![]() ![]() Some of these women who just deeply embrace hyper femininity." "I was looking at a lot of imagery on the Internet of Playboy Playmates in the mansion and Instagram influencers. These special funds for women directors actually make a big difference. We got it and that bit of money made everyone else reevaluate the project and come onboard. I guess one of the big changes was that the CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, started this new fund, the Breaking Barriers Film Fund for women directors. Even though we've been out in the wilderness for years, it changed. Suddenly, there was a bunch of new support for women directors. Then, the #MeToo movement and Time’s Up happened. Clearly, no one wants to see dystopian fiction that women are in.” It actually was kind of counting against us for awhile.īut then the TV show came out and did well, and I think changed a bunch of opinions. Previously, people would say, “Oh, The Handmaid's Tale movie was a huge flop. Then The Handmaid's Tale TV show came out, which was great because there's some similar themes. Slowly, things started to change and YA movies broke some barriers for teen girls. But we still kept plugging away at this one, and every year, I would dust it off, do a new draft, and we'd send it out for funding again. I went and made my first feature Black Field and I made my second feature Suddenly Ever After. They're just making this up, but they were convinced. No one could see that.Īfter one of these meetings, I said to my producer, “I think they're totally wrong, and I don't get where they're getting this idea that teen girls don't go to movies and that women don't want science fiction.” There's no facts behind this. People told me that you couldn't make science fiction about women, that women didn't watch science fiction, that a teen girl couldn't lead. There was just a huge resistance to the concept. It was really discouraging when we pitched it so many times, all over the world. I was then trying to get it greenlit and it was just a disaster. I started writing it in about 2006, and then I finished it in 2007 and it was optioned right away. I wanted this to be my first feature film. It's not like any of my other films because I started writing this one right out of film school. ![]() You’ve been working on it for some time, right?ĭanishka Esterhazy: It was a crazy process. Video is no longer available: No Film School: Tell me about the development process of Level 16. No Film School spoke with Esterhazy about her layered approach to world building, how she finally got the project off the ground, and how she drew inspiration from her favorite sci-fi film to create the production design of Level 16. But once Vivien’s illusions about her world are shattered, does she ignore the warning signs pointed out by Sophia (Celina Martin), the first girl to realize their surroundings were a lie, or does she try to escape? Instead, they’re infantilizing them, keeping the girls illiterate and teaching them that their femininity is the most important thing about them. Miro (Peter Outerbridge) – are not raising the girls with their best interests at heart. The people in charge - Miss Brixel (Sara Canning) and Dr. In Level 16, a precocious teenager named Vivien (Katie Douglas) stumbles upon discovering the harrowing truth about the grim boarding school-like place she’s only known as home. Now, Level 16 is a reality Esterhazy can share with eager viewers. Her girl-centric sci-fi story had languished in development hell for over a decade before a grant changed everything. Her latest movie, Level 16, wouldn’t exist if it had it not been for the renewed focus on women in the industry. A dystopian future that sadly feels all too relevant.ĭanishka Esterhazy knows things are changing in the film industry.
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