Inna Braude (born in Kyiv in 1974) lives in New York. She moved to the US in 1991. Having graduated from Stony Brook University in sociology and applied mathematics, Braude has been working in independent cinema for the past 20 years as assistant director and second director. She has participated in projects such as Adventureland (with Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, 2009), Hungry Hearts (best actor and best actress awards for Alba Rohrwacher and Adam Driver at the Venice Festival 2014) and 3 Generations (with Susan Sarandon, Naomi Watts, and Elle Fanning, 2015).
Our compatriot marked her transition to a new level by acting as an independent producer in the low-budget film Tomorrow Ever After, which combines elements of drama, comedy, and utopian science fiction. The role of its female historian protagonist Shaina is played by the film’s director, 46-year-old Ela Thier.
In fact, our time is shown through the eyes of this visitor from the 27th century, who treats everyone with childlike openness and sincerity. The plot represents the inversion of the classical “noble savage” story; it is just that modern people are the savages there, and the noble observer from the future acts as the high-minded intellectual. The film is kept together by her intonation, her surprise, her eager compassion. This message, modest in form, but content-rich and humanist, has hit a chord with experienced critics. Approving reviews of Tomorrow Ever After have appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Village Voice, and The Huffington Post. And it seems that these 15 minutes of fame for Ela Thier and her team will be continued in some interesting form for a long time.
We met with Braude during her recent visit to Kyiv.
INDUSTRY
So how did you find yourself in the film business?
“I graduated from New York Film Academy, it was a short program, but they handed me a camera at once. I shot two short films and liked it. I have been working as producer for 11 years.”
What is it actually about?
“It is about the principal photography phase.”
How far does your responsibility extend?
“It depends on the movie. Basically, I have to make a plan and execute it. How many days it will take, how we break down the script, whether we need stunt performers and special effects – I have to develop and present well it all. Usually, you need additional meetings to spell out particularly tricky moments, and once it is done, we recruit a team and follow the plan.”
What is the actual difference between independent films and Hollywood productions?
“It is about budgets, trade unions, a lot of things. In general, few blockbuster films are made in New York, we do mostly TV productions and independent films here.”
Ambitions and competition – how much do they influence the general atmosphere in the industry?
“Everyone knows one’s place and everyone should work as part of a well-coordinated mechanism. As soon as an order is given, people immediately do what they have to do. In particular, my second director’s job is to make this machine work perfectly. All these people are not competitors to each other, but members of the same team, they do not compete, but interact. And the bigger the project, the better everything works.”
STARS
How do you work with stars?
“Stars are also people. I have to adapt a little to their nature, to some special requirements, but I have not met any of them who are truly disruptive. In the end, we all want to make a good film.”
And who was the best?
“Elle Fanning was absolutely wonderful [she starred in films by Sofia and Francis Ford Coppola and is 19 now. – Author]. She is my favorite actress. Fanning was bursting with energy, she was terribly offended if some scene involved stunt performers instead of her. For example, we needed to film a skateboard ride, she did it badly, but still wanted to do it all on her own. She had no time limits, asked for another take, and another one, and then one more, and always ran first into the film set with fire in her eyes: ‘Let us start filming already!’ This, of course, is beautiful. Sarandon did not do that. One loves one’s job regardless of the fame or money it brings.”
Good actors, according to my observations, are like soldiers. If they do something, they really do it.
“I agree. And Sarandon is like that too. She, albeit mischievous and prone to coming late for filming, being capricious, and objecting to this thing or that, once she came in, the lights were on. She might have come to say some mischief, but it did not matter, as the lights were on now.”
AMERICA/EUROPE
What is the difference between the American and European ways? Where do producers intervene more in the director’s work?
“I know that they film much faster in America. Meanwhile, in France or in China, people say: well, yes, we will come, we will scratch our heads, we will give it a think; in this sense, the director really has more time there. In America, all ‘head-scratching’ occurs in the preparatory period. One is expected to refrain from it on the set. As for some special requirements on the part of the producer, who would ask to film it this or that way, I have not experienced it. The most visible intervention is when the producer says: ‘Let us film that scene. It seems to you now that it is not needed, but let us still film it, and then let us see.’”
But there is still a painful issue, I mean the final version of a film. Who owns it, owns the film.
“Yes, this is an apple of discord. Sometimes the producer can command what to leave and what to cut out. But it seems to me, this is so everywhere, there is no special difference between America and Europe here. Some directors set it out in the contract itself that they have the right to the final version. And as for the pace of filming, one who films faster, can make everything cheaper and produce more. Of course, when it comes to large budgets, it is much more difficult to make an art film. Although there is Steven Spielberg, who films as he wants at his own expense.”
And the producer must certainly understand the cinema, or is financial talent enough? I ask it because we often have the producer’s job limited to raising money for the film. Their relationship with the cinema may well end there.
“The first producer I worked for used to tell stories of his career starting as an unpaid intern under the highly respected independent producer Ted Hope, and his first task was to clean up the toilets in all the trailers. Recently, one of his films won an Oscar. So when he says to you, ‘Go and clean up the toilets,’ he is entitled to it. There are producers who are hired to spend money. Spending it is a separate art in itself. And yes, there are producers who only deal with fundraising. And there are producers who have connections with stars. They sign a celebrity for the project, and there is funding right away. Also, there are people who can sell. To shoot a film is only half the battle, as one must still sell it properly. Because it may happen that a good film will be shown to an empty auditorium.”
TOMORROW EVER AFTER
Let us talk about the project which, in fact, has led to our conversation. How did the film Tomorrow Ever After appear?
“This is my second film with Thier. She leads the Independent Film School in New York, where she teaches screenwriting and directing, and she is a very fine screenwriter and wonderful teacher herself. I came to her class and we became friends. When she embarked on her first film Foreign Letters, I said that it was impossible to make a film with such a low budget, but she replied: ‘I will make it anyway,’ and I decided that if she would make it anyway, I wanted to take part, and we finally made it, as a miracle and with a lot of improvisation. It is still online and has had many views. Following it, Tomorrow Ever After came without questions asked. This is also a very low-budget production. Many such films get made, but very few of them reach theaters. It is always difficult to complete the production cycle up to the distribution phase, and it is especially hard for such a film.”
Were you surprised by the wave of positive criticism?
“Yes, and very much so. Such a small production often goes unnoticed. However, both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reviewed it. It had, in the end, much larger audience than some projects where I worked with budgets which were an order of magnitude bigger.”
Why was it so? What chord did it strike with both reviewers and the ordinary viewer?
“It happened because it is very topical for our American life. After all, everybody is very actively involved in political debate, in controversies about life values. So the film hit a chord with its subject.”
The protagonist says that our era is called “the Great Despair” in the future. Is America really feeling that way today?
“It is very subjective, but it seems to me that it is time to take some further step. There is some stagnation, and it has to go somewhere. Therefore, we see such a wave of populism around the world. The question is: are our social systems basically about money or about something else? What is happening right now is a system failure.”
It seems to me that the success of the film was also ensured by the suitability of the actress.
“I know that it was a huge act of courage for Thier, I mean her playing the main role. She says that she would do a lot of things differently now, and the next film will be much better, but this one turned out well too.”
What are you planning to do next?
“We will make another film in the winter. Thier conceived it as a story with a sequel. The female protagonist will try to return home. As someone put it, the soul of our film was shining through its low-budget holes. I would like to preserve the soul, but patch the holes up. Also, I want to learn how to write scripts well. I have ideas for this.”
PERSONAL
How do you manage to combine family and work?
“I have a very good child and a very good husband. He helps me very much, sits with my baby when I work. It is hard to see that everything works properly and care for a child at the same time. Therefore, there are few women working as second directors and producers. Still, we do exist.”
Were your family members jealous about your connection to the cinema?
“They still are. It cannot be otherwise.”
And what do you say to them?
“I tell them that Mom is going to work, but will come back soon.”
What else do you like to do besides work?
“I like traveling, walking with my child, and, of course, the melodrama that develops in our news takes a lot of time. (Laughs.) But the latter is not a hobby, it is rather a bad habit.”
What does the child teach you?
“To be here and now. We forget about it as we age, but she reminds me of it. Also, a normal, not wronged child is a source of tremendous optimism. If the child does not get wronged from the very moment of birth, a radiantly joyful optimist grows up. And we should learn from it too. We should recall what we were like at first, and understand that reasons for optimism are there. Look, the sun is shining, and I feel good already!”
