Filmmaking: Sophie Kargman Opens on Query; the Beauty of Gen Z

Sophie Kargman, “Query started as a conversation about the beauty of the Gen Z generation, and how they challenge preconceived notions about sexuality more than any prior generation“. For many individuals, sexual orientation and desire are far from rigid or constant throughout their lives. We are fortunate to live in a time when people are primed and open to discuss previously censored topics including but not limited to race, gender, identity, and sexuality. And that’s super interesting. I love that “Query” reflects our ever-evolving culture.

“I had caught the directing bug coming off of my first short, “Susie Searches”, which is a proof of concept for the feature of the same name, and I was desperate to have another go around but didn’t have much money to finance it. So I thought, what story can I tell that will require a very small production? It would certainly have to be contained: one location and one day. And therefore, under ten minutes. Two actors. Maybe just one conversation? With all those stipulations in mind, I went to Ryan Farhoudi… when I have an idea for something, I usually go to Ryan or my other frequent collaborator, Will Frank (my co-creator and writer of “Susie Searches”). Ryan and I tossed a few ideas around and essentially cracked the story in one sitting.” says Sophie

indieactivity : Did you start writing with a cast (You or any) in mind?
Sophie Kargman : Yes. We had a small handful of friends in mind when we wrote this because we were moving so quickly and didn’t know what their schedules were/who would be available the soonest. Justice Smith and Graham Patrick Martin (the two leads of “Query”) were at the top of the list… and it was just extremely fortuitous they were both available and loved the script.

indieactivity : How long did you take to complete the script? (Do you have a writing process?)
Sophie Kargman : Our creative process for this was delightfully effortless. Ryan spit out a first draft in about twenty minutes. He’s an extremely fast writer, very instinctual. The words explode out of him. Not only that, but he’s also the funniest person I know. A master when it comes to dialogue. I’m more structured and analytical… and I like to tweak and change and craft… and then tweak some more. So I spent the next two weeks tinkering with it, and that’s basically how long it was before we shot the film. It all came together extremely fast. But all my favorite parts of “Query” originated from Ryan’s first draft, which is a huge testament to him.

indieactivity : When did you form your production company – and what was the original motivation for its formation?
Sophie Kargman : I formed my production company in 2016. At that point, I had been creating and producing my own content for about a year, and had several new projects in the works, so I figured it was time! The name for the company stems from my first and last name: Sophie Kargman. But a bunch of my friends call me ‘S. Kargo’ for short (pronounced ‘Escargot’) but the domain for ‘Escargot’ was already taken so I thought, well, what would be the one adjective that describes me best? That’s easy… “Relentless”. And so it was. I named my production company “Relentless Escargot Productions”. The name is so ridiculous but still makes me laugh to this day… so I had to keep it.

indieactivity : What was the first project out of the gate?
Sophie Kargman : An elevated horror film I starred in and produced called “The Believer.” It’s an eerie and contained story in the vein of “Rosemary’s Baby” that became my passion project. We were lucky enough to attract Billy Zane, who plays a memorable supporting character. Believe it or not [see the word play?!], it’s supposed to be coming out this year (the post process took a lot longer than expected due to visual effects)! That was actually the first film I did with Will Frank (my co-creator and writer of “Susie Searches”), who is now one of my closest creative collaborators to date. So I feel forever grateful to that experience for bringing us together.

indieactivity : During production, what scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot?
Sophie Kargman : I was able to get one day of rehearsal with my two lead actors (Justice and Graham) and my cinematographer (Irvin Liu) before we shot. That was a godsend, especially because the film is so dialogue-driven— it’s all about the performances. That rehearsal proved to be paramount. It influenced so many of my shot choices (mostly one-ers) as well as the edit.

In addition, my longtime editor, Christine Park, was in the middle of editing a feature at the time, so we only had two weeks to picture lock the film. This constraint forced me to become precise, specific, and as articulate with my vision as I could possibly be. We (Christine, Irvin and myself) talked at length beforehand. And as a result, we essentially knew what the edit would be before we shot.

To me, preparation is everything. It’s all in the prep. So on the day, we were all a well-oiled machine. I wish I could say that there was one scene that stood out as the hardest to shoot, but because the actors are such pros and we were all on the same page every step of the way, it was a seamless shoot.

indieactivity : What works better in this production that mightn’t have worked so well in the last one?
Sophie Kargman : My first short film, “Susie Searches”, was extremely ambitious. It was a three-day shoot with multiple locations including a house, college campus and an abandoned farmhouse. In addition to a sizable cast, I needed to secure permits, special effects, and the list goes on. Needless to say, it was a lot for a directorial debut that I was also producing and starring in.

A few days before the shoot, our farmhouse location fell through— and thanks to the resourcefulness of my team, we found another one in the nick of time. In order to ensure cast and crew safety, though, I had to hire a snake wrangler to clear any snakes from the premises. You read that right… a snake wrangler. The icing on the cake is that her professional name is ‘The Snake Bitch’. And that’s not even half of it. Almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong on “Susie Searches”, and yet I loved every single minute of the process.

But going into “Query”, my goal was to make something tight and simple yet witty… and execute the hell out of it…. To use a food metaphor, my goal was to take the best ingredients but prepare them simply… because you don’t need much when you’re working with excellent quality. All you really want to do is to highlight the flavors, and that’s really it. I felt the same rules applied when making “Query”.

indieactivity : You produced and directed the film, what measure of input did it take to don these hats?
Sophie Kargman : As a producer, in addition to financing the film, I chose the location, the actors, every crew member (minus the camera department— I trusted my cinematographer’s taste for that), picked, purchased (and sometimes returned) the wardrobe, props, craft services, what we ate for lunch— made all the pickups and drop offs— you name it, I did it.

As the director, I chose the camera, what lenses we shot on, and how I wanted to shoot the film; I worked with the actors before and during the shoot on performance-related stuff; during post-production, I went through dailies by myself and sent Christine, my editor, the timecodes of my favorite moments before she put together her first cut. Coming from the acting world, I’m super persnickety when it comes to the actors’ performance. And I was very hands on with the edit. I love being in the edit room. It’s certainly one of my favorite parts of the filmmaking process, but that’s maybe because my editor and I are extremely symbiotic— which just makes everything so much fun.

indieactivity : Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
Sophie Kargman : I still find that decision-makers rely too much on resumes and are scared to take chances on young, hungry talent. A while ago, I worked with a director who was looking for an editor, but only wanted to work with a “name” (even though he wasn’t a “name” himself). I urged him to consider Christine Park (even though Christine and I had only done one project together at that point— but that was more than enough to see her brilliance). But because she wasn’t one of the editors on his list, he wouldn’t even meet with her— despite the fact that Christine had been an editor and assistant editor for 15+ years. What’s more, because she liked the script and saw potential in the dailies, she offered to edit the first ten minutes of the film for a small fee (way below her normal rate), and if the director wasn’t blown away with her work product, he could walk away, no problem.

He still said no. I couldn’t believe someone, a creative, no less, could be so closed-minded. The sad thing is, I don’t think he’s unique in his closed-mindedness. More often than not, I see decision-makers at all different levels scared to take risks when it comes to hiring people that don’t fit perfectly into a specific box. And I think that’s so unfortunate. Personally, I believe Christine is one job away from being one of the most talked about editors out there. Ideally, that job will be the next one we do together.

Small side note, there are still entrepreneurial (not bureaucratic-minded) trailblazers out there. 141 Entertainment (“Ingrid Goes West”) a well-known and highly regarded production company, took a chance on me and just green-lit my first feature film. They saw my potential, in spite of my only having directed two short films, and I’m overjoyed to prove to them that their faith in me paid off.

indieactivity : Where do you think your strengths lie as a filmmaker?
Sophie Kargman : I would say my two biggest strengths are, first and foremost, my work ethic: I’m an extremely hard worker. There’s nothing I won’t do to make something the very best it can be. I am relentless. A true workaholic. But the thing is, I love it. I don’t ever see what I do as “work”, I’m just in my element. I actually feel so blessed to do what I love: tell stories. And that’s probably why I work so hard.

I’m a perpetual student of this medium. I watch everything— I mean, everything; I’m always at a screening talkback or listening to a podcast; I’ve seen countless Masterclass episodes; watched and re-watched all different types of films, studying shots, angles, lighting, sound, music, pacing etc. in order to dissect the craft of it. And I think that attention to detail and real love of learning shows in my work.

Second, I think I’m good at sussing-out talent in other people. Because I watch so much, I’m quite opinionated, and I feel like I have a real eye for discovering talent. I get so much joy being able to create projects that reveal someone’s unique gifts.

indieactivity : Let’s talk finance, How did you finance the film?
Sophie Kargman : I used my savings to finance the film. But because of the limited budget, I wore a ton of hats to keep costs down.

indieactivity : How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
Sophie Kargman : I didn’t go over budget. This was solely because of Nicole Smolen, my on-the-ground producer, and Irvin Liu, my cinematographer. Nicole was a production assistant on “Susie Searches” when she was still in college, and I was so blown away by her talent, that with no hesitation, I made her my producing partner on “Query” (just after she graduated). Nicole was responsible for the budget and schedule. She also told me exactly how much money I could spend on wardrobe, props, catering, craftie (she sent me the list of what to buy) etc.

Irvin astounded me in a similar way. Before Irvin, I had actually been working with another cinematographer who had to drop out due to scheduling issues with a TV show he was working on. This happened three days before my rehearsal with the actors, and I think I met with eight different cinematographers in the next two days, but for whatever reason, I wasn’t sold on any of them. It’s the morning of the rehearsal— I was planning on working with the actors myself— and out of the blue, a friend of mine sends me Irvin’s website. That was it. He was my choice. I cold called him, praying he was available for the shoot (which was a week later) and would respond to the material. He was and he did. He even moved things around so he could attend our rehearsal that afternoon. What’s more, he went above and beyond to get me the crew, camera and lenses I desired (IN ONE WEEK!) and also stayed within budget (I still don’t know how he pulled that off!). Riley Beres, my art director, Nick Delli Santi, Ryan Farhoudi, and Ashton Ramsey, my producers, donated a bunch of their personal items for the set design as well. It takes a village!

indieactivity : How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
Sophie Kargman : I think marketing is exponentially helpful when it comes getting the word out. But it can only go so far. At the end of the day, the product also has to be able to deliver. If the product is good, people will talk…. I do believe in the power of word of mouth

indieactivity : Can you tell us about your marketing activities on the project – and how it’s gone for you?
Sophie Kargman : I have to thank Tribeca Film Festival for this. To have “Query” selected to World Premiere at such a prestigious, Oscar-qualifying festival has opened more doors than I could have ever imagined.

indieactivity : What do you hope audiences get from your film?
Sophie Kargman : I hope “Query” will become a catalyst for open and honest conversation. I want it to push boundaries and expand mindsets. But more than anything, I hope it lifts people’s spirits and makes them laugh in the midst of this very challenging and uncertain time.

indieactivity : What else have you got in the works?
Sophie Kargman : I mentioned this briefly above— my first feature, “Susie Searches” was just green-lit. We’re still aiming to shoot this summer in Upstate New York. That is, if this pandemic is over by then. I (like everyone else) am hopeful it will be.

Other than that, I’m also writing a TV show for Weed Road Pictures as well as developing a thriller in the vein of “Fatal Attraction” with Ryan Farhoudi— inspired by “Query”— actually!

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