VALENCIA – Mission Experimental!
Interview by Briege McGarrity
Photo Courtesy of Radar Produtions.
Michelle’s Tea iconic novel Valencia is now the subject of a clever, entertaining film comprising 20 short films to capture the chapters of Tea’s eventful life as a lesbian in her twenties and living in the Mission area of San Francisco in the late 90s.
A motley crew of talented filmmakers, including Outfest alumni (Cheryl Dunne, Jill Holloway and Silas Howard) signed up to helm the project. Perhaps surprisingly, the film has a certain cohesiveness in spite of its freeform experimental style; many different Michelle’s (even men and a blow up doll) and random hilarious or offbeat scenes such as Michelle’s crazy new relationship, a dog with major ocular trauma, a road trip to her sister Iris’s wedding and a Claymation buffalo scene. IFQ was delighted to catch up with Tea following a packed screening at this year’s Outfest Film Festival, held annually in LA.
Independent Film Quarterly (IFQ): How was the film adaptation process for you?
Michelle Tea (MT): It was phenomenal. What an incredible experience, to have lived something, written about it, and then twenty years later sit back and watch as film after film comes in, with all these different ‘Michelles’. It was so magical and really touching to see the care and love and imagination that went into each chapter.
IFQ: Did you write the script for each short film – there definitely seemed to be room for some improvising in scenes?
MT: I wrote zero scripts. Each chapter and each film was in the hands of its director, and I’m sure that all 20 of them worked in very different ways!
IFQ: What were the challenges of creating a film version of a book set in San Francisco in the late 90s pre-dot-com boom?
MT: That’s probably a better question for the actual filmmakers. On my end, there were no time-related challenges. Quite the opposite – as San Francisco continues to gentrify and change, it feels increasingly important and inspiring to tell the stories of that era.
IFQ: How was this project funded?
MT: Each filmmaker was responsible for funding their own film and I know they took advantage of probably every fundraising option out there – kickstarters, benefit shows, the usual community-funded hustle. Because Valencia is a project of my non-profit organization RADAR Productions, we were able to secure grants to kick some money back to the filmmakers as well as pay for all the productions costs. We received an early grant from the Horizons Foundation, an incredible grant from the Creative Work Fund, which allowed us to get money to the 20 filmmakers, a completion fund grant from Frameline, and a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission that allowed us to do a suite of programming around the film’s premiere at the Castro Theater – a panel series at the GLBT Historical Society Museum, an after-party featuring a concert by the seminal 90s queercore band The Need, and a mini film festival screening additional works by the involved filmmakers.
IFQ: The acting was rock solid all around– Heather Acs was outstanding. How was the casting process? Was there high level interest at readings?
MT: This is a great question for the directors. I’m so pleased to hear you loved the acting, though; I thought it was amazing, too!
IFQ: Any favorite sequence or scene? Mine was all the dyke drama in your new relationship played brilliantly by Rowan Parks – Hilarious.
MT: Oh man, I love them all so much, for reals. Hilary Goldberg’s animated sequence is breathtaking, and bumps the whole project up into a whole new level. Chris Vargas and Greg Youman’s Angelina Jolie chapter is so outrageous and inspired – and works so well! Silas Howard’s chapter is so fantastically cast, and he really went for it with the dog’s eyeball accident. But I could go on and on pointing out what makes each and every chapter a gem, because they all really are.
IFQ: How did you enlist the filmmakers especially notables such as Cheryl Dunne, Jill Holloway and Silas Howard?
MT: Well, I’m lucky enough to be friends with all these people, and in most cases they asked to be a part of it! I did approach Cheryl, but Silas was present for the original conversation that sparked the project, and when Jill found out about it she asked if she could make one!
IFQ: As you are considered an icon viewers are going to love seeing you in a cameo role. Obviously there are many changes in San Francisco and in your life since your book was first published.
MT: That cameo role was SO FUN! I feel really proud of the fact that I managed to cover every single one of my tattoos.
IFQ: You are sure to play the festival circuit all year. Are you inking any solid distribution deals as well?
MT: None yet, but we know that this project is going to find its way in the world. There’s too much excitement about it, and so many talented people involved!
IFQ: What are you working on next?
MT: I’m finishing up the second installment of a young adult fantasy trilogy I’m writing for McSweeney’s. The first, Mermaid in Chelsea Creek, came out in May, and I’m just about done with the next volume, Girl at the Bottom of the Sea. After that I’m writing a book for Penguin/Plume, a sassy memoir called How to Grow Up. Then I’ll finish the final book in the YA trilogy, Castle on the River Vistula. As for film, I have many ideas, some are more arty some much more mainstream and I’ll get busy on those projects once I’m done with my books. I also blog regularly about trying to get pregnant for xoJane.com, ‘Getting Pregnant with Michelle Tea’, and am launching a mom web site called Mutha by the end of the summer. I also am the Artistic Director of RADAR, and we have some great new projects coming up, including a new quarterly outdoor event that synchs with the full moon and deals with witchery, and a queer history walking tour and neighborhood takeover of North Beach, which was the big lesbian and trans neighborhood in the 40s – 60s.