t mean I will always have female protagonists, though, because I think it’s important that we also get more men on the screen written by women or seen through women’s eyes. After all, men have been writing women for decades, badly most of the time.
What three things do you always have on your bedside table?
MW: Noise-cancelling headphones, whatever book I’m currently reading, and my stuffed turtle toy. No joke – I’ve had her for years, and she certainly served as inspiration for the film.
Tell us three things you're grateful for?
MW: Tempted to simply answer ‘cats’ but getting to be part of this wonderful festival is also pretty cool.
What are you working on at the moment/next?
MW: Filmmaking is a little complicated in the current situation. I’m in talks with someone to direct her short film script – it would be interesting to get more directing experience on work that is not my own. I have lots of ideas floating around for my own scripts, but I need to find some time and headspace to properly develop them. If anyone wants to chat to me about their scripts, they’re very welcome to contact me.
