Carter Sigl: This films seems very much based on the kind of people we all know (or are ourselves). Are Harper, Allie, and the others based off specific people, or are they entirely fictional?
Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss: Allie and Harper are the culminated best hits of people we love, people we keep at a distance, and a little bit ourselves. There's some fiction thrown in as well.
Carter Sigl: In a similar vein, is the journey of self-discovery that Harper and Allie go through auto-biographical in any sense?
CR and SVB: As anyone who has ever tried to get to Fort Tilden may know, it can be very difficult. Or not that difficult, but a big inconvenience, nonetheless. So that was certainly an autobiographical starting point. When you write satire, you step back and identify the contradictions in yourself and the world that you live in, and the objectivity required in doing so forces you to admit aspects of yourself that you don't always share with others.
Carter Sigl: Both of you have made a number of short films in the past, but this is your feature film debut. What was it like transitioning from making short films to making a full-length film?
CR and SVB: When making short films you have to be very economical in the storytelling and that principle stays true with writing feature films. There's more breathing room allowed in the structure of a feature length film and that affords the writer the ability to have a little more fun. It's also nine times more work than a short.
Carter Sigl: Why make a comedy film to tell this story? Why not an ordinary drama?
CR and SVB: Individually, most of our work has been comedic, even though we both employ dramatic elements and a love for uncomfortable situations. This story started with the premise of two naive hipster girls trying to get to the beach and the inherent comedic potential in that was exciting to us. We conceived it in a way that the comedy subtly enhances the dramatic moments, and many of our favorite films are a blend of both.
Carter Sigl: What do you think your artistic statement with this film is? What are you saying to society using it?
CR and SVB: We are telling society to rise up, be violent, and don't look back. Was that not obvious?
Carter Sigl: Can you give me any hints to what upcoming projects may be?
CR and SVB: We are developing our own separate feature films as well as collaborating on an idea for television. They all involve helicopter shots.
Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss: Allie and Harper are the culminated best hits of people we love, people we keep at a distance, and a little bit ourselves. There's some fiction thrown in as well.
Carter Sigl: In a similar vein, is the journey of self-discovery that Harper and Allie go through auto-biographical in any sense?
CR and SVB: As anyone who has ever tried to get to Fort Tilden may know, it can be very difficult. Or not that difficult, but a big inconvenience, nonetheless. So that was certainly an autobiographical starting point. When you write satire, you step back and identify the contradictions in yourself and the world that you live in, and the objectivity required in doing so forces you to admit aspects of yourself that you don't always share with others.
Carter Sigl: Both of you have made a number of short films in the past, but this is your feature film debut. What was it like transitioning from making short films to making a full-length film?
CR and SVB: When making short films you have to be very economical in the storytelling and that principle stays true with writing feature films. There's more breathing room allowed in the structure of a feature length film and that affords the writer the ability to have a little more fun. It's also nine times more work than a short.
Carter Sigl: Why make a comedy film to tell this story? Why not an ordinary drama?
CR and SVB: Individually, most of our work has been comedic, even though we both employ dramatic elements and a love for uncomfortable situations. This story started with the premise of two naive hipster girls trying to get to the beach and the inherent comedic potential in that was exciting to us. We conceived it in a way that the comedy subtly enhances the dramatic moments, and many of our favorite films are a blend of both.
Carter Sigl: What do you think your artistic statement with this film is? What are you saying to society using it?
CR and SVB: We are telling society to rise up, be violent, and don't look back. Was that not obvious?
Carter Sigl: Can you give me any hints to what upcoming projects may be?
CR and SVB: We are developing our own separate feature films as well as collaborating on an idea for television. They all involve helicopter shots.
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