Annapurna Sriram, director, screenwriter and lead actress of the midnight film Fucktoys, delivered the juiciest and probably also the most direct and funniest talk of the year’s KVIFF. “Eight years ago, I called a fortune teller who told me I should break up with my boyfriend. I did, and he told me that it probably made sense, which broke my heart. Then I met another guy I wanted to sleep with. He wanted to be an actor, so I wrote a script where we had sex,” she told the amused audience in Karlovy Vary, adding that, unlike the film, the relationship didn’t work out. During the after-screening discussion, the director praised the interpreter’s performance on several occasions and gave her a high-five afterwards.
The discussion was light-hearted and lively. Fucktoys is a self-conscious campy romp inspired by Tarot cards. It was filmed in Louisiana and the creators were able to use urban environment without needing to embellish anything. For the director herself, the film was a nostalgic throwback to her teenage years.
When asked how difficult it was to reconcile her responsibilities as actor and director, she replied: “Before filming started, I just wanted to act. All I wanted was to play a sexy girl. But we didn’t have money, so the producer said I should also direct. We did long and honest rehearsals, filming everything on a home camera. The protagonist was very close to me, so it was easy to step out of the role and review the action on camera. But I wouldn’t recommend it – we did it mostly for budget reasons.”
The movie was shot on 16mm film, so the creators had to be very strict and have everything perfectly rehearsed in advance. The director praised the talent of her actors, whom she recruited from New York theatres. “I didn’t want any celebrities. There are so many damn good actors nobody knows about. I wanted to give them the opportunity to play a role in a film,” explained Sriram.
She also used her film to poke fun at pretentious and self-important artists. “I love movies that are self-aware and celebrate it. I wanted to do something similar. I’d like to see more American films that are weird, surreal, light-hearted and simply fun,” she said when asked what she missed about 1970s cinema, which she often references in Fucktoys.
