“Ever since I was a little girl, I always loved to create and invent stories about fictional characters” say Elina Street, “people I grew up surrounded with”. Elina said, “My parents had a 20 year age difference so we had a lot of people visiting our home from all generations and all walks of life, I was always fascinated by them, and would stay up late to interrogate them about their lives”.
“I would report back to my diary, and then when I got a hold of my dad’s point and shoot cameras, I would just document everything I witnessed,” says Elina Street. She continued, “I became a documentary director before I started to tackle fiction, but for me, if I were to describe my style, they really work hand in hand. I’m really interested in trying to represent authentic performances in fiction, with actors, and I’m also interested in uplifting the real people in my documentaries, they become characters thanks to the film medium.”
indieactivity:Who is “My Best Friend” for? Who do you think would enjoy it the most?
Elina Street (ES): My Best Friend is for all the best friends out there who ever felt attracted to each other, it’s about that one moment where you let down your guards completely and think “Why not? Let’s do this.” It’s not the best decision but you do it anyways, so My Best Friend I hope can resonate with you, I know a lot of people go through that and act on it or not.
How long did it take to shoot the films?
Elina Street (ES): This was a four (4) day shoot.
The Official Trailer for My Best Friend Directed by Elina Street
How long was the post-production process?
Elina Street (ES): We had some funding delays so it took 6 months instead of 3.
The film had a lot of talent working behind the scenes as DPs, sound designers, composers, etc. Why is diversity important both in front of and behind the camera?
Elina Street (ES): It’s so important because representation matters. It’s the only way to create a diverse world of inclusion within work and on the screen.
What are your goals with “My Best Friend”?
Elina Street (ES): I want to open up discussions about queer intimacy on the screen, and the success of the film has also encouraged me to work on my debut feature. As an artist, I really believe that there are some stories that need to come out at a specific time, and that was the time for My Best Friend, and off to the next. There will be elements of My Best Friend in the feature, and my lead will be very close the the lead’s character of Clara, but exploring another stage of her life, when she is younger in her older 20th.
What’s next for you? What are you working on right now?
Elina Street (ES): As mentioned above, I’m writing my feature film about a younger Clara, the lead character in My Best Friend, when she was just coming out and going to college. Her father was slowly losing his mind with a disease and she had to work on finding herself. It’s another story about a moment in time, and I really appreciate these types of character studies.
What would you recommend to a new director at the beginning of his/ her journey? Any special courses, workshops, helpful books they can read?
Elina Street (ES): I think it’s so easy to become distracted these days with what everyone is making, and it’s really about finding what you like to do and really focusing on that. If you have a preference, the audience will pick up on it, and they will see that what you are making is meaningful. One of my writing teachers wrote a book called Writing from the Heart, and I apply this to Directing, when you tell a story that means the world to you, people will also connect with it, it’s pretty straight forward and perhaps a bit corny but it’s true!
And also, this is far from easy by the way, it takes a lot of vulnerability, and it takes doing the work to know yourself, and know what you like. I know for me, that took a lot of years of maturity, multiple work experiences on many different sets (TV Shows, Feature films, and Commercials) and of course a lot of therapy too. I would say life is your biggest education, so don’t narrow down your chances and try a lot of different things so you can find out what you really prefer. Oh and one super important thing, surround yourself well, with people who truly believe in you, they are out there. If you have doubts about someone, then they are probably not worthy of working with you.
I was so lucky to meet my producers Maxwell Gately and Amy Fruchtman with Gately Production Services who believed in me since day 1, and by day one I mean 10 years ago when I just moved to NY, and I was a PA on a very small indie feature. You never know who you will meet in the industry, and if you really work hard even as a PA, people will pick up on it, and want to work with you.
Who is your favorite director? Why?
Elina Street (ES): This is such a tough question because so many come to mind… Agnes Varda, François Ozon, Olivier Assayas, Michael Hanneke, Sam Mendes, Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold… Yes, I am French-American. So, I have a lot of Frenchies in there. I do think one thing that brings them together is that all these directors do a remarkable job at bringing what you may at first glance feel is more of a banal story but make it magical and elevated through their filmmaking. It’s fascinating. This is very specific cinema and not everyone likes this of course, but who cares, for me this is what I like and these are the stories that I was told to tell so I will.
What advice would you give directors around the world?
Elina Street (ES): Everyone has a story to tell, so yours is just as important as the others. Surround yourself with the right people. There will be people who try to bring you down, but this is just a test to do better, stay focused on your work.
Tell us what you think of the interview with Elina Street. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
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