Karen Lam Talks Evangeline and More!
Around these parts we’re REALLY keen on letting you guys know about up and coming filmmakers you should be keeping a close eye on. Case in point, Karen Lam and her film Evangeline (review) which is making its way to VOD on May 8th and then DVD June 9th.
Dread Central: Evangeline was made a couple of years ago… is it easier to talk about a movie after the fact with some perspective, or is it harder to remember details since you’ve done so much since?
Karen Lam: I love working — which is good since this profession is all-consuming. Since we finished Evangeline in the late fall of 2013, I’ve finished two feature scripts and just starting a third, two more short films and a web series called “Mythos” that explores the underlying mythology in Evangeline. I’m currently shooting my first feature length documentary, and we’re gearing up for another feature film this year, probably in late summer or fall. Having Evangeline making her official US premiere is like having one of your favourite friends pop by for tea and a slice of pie.
DC: Vengeful female ghosts are a common theme in J-horror, but I’ve read that you were actually influenced by some famous serial killers’ crimes and the notorious Highway of Tears. Is the character a combination of many elements?
KL: Vancouver is a gorgeous place that has a dark vein running down the center of it. I’m very inspired by the city and the dark history. A lot of the ideas behind Evangeline stem from my own Asian heritage, mashed with the political doings of the city: we had a serial killer that preyed on the women on the streets for over 20 years. He’s responsible for 49 murdered women and that’s just one example. There’s a Highway of Tears further north, and again, young female hitchhikers have gone missing there for decades. It feels like the end of the world, a place where a woman can just disappear into the dark forests and people look the other way.
DC: It’s hard to find such a well-made and well-acted indie these days. I’m sure they’re out there, but not many get distribution and publicity. Please talk a little about how it was produced, and how it got picked up. Also, as the artist (writer-director) you have to approach your job one way and then as a businessperson (producer) you have to look at it in another. How do you reconcile the two?
KL: I started in this industry as a lawyer and a producer, so financing is my background. The industry and how we finance films has changed so much since I started: the market is so fragmented now and there’s so many films and all the money is concentrated on the big studio tentpole films. We financed on a broadcast presale from pay-tv (Canada’s Superchannel, who have been huge supporters), tax credits and a credit line. I put my own butt on the line on this one, because I felt that if I didn’t invest in me, I couldn’t ask someone else to either.
DC: I loved the practical effects in the film. Especially the creepy claw-hands, which figure in so prominently throughout the film. How’d you come up with the look for these, and who did your practical makeups?
KL: I came up with a look-book when we were in pre-production for the film and the effects, but I have an amazing team. The hands were created by our key make-up artist Jenny Ruth, and the additional cgi was done in Bulgaria at Dreamcatcher Studios and at Side Street Post in Vancouver. We had a spfx team at Brant FX doing all of the bloodwork and the approach is to do as much as we can on the day, and touch-ups in cgi if we need it. On a low budget indie, you’re constantly balancing the time it takes to do practical effects well, and the cost of cgi. Ultimately, you pay up front — or later — it’s just a matter of when!
DC: There are some mighty nifty sweaters in Evangeline. Did you knit any of them? (A little inside joke, since Karen’s been posting a lot of her handmade stuff on Facebook lately. – slw)
KL: The sweaters in the film are all courtesy of my designer Barbara Gregusova — I didn’t take up knitting until Christmas of 2013 so… after production. I’m a little OCD so whatever I do, I do obsessively, whether it’s baking, knitting, yoga, writing, making films…I try to keep my life balanced by having as many obsessions as I can manage. Filmmaking and writing is all in your head, so I try to do tangible things as well, like the cooking and knitting. The yoga is so I don’t go postal. I’m on twitter intermittently – @opiatepix – and FB. Evangeline has a page and I administer that so the updates are me. I love hearing from people about the films. If you’re lucky, I’ll send you a knitted toque or a cowl.
From the Press Release:
Uncork’d Entertainment will release the applauded spookfest EVANGELINE, starring “The 100’s” Richard Harmon, on VOD May 8, 2015, and on DVD June 9, 2015.
Evangeline Pullman (Kat de Lieva) has just escaped her sheltered upbringing to reinvent herself in college. As she begins to break out of her shell, she attracts the attention of a violent fraternity leader (Richard Harmon) and his two cohorts. Beaten and dumped in the woods to die, Evangeline finds herself trapped in a supernatural nightmare, and she must choose between vengeance and redemption.
From director Karen Lam, EVANGELINE stars Kat de Lieva as the titular character with Richard Harmon (TV’s “The 100”) and David Lewis (Halloween Resurrection, Man of Steel).
Categorized:News
