Desiree Akhavan of Appropriate Behavior Talks Sundance
16/01/2015
One of the breakout films at Sundance 2014 was Appropriate Behavior, a picture that earned its creator the moniker of "The bisexual, Persian Lena Dunham." (Ironically, Akhavan will be featured in the cast of Girls s fourth season.) That moniker seems a bit simplistic - there are significant differences between Appropriate Behavior and Dunham s breakout film, Tiny Furniture - but there are absolutely some similarities as well. Like Dunham, Akhavan has made a film that seems to mine personal experience while simultaneously taking that personal experience to an more extreme - and comic - place, all in the name of presenting an authentic document of what living a certain kind of lifestyle feels like.
The lifestyle in question is that of Shirin, a young Brooklynite very much adrift in the world, trying to figure her life out: she s just broken up with her girlfriend Maxine (Rebecca Henderson), whom she clearly isn t over; she isn t sure what career she feels a calling toward; and to top it all off, she s still in the closet as far as her conservative Persian parents are concerned. Once its setup has been established, Appropriate Behavior takes on a compelling, dualistic narrative structure: one strand of plot details Shirin s attempts to get her life on track and become more comfortable with her identity, while a second, flashback storyline shows how her relationship with Maxine formed - before going wrong. I had the chance to speak with Akhavan recently about the film, which opens in theaters and on VOD today.
Tribeca Film: How much of the film is culled from your own experience? And what was the process like of taking material from your own life and transferring it into the realm of a story?
Desiree Akhavan: To me, it s about theme, and the themes of the film were incredibly personal. At the time that I was writing it I was heartbroken after an especially bad breakup, I had just come out to my family, and I was dealing with the aftermath of that. It took off from there. But the events in the film are fictional - I never stalked my exes, I never walked down the street with a strap-on in my hand. I never brought someone to a party to make an ex jealous. I went into a land in my head of, what are my best and worst qualities, and went from there on a kind of choose your own adventure journey in my head. I would never say it s autobiographical, also because my parents and my exes are not like that at all. I ve never dated anyone like Maxine, who s a politically correct lesbian and who is a bit judgmental. I ve never dated anyone like that. My family is also not cold like the family in the film is. But I had a familiar understanding of the cultures I wanted to explore.
Tribeca Film: When you re taking themes from your own life, a familiar setting, but then go somewhere new, how does that affect your understanding of your own life? Does it provide you with some perspective?
Desiree Akhavan: Not really, because at this point I see myself as someone completely separate from the character. When you work on something for years and you have so many collaborators who put so much of themselves into it, it s not even my film - I m just one piece of a much larger pie. This is a film I made very closely with my producer, who has a story by credit. The first draft she read was just about these two characters and set in just a few locations, and she suggested I include a family. It became a fictionalized world because of the work we put into it - and that s just a script. Once you get a cinematographer you trust, you say, okay, what s his vision of the material? As a team, we made choices. So it would be strange for me to look back on this and see a version of my life - the more work that goes into the film, the less it resembles anything I ve experienced.
Tribeca Film: Obviously your relationship with your director of photography is extremely important when you re starring in the film as well. What was your relationship with your DP, Chris Teague, like? And had you directed yourself before?
Desiree Akhavan: I had. I co-created a web series with Ingrid Jungermann, another director I had met in graduate school. We starred in the series as well as wrote, directed and edited it. So I d had that experience before I made the film, and that was really helpful - that led me to feel empowered to star in this. If I hadn t made that series, I don t think I could have made this film. But because that happened, it made perfect sense for me to star in this film - I was writing it for myself. But whereas before I had a co-director, this was more of a collaboration between me, the producer and the DP. My producer always had eyes on the monitor, and I always trusted that I could look to her if I was wondering about how it was looking. It was a fast shoot and I didn t always have time to look at the monitor s playback - I would usually watch it once, just to see the frame. But usually I felt pretty confident that I could gauge what was happening. Chris also picked up a lot of slack - he s incredibly smart, he understands stories.
Tribeca Film: You mentioned you worked on The Slope, the web series you made with Jungermann, and I was thinking about how I saw you at a screening of the film last week, where, during the Q&A, you mentioned you re working on a pilot. This film, too, feels quite episodic in nature. What is it that you find attractive about the idea of working in TV?
Desiree Akhavan: There are so many reasons why I m attracted to working in TV. I was raised by TV - I was constantly watching hours and hours every day, learning about what it was like to be an American child. I was a fan of everything. The first script I wrote was a spec script of the Brady Bunch. When I got older I discovered film, and I love film, but first off, I learned
LINK: | http://tribecafilm.com/stories/desiree-akhavan-of-appropriate-behavior... |
See more stories from tribecafilm |
Most recent headlines
09/12/2024
Dalet Named an IDC Innovator in Media and Entertainment
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced that it has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: ...
27/11/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, the Co-Directors of Sujo
By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
27/11/2024
Dinner and a Movie: Katie Arthurs on Top End Wedding and Breakfast Burritos
The author watching a film with her mother and brother....
27/11/2024
Inside the Archives: Showcasing Sundance Talent in Oz and the Colosseum
Denzel Washington at the Piper-Heidsieck Tribute press conference at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Sandria Miller...
27/11/2024
Spotify Teams Up With UK Charity Youth Music To Support Grassroots Youth Spaces
Over the past decade in the U.K., financial constraints and shifting community resources have put many grassroots music spaces under increasing pressure. There ...
27/11/2024
Are You Wrapped-Ready? First Make Sure Your Spotify App Is Up-to-Date
Wrapped is almost here and Spotify is starting to drop hints at what this year's campaign is all about: the fans. To get ready for the big reveal, Spotify i...
27/11/2024
Find Restaurant Recommendations Based on Your Music Taste With Spotify, American Express, and Resy
Dining out for the vibes? You're not alone. According to Resy's 2024 Ret...
27/11/2024
L3Harris' Lou Speaight is a Finalist at Women in Defence UK Awards 2024
The Women in Defence U.K. awards ceremony celebrates the extraordinary contributions individuals and teams make to Defence....
27/11/2024
Tint Boosts Collaborative Workflows with EditShare Storage Across Gothenburg and Stockholm Facilities
Tint Boosts Collaborative Workflows with EditShare Storage Across Gothenburg and...
27/11/2024
Clear-Com Powers Communication at the 2024 Singapore Airlines Formula 1 Singapore...
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
27/11/2024
Nielsen launches activation with Advanced Audiences, enhancing digital campaign precision, reach and effectiveness across New Zealand
Auckland, November 26, 2024 Nielsen today announced the launch of Advanced Aud...
27/11/2024
Nielsen releases 2024 Food and Beverage Report, covering a decade of data on the sector's ad spend, media trends and consumer shifts in Australia
Report reveals ad spend of 100 occasional food & beverage brands over last 10 ye...
27/11/2024
Lynx Technik Adds Vincent Noyer as Director of Product Marketing
WEITERSTADT, Germany Broadcast TV equipment provider Lynx Technik has named Vincent Noyer as director of product marketing....
27/11/2024
NBCUniversal Works With Walmart to Bring Live Shopping to Live Sports
NEW YORK NBCUniversal and Walmart said they are bringing new shoppable experiences and measurement capabilities to live sports coverage. Kicking off on Thanksgi...
27/11/2024
Deadline extended for submissions to Best in Market 2024 Awards
The awards are open to any company that launched a product/service or brought new upgrades to an existing product/service in 2024 By TVBEurope Staff Publishe...
27/11/2024
Marc Allera to leave BT Group
In a nine year career with BT, Allera played a key role in the development of its joint venture with Warner Bros Discovery, TNT Sports By Matthew Corrigan Pu...
27/11/2024
Ross Video Hopes To BHAG Private Equity With Ambitious Strategy Shift
Ross Video has outlined a shift in its strategic approach and announced a significant financial target for 2030....
27/11/2024
Bending Spoons To Acquire Brightcove for $233 Million
BOSTON Brightcove said it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Bending Spoons in an all-cash transaction valued at about $233 million....
27/11/2024
Transmit, Wurl Partner on FAST Channel Ads
NEW YORK Advanced-advertising solutions provider Transmit and connected-TV tech company Wurl have struck a partnership that will bring Transmit's in-stream ...
27/11/2024
Prime Video Adds More FAST Channels for the Holidays
Amazon's Prime Video continues to bulk up its free, ad-supported streaming TV channels with the launch of holiday-themed channels and other services....
27/11/2024
Sinclair's Chris Ripley Lays Out ATSC 3.0 Challenges, Opportunities
HUNT VALLEY, Md. Earlier this month, Sinclair signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Technology Bombay covering their collaboration on broad...
27/11/2024
Krotos Introduces the Creator Toolkit: Tailored Sound Effects for Content Creators
Krotos Introduces the Creator Toolkit: Tailored Sound Effects for Content Creato...
27/11/2024
First look revealed for third explosive instalment of Sky Original Gangs of London', coming 2025
First look revealed for third explosive instalment of Sky Original Gangs of Lon...
27/11/2024
The Summer Hikaru Died' Set to Bring Eerie Anime Thrills to Netflix
Back to All News The Summer Hikaru Died' Set to Bring Eerie Anime Thrills to NetflixPlay Video Play Video Entertainment 27 November 2024 GlobalJapan ...
27/11/2024
Thales Alenia Space to lead Carb-Chaser project, the first French constellation to monitor human-induced CO emissions
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Cannes, November 27, 2024 - Thales Alenia Space,...
27/11/2024
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards Tickets on Sale
Awards on Wednesday 26th February 2025 in Vicar Street, Dublin #rtefolkawards | Tickets via Ticketmaster (link below) Tickets for the 7th RT Radio 1 Folk Awa...
27/11/2024
How RTX AI PCs Unlock AI Agents That Solve Complex Problems Autonomously With Generative AI
Editor's note: This post is part of the AI Decoded series, which demystifies...
26/11/2024
Afghan Reporter Wins Young Journalist of the Year 2024
A woman journalist from Afghanistan has been named Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist of the Year 2024. The journalist, who we are not naming for her ow...
26/11/2024
Audiobook Authors and Publishers Get a New Suite of Tools With the Launch of Spotify for Authors
Spotify's audiobook catalog brings more than 300,000 titles-and counting-to ...
26/11/2024
L3Harris in the UK Achieves Silver ERS Award Status
Jules Ball and Henry Watts, with the award being presented by Brigadier Adam Fraser-Hitchen ADC DL, Deputy Commander of 3rd UK Division....
26/11/2024
Reliable Power for Broadcast Sports Production
Steve ColeFor more than 14 years Steve Cole has been enjoying life in live broadcast, starting as a camera operator and shortly after, adding PTZ/remote camera ...
26/11/2024
Studio Technologies Introduces Model 352A and Model 354A...
Studio Technologies, manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, presents the Model 352A and Model 354A Talk Stations. The units suppo...
26/11/2024
TASCAM Sonicview Recording and Mixing Consoles and SMPTE...
TASCAM, renowned for its versatile and adaptable audio solutions, today announced that its TASCAM Sonicview Digital Mixing Consoles and optional IF-ST2110 Expan...
26/11/2024
Blue Lucy takes on The Americas
London-based media technology business, Blue Lucy, has set up a US division of the company and appointed Dina Behar Hevert as VP Americas. The company's ent...
26/11/2024
Leader Experiences 2024 as Year of Ongoing Innovation in...
The American writer William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, wrote of New York City in the early 1900s that It'll be a great place if they ever fin...
26/11/2024
AGILE CONTENT AND TISCALI TEAM UP TO LAUNCH THE TV SERVIC...
Agile Content joins forces with Tiscali to introduce a new platform in Italy, offering a wide range of premium content for all audiences. Agile Content, a Eur...
26/11/2024
Bulgarian Fund for Women made accessible using SubtitleNE...
For immediate release 26 November 2024, Sofia, Bulgaria Profuz Digital recently sponsored the Bulgarian Fund for Women's 20th Anniversary event by donat...
26/11/2024
Ikegami Sees Accelerating Adoption of IP and Mixed-Format...
Ikegami reports an accelerating migration to high-efficiency IP and mixed-format UHD/HD content creation throughout 2024. Product developments announced during ...
26/11/2024
CVP Announces the Second Belgian Production Technology Sh...
The premier event for cutting-edge production solutions, technologies, and industry insights returns to Brussels. CVP, one of Europe's leading resellers an...
26/11/2024
EMG-Gravity Media to deliver more than 350 hours coverage...
EMG / Gravity Media, a leading force in production and content, media services and facilities, today detailed EMG / Gravity Media's expanding broadcast and ...
26/11/2024
iZotope unveils Cascadia, an intelligent tape delay for clear and present mixes
iZotope unveils Cascadia, an intelligent tape delay for clear and present mixes Brie Clayton November 26, 2024 0 Comments Keep your mixes clear and fo...
26/11/2024
Award Winning Memoir of a Snail Finished in DaVinci Resolve Studio
Award Winning Memoir of a Snail Finished in DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton November 26, 2024 0 Comments DaVinci Resolve Studio used to create uni...
26/11/2024
Ross Video hopes to BHAG private equity with a shift in strategy and ambitious growth plans
Pulling back on innovation and growth doesn't fit the DNA of Ross Video. Pri...
26/11/2024
Bending Spoons dips into enterprise SaaS market with $233 million Brightcove acquisition
Italy-based Bending Spoons suite of digital technology products includes Evernot...
26/11/2024
Nielsen: Fox, Disney Gain Viewing Share in October
NEW YORK In the battle for viewing among the big TV and media players, Fox had a superb October, earning an 8.4% share of total TV viewing in Nielsen's Octo...
26/11/2024
FCC: Jan 1. Deadline to Implement Audio Description Rules in DMAs 101-110
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has issued a reminder that stations in TV markets 101 to 110 must implement its new audio de...
26/11/2024
NBC News Now Expands Into Latin America
NEW YORK NBC News Now has expanded its international distribution into Latin America with launches in Mexico and Brazil on Samsung TV Plus....
26/11/2024
Scripps Sets up AI Strategy Team
CINCINNATI In a notable example of a broadcaster turning to artificial intelligence to improve operations and open up new business opportunities, E.W. Scripps h...
26/11/2024
Cablecast Community Media Bids Fond Farewell to Steve Israelsky
Cablecast Community Media Bids Fond Farewell to Steve Israelsky Brie Clayton November 25, 2024 0 Comments Steve sails into retirement following a colo...
26/11/2024
New Games, New Stakes: Squid Game' Season 2 Main Trailer and Key Art Round and Round' Unveiled
Back to All News New Games, New Stakes: Squid Game' Season 2 Main Trailer ...