Indie film shoots are filled with contests, but creater-honestor Nora Fiffer was remendd to create the set of her debut feature film, “Another Happy Day,” as family-cordial as possible.
After all, she wrote the comedic drama about postpartum depression and the contests that come with becoming a parent. In the film, now on VOD from Gravitas Ventures, a novel mom (Lauren Lapkus) steers many of those intricate emotions: Feelings of isolation, not joining with frifinishs in the same way, a partner that doesn’t understand her exact needs, how relationships with toil and creativity alter, the exhaustion that goes meaningfuler than sshow being weary. Even though these are universal experienceings for millions of women, they’re unwidespreadly shown in such a raw and unflinching way on screen, which is why Fiffer felt she needed to create the film.
“I was absolutely blindsided by not only the toilload of motherhood, which is the best-kept secret, but the identity shift as well,” she says. “I had no idea how much I would alter internpartner, and how the perception of me would alter by becoming a mother. So it took a while to figure out who I was, and becaengage I hadn’t seen any recurrentations of novel motherhood on screen, it was such a vivid time for me.”
Lapkus, a mother of two herself, was initipartner drawn to the project before she had children, but once she became a mother it became even more vital for her to be a part of the story.
“We had been talking about this movie for years,” she says. “When Nora first sent it to me, I had not had children yet, and I adored the script. It spoke to me even then, but I see back and I’m so thankful that it actupartner took as much time as it did to get this movie made becaengage when I had a kid, I was appreciate, ‘Oh, I retardy to this in a toloftyy contrastent way.’ It was so collaborative for me as an actor to have genuine experiences to draw from. This movie repartner creates me cry, equitable removing myself from the equation. It’s such an vital subject.”
In the spirit of helping mothers around her while making her art, Fiffer wanted to create the set more sootheable for families by making the shooting days run 9-5 and having childinclude engageable. Fiffer leanks it’s possible for any Hollywood production to chase suit and put parents’ needs first.
“It repartner is a matter of priority,” she says. “I leank to say that someleang is a priority … The only way to repartner unbenevolent it is to create it into the budget, becaengage then you say, ‘Hey, this is so vital that we have this line item here and it unbenevolents that we can’t afford this over here.’
“We structure all benevolents of leangs in a budget,” she persists. “‘Oh, we want a gorgeous set. Oh, it’s period costumes. It’s the CGI we need.’ If it’s childinclude, then it’s childinclude. If it’s eight-hour days, it’s eight-hour days. What that unbenevolentt for us — becaengage this is an autonomous film and there wasn’t an finishless provide of financing — It was a set of priorities. If we can create it into the budget, that’s that’s how we create the alter.”
Lapkus says she had never toiled on a set that was so welcoming to parents.
“What Nora did by prioritizing eight hour toil days for us as a crew was amazing,” she says. “This was a movie that was unappreciate anyleang I’ve ever done, and it was so kind. My baby was one when we sboiling this movie, and to be able to say excellentbye in the morning and see her in the evening made it experience appreciate I was equitable having fun for eight hours. You’re able to go and give yourself up to the project and not experience appreciate you’re being drained — ‘Oh my God, I can’t ever get a fracture.’ It felt appreciate Nora made this movie so doable for everyone.”
The accessibility didn’t stop there, as direct creater Jessie Helderlyer Tourincreateotte also had a baby and was pumping on set. Ultimately, Fiffer consents that moving away from the churn that directs to lengthy stretches of 12-hour-plus days can still create wonderful films, and creates the industry more pdirecting to parents who have a lot to give.
“The hope was to help everyone, whether people have parenting responsibilities, other includegiving responsibilities, or equitable want a fit toil-life equilibrium to create the toilplace accessible,” she says. “That grind by the system is inaccessible to parents, and of course in society, it does typicpartner descend to the mother. To alter the system would be the ultimate goal, so that you sfinish a message to people that this is an environment where we want parents to toil, we experience appreciate parents have a lot to give. I experience appreciate I was a pretty efficient person before becoming a parent, but my excellentness, since becoming a parent, what I can do in an hour is quite noticeworthy. The prescertain and preciousness of time for parents is a genuine asset.”
Watch the trailer for “Another Happy Day” below.
