Nov 4
EDGE Interview: With 'Chasing Chasing Amy' Director Sav Rodgers Looks at the LGBTQ+ Film That Saved His Life
Matthew Creith READ TIME: 7 MIN.
Rodgers on his journey from touring the film festival circuit to "Chasing Chasing Amy" finally arriving in theaters...
Sav Rodgers: I'm so happy that after over six years of work, people are finally going to be able to see it. They're finally going to be able to see it in a movie theater, which, for a documentary, feels like a luxury. It has been a constant, I would say grind in some ways, but one that I love. I love film festivals. I have a career thanks to film festivals and festival organizers for taking a chance on my work before it was popular or anything like tha. We played at least 76 film festivals in the last year and a half. Three sold out crowds at Tribeca was this huge privilege. We had the metrics to show that there was an audience for the film, and so we're so happy to be able to put the film out with Level 33 and for them to really, truly be partners in this theatrical, VOD, etc, endeavor with us. That is reaffirming for not just the movie, but for my life. This is what I spent most of my filmmaking career on so far, and I'm also just so stoked for it to connect with a wider audience.
How it feels to have Kevin Smith's approval of the documentary...
Sav Rodgers: It's been life and career affirming. That is the guy who made me want to make movies by making "Chasing Amy." Everything you see in the documentary is 100% genuine and 100% Kevin. I'm really thankful for his time and his participation. He didn't have to give me that much time or participation. He didn't have to agree to so many interviews. ... Kevin has this quote, "It takes nothing to support an artist." The thing that I always want to give Kevin a lot of credit for is this film directly. It shows critiques of him, and he engages with them very thoughtfully. When we were doing the interview process, he wasn't defensive whatsoever. I don't think a lot of people would do that talking about past works that they've done. But Kevin did say yes, and then some. I will always, always, always be grateful to Kevin.
Concerning queer representation on film from the 1990s versus today's landscape of content...
Sav Rodgers: I think every film is a product of its time. "Chasing Amy" is a product of 1997 as much as any other thing, right? It's this interesting inflection point where new queer cinema is happening, and has been happening, and so those films are coming out. I just think we are all influenced all the time by the world around us. This is a point in time where there are a lot of films authored by queer people that are very truthful, some of them are angry. So you're seeing queer filmmakers take up their own mantles. They're releasing their own independent films in mass in a way that just hadn't been done in that way before. A lot of credit to the work of Todd Haynes and Gregg Araki and many, many, many other people at that time for helping queer film start to be in the more public conversation, authored by queer people. So "Chasing Amy" is a product of that period of time.
On how Rodgers own transition while filming "Chasing Chasing Amy"...
Sav Rodgers: When you get to be yourself, and you get to be seen as you, you have your basic needs met. You get to be treated the way that you asked to be treated, and people really see you as you are. That's a nice experience. I wish that for everybody, whether they're trans or not.
Watch the interview below:
