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Interview With Director Christine Chew

Posted by: Natasia Rose on September 20, 2010.

09/20/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Christine Chew is a photographer turned writer, director and producer. In her life as a photographer, she focused on entertainment and sports photography. Now that she is pursing her other interests, she is making lesbian films about lesbos. Her latest film is “Click,” a comedy that focuses on the relationships between a group of lesbians. Christine is more used to pimping out the actors in her films to the media, but LGR managed to get a hold of the funny lady long enough to turn her into a reluctant media whore, herself!

LGR: Christine, you are currently filming “Click”. Can you tell our readers what this film short is about?

CC: “Click” is a comedy about lesbians trying to connect without too much dyke drama. And we all know how likely that scenario is! So of course, you can expect mayhem, melodrama and unnecessary complications. This is a world where lesbians are front and center after all…

LGR: How much of your personal life, if any, is reflected in “Click”?

CC: I completely ripped off and riffed off my private life so “Click” could have the ring of truth. But seriously, that’s not 100% true…. just maybe 30% true. I did …ahem… *borrow* certain elements of events that happened in my life and friends who know me will see the 30% and everyone else….well, you’re just going to have to guess which are the real-life bits! :) But it may be possible to bribe me to reveal more… I’m partial to meals featuring lots of bacon.

LGR: You’ve mentioned that “Click” is somewhat of a sequel to an earlier work of yours, “Falling for Caroline”. In what ways is “Click” a sequel and where can fans find “Falling for Caroline”?

CC: Our intrepid and klutzy heroine Darcy from “Falling For Caroline” returns in an all-new love-disaster story in “Click”. All the other characters are new …. the whole feel and look of “Click” is quite different from “Falling For Caroline”. This is a deliberate choice because I wanted to make a film that goes in a new direction with a story that only peripherally references the previous film… the “Click” story is very different and has more layers because there are more women in it! They get up to all kinds of shenanigans and this story with an ensemble cast needed to be told in a different way visually. By the way, this is a rocking cast… i’m just saying… but you’ll see and agree …

Fans can buy “Falling For Caroline” on DVD in the UK as part of the very fun shorts compilation “Here Come The Girls 2: Gleeful Desire” http://www.peccapics.com/View/id,212 You get Jane Lynch and Angela Robinson’s short “DEBS” in the same package…that’s a sweet deal, you gays! I’m just so thrilled to be part of anything that includes Angela Robinson and those girls in their Catholic schoolgirl outfits… do you know I’m a lapsed Catholic? I’ll have the rights to sell “Falling For Caroline” on DVD in Canada and the US by May next year so if you’re interested, be a fan of “Click” on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Click/128153940532391?ref=ts

and join Click Nation on the film website to get the latest updates!

LGR: You won an ImageOut audience award for “Falling for Caroline” – congratulations! Why do you think audiences responded to the film so positively?

CC: Thanks! Yes, that was the first Audience Award for “Falling For Caroline”. I was so excited I abused the exclamation point shamelessly in all my emails for weeks!!! I think audiences can all identify with the feeling that so much is out of control when you fall in love and “Falling For Caroline” is really just a simple story of wanting to find The One and how falling in love can turn you into a giant klutz. The actors ..Yanna Baizer, Shannon Currie, Denise Mader and Claire Duncan … were really great and I think they made their characters so sweet and lovable and that really connected with the audience. The film also won Audience Awards at Montreal’s Image+Nation and Queersicht in Berne, Switzerland. The Swiss award was named The Pink Glasses Award and when it arrived in the mail, it was the most fun day I ever had with a pair of glasses. The award really is a pair of pink glasses and it arrived all wrapped up in strips of film negative in a film can!! I enclose a photo of me wearing said award. Can’t see a thing through the lenses but LOVE them so much!!

LGR: You’ve made four films in the last 12 months; what’s your most embarrassing on set story?

CC: Okay, I can’t tell you that right now because that would reveal a huge spoiler but I can tell you many embarrassing off-set stories. They mostly involve me falling into potholes on the street, tripping and somersaulting over my bed like a ninja and giving myself a concussion while doing laundry.

LGR: Is it difficult to teach actresses to act like lesbians? Do you keep a lot of plaid flannel shirts and Indigo Girls CDs on hand for training purposes?

CC: It was really easy because the cast of Click is totally awesome and they were all really eager to wear plaid. I’m proud to say I have several plaid shirts in my wardrobe but I don’t use them for training purposes. The actors in both “Click” and “Falling For Caroline” are all straight… sorry, you gays… but they’re really amazing actors and quite hot (in or out of plaid) and very funny. Most people find them to be completely convincing lesbians. This must be due to:

1. their fantastic acting skills
2. my fantastic Lesbianism 101 tutorials. First thing I do with the actors is to check their nails and inform them that they MUST keep them short or the lesbian audience will tar and feather me for this oversight. For “Falling For Caroline”, I sent the cast YouTube clips of what I consider convincing girl-kissing … Sue and Maud in ‘Fingersmith’, Helen and Nikki in ‘Bad Girls’ , etc. etc. For “Click”, I asked Sarah Sherman to wear plaid and Kat Letwin to listen to Sleater-Kinney and Sick of Sarah. They’re both such amazing actors … you’d totally want to win a toaster oven and try to convert them after you see “Click”. I also asked them all to watch the U-Haul Rap video by That’s What She Said and worship at the altar of Sarah Waters

LGR: You’ve had a very accomplished career in photography; why did you make the leap to film?

CC: I decided to stop being a control freak in my creative life. You have a lot of individual control over the final creative output as a photographer. Filmmaking requires you to trust other creative people… it’s the most collaborative medium I know. I figured it was time to grow. But more than that, I really think we don’t have enough films that reflect our lives as gay women so i just want to make films that will do that … and tell stories about my life, my friends’ lives and yours! And in the process, if you laugh a little and have fun watching these stories, that will warm the cockles of my little heart. I think it’s worth the leap!

LGR: Why is Tina Fey your hero? What would you say to her if you met her?

CC: Three reasons – she’s smart, funny and wears sexy librarian glasses. I will succumb every time for this trifecta of fabulousness. Words may well fail me in her presence… can you suggest something for me to totally win her over and have her become more than just my imaginary girlfriend? I’m really quite a shy person … having to promote “Falling For Caroline” on its festival run turned me into a pimp ( I pimped the actors and film shamelessly at every opportunity) and a reluctant web-whore.

LGR: Do you think Tina Fey has the power to save Lindsay Lohan?

CC: Tina has many super-magical powers but the only person who can save Lindsay Lohan is Lindsay Lohan. Even the ruler of Planet Earth – Oprah – couldn’t save her.

LGR: Explain to our readers what an “equipment porn moment” is.

CC: When you see the light catching the sexy hot curves of a 6mm fisheye lens that few have laid eyes on, when your heart races and you get the good shivers because of that, that’s when you know you’ve had an equipment porn moment and that’s also when you should really consider getting a real girlfriend.

LGR: I’ve always been confused by the expression, “hair of the dog.” What do you think it means?

CC: Hmmm… maybe I should ask Tina Fey that… Tina knows more than Wikipedia. My hero!

LGR: Is there anything I should have asked you but didn’t?

CC: Yes! How much time do you have? Call me.

If you don’t have Christine’s number you can find her at www.christinechew.com or become a fan of Click on Facebook to stay on top of her latest project! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Click/128153940532391?ref=ts