NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Lucas Hedges, director of Mope

NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Lucas Hedges, director of Mope

My film is.... 

MOPE

The moment I'm most proud of is.... 

I’m most proud of the “ball busting” scene, where one of the main characters, Eric Long, demonstrates the proper way to get kicked in the balls for his fetish porn. This is based on something I witnessed during my research and very accurately captures the bizarre, seedy experience. The scene is both disturbing and funny, leaving you with a sense of the dread. And I think it best represents the tone of the movie.    

The reason I carried on with this film when it got tough is.....   I felt (and feel) that unless I told this story, no one else would. “It’s too disturbing… it’s too disgusting… no one will care about two loser porn actors.” Those were definitely criticisms I heard at the script stage. But for me, it’s a tragic love story about two misguided friends desperate to find acceptance in a world full of racism, pain, and cruelty.

The one moment that will resonate with an audience is....... Hopefully the ending, in which the main characters get exactly what they want — but in the most terrible way possible. In America, we sell cheap, empty dreams. And they often come at a horrible price.  

The hardest thing I had to cut from this film is........  Due to timing and pacing, I had to cut a scene late in the movie where Eric Long confronts Steve Driver about not having an identity outside his porn persona and determining his self-worth by how many porn actresses he has sex with.

The thing I want people to take from this film is ......
Despite how bizarre and shocking the content is, it truly happened. I extensively researched the story and interviewed all the survivors. I owed it to them to create the most realistic portrayal of the story possible, regardless of how brutal and uncomfortable it gets. It’s a movie that explores mental illness and man’s inhumanity towards one another — and it will likely make you feel terrible by the end. It’s a look into darkness. 

The reason I love the NZIFF is.......  The programming is amazing and comprehensive and daring— certainly, I want to see EVERY movie screening at the festival.

What I want to see at this year's NZIFF is......
Deerskin, The Amazing Jonathan Documentary, Vivarium, You Don’t Nomi and, of most of all, Come To Daddy. I also HIGHLY recommend Knife + Heart. 

The one thing I'd say to aspiring filmmakers is.....
Find your voice and never deviate from it; it’s the only compass you have. Don’t let others tell you the kind of films to make. Don’t try to calculate things and outsmart the system, making films you think people will like. Be prepared for some people to hate your work.