Movies You Made: “What You Eat”
March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers.
Today: What You Eat.
Production notes from writer-director Jennifer Liao:
When I first read Ben Ehrenreich’s exceptional short story WHAT YOU EAT in the 2004 edition of “The Best American Nonrequired Reading,” I immediately wanted to adapt it into a film. A couple of years later, a couple of things had happened that made it possible for me to start the process of doing so: Firstly, I had written, directed, and produced my first short film after some years of kicking around in the independent film world and was feeling uncharacteristically bold because of it, and secondly, I discovered that Ben Ehrenreich had a MySpace account.
I’m still incredibly touched at Ben’s kindness in handing over the cinematic stewardship of his story to an inexperienced stranger that contacted him on MySpace. (I didn’t even have a proper account myself, just one I hastily signed up for to send him a message. The equivalent today would be close to someone asking for the rights to your story with a tweet, but without any other tweets on their account, nor a profile picture other than the Twitter Egg.) I wanted to do him proud and I don’t think I quite got there, particularly in realizing the mordant humour of the piece, among other shortcomings I’ve lost sleep over. But the twisted draw of the story is undeniable, and there are things I do really like about the film. The actors (including a young Ricardo Hoyos, now breaking hearts and taking names on DEGRASSI) each have moments that are near and dear to me, and I still get a kick out of the fact that we pulled off that climactic scene. I of course could not have accomplished any of it without the terrific team of people that joined me on the project, and it was a shoot that only further convinced me that this was the life for me.
The film played about a dozen festivals, including one, now defunct, called the Slow Food on Film Festival, based in Bologna, Italy (for real). It was also broadcast on Canadian television by our main funder, Bravo!FACT, and spent a few months as a selection on Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment system.
Director / Writer (adaptation): Jennifer Liao
Based on the short story by Ben Ehrenreich
Cast: Adrian Roberto, Ricardo Hoyos, Peter Nelson
Producers: Jennifer Liao, Darren Adderley
Director of Photography / Editor: Jonathan Robbins
Art Director: Craig Snoyer
Original Score: Portly Panda Music
Special Thanks To: Bravo!FACT, Ontario Arts Council, ACTRA, CMPA, Charles Street Video, Reel Asian Film Festival
Here is the 9 minute film What You Eat:
I asked each of the filmmakers in this month’s series to answer this question: What inspired you about this particular story to make it a movie? Here is Jennifer’s response:
Reading the original short story provoked such a strong reaction in me, something of a combination of marveling at how compelling it was and feeling dread in every turn of the protagonist’s predicament, I really wanted to see if I could give an audience a similar experience in translating it to film. I think the simplicity with which WHAT YOU EAT unfolds is what makes it especially effective, belying the surprising-but-inevitable conclusion, just as the well-intended rule that sets up the story belies untold abuses.
Jennifer’s Twitter: @averagejenn.
Her website.
The Facebook page for Jennifer’s new movie: The End of Days at Godfrey Global Inventory.
The movie’s Twitter: @GodfreyGlobal.
Drop by comments to give some feedback on What You Eat.
Tomorrow: Another Movie You Made.
Comment Archive