‘Give Me An A’ Producer Natasha Halevi Interview [FilmQuest 2022]

Reproductive rights are always at risk in this country. However, last year took several steps back as the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. While most of us felt this blow, few of us were able to funnel our feelings of disillusionment and grief into art. However, filmmaker, Natasha Halevi, was able to do just that. The result is an anthology called Give Me An A, which captures the many feelings we felt when reading the horrific news. 

We sat down with the powerhouse known as Natasha Halevi at FilmQuest 2022. We talked about her new anthology, Give Me An A, reproductive rights, and indie filmmaking. 

DC: This project happened so quickly. Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24th, 2022, and I started seeing this film pop up in festivals in September. I love that quick response, but I cannot imagine what that was like as a producer and creator. Could you tell us how you got these writers, directors, actors, etc. assembled so quickly?

NH: It was totally delusional! Every step of the way we had to ignore some little bit of reality in order to keep going. Maybe that’s just indie filmmaking in general. The Dobbs ruling pushed us and once we had the idea, it didn’t really feel like we had a choice to not do it. We all needed to scream, shout, to stand up for other women and other people with ovaries. This was a way to do something, to communicate, to start conversations. 

Film, art, it’s always about saying something, it has a long history of communicating on behalf of the oppressed. Not having bodily autonomy is being oppressed.

That emotional part, it’s 99% of how it got done. That’s the need, the people, the dedication, that’s how it got done. The technical part, well, we needed a container and a structure. This is the boring part, but, if you want to do something like this, here’s how it goes: 

I had the title and the idea for the container for the film immediately: Give Me An A. The cheerleaders’ theme came with so many inherent stereotypes, assumptions, and references but also power, evolution, and strength. It carried so much of what I wanted this film to say without having to do anything. I thought about being in the locker room getting ready for practice. How sexualized a locker room of girls can be. But how when you’re that girl in that locker room it’s just another normal part of your day.

Of course, the double entendre—Give Me An A, give me an abortion—makes that an ok sentence to say. There are a whole lot of reasons people need to, or want to have abortions. And if you believe any one of them is justifiable, you have to believe all of the reasons are justifiable, you have to make it ok for people.

I built a structure, timeline, spreadsheets, folder systems, and calendar for how we could do this quickly (like a really amped-up and highly supported 48hr film festival). I had a zoom with a group of ladies a week after Roe v. Wade was overturned. And I had the structure ready—if any of my filmmaker friends were ready to go, I was ready to go. It helped that I’d done a smaller version of this with Fatale Collective in 2019.

A few days later we had loglines and basic info, and a few days after that we had scripts. We got a really cool team together as mentor producers to read scripts and send notes. Judy Greer, Falguni Lakhani Adams, and Sarah Smith gave generous and meaningful notes. As a producer and producing team (myself, Giselle Gilbert, Jonna Jackson, and Jordan Crucchiola) we gave plenty of notes also. I wanted to balance giving each writer and director space for their specific vision while also guiding them to work within the whole. I wanted it to be more than a well-curated shorts program, I wanted the stories to work together. This same team, with the addition of Sean Gunn and Stephanie Williams (our picture editor and producer), also provided notes on the first cuts. Which was a huge help in moving quickly in post.

Really important: there’s also a big piece that came together for us that was the difference between moving forward or giving up; Keslow Camera, Grg Madison in Atlanta, Colette Gabriel in Chicago, and Art Christie in LA didn’t hesitate to help. If they hadn’t gotten on board immediately, I would have given up before we got started. Once we knew we had the best camera equipment in multiple cities we had the confidence to keep going.

We knew this would give us the high production value needed for this film to ever be seen. It would give us a consistent look for all the segments. Again, I wanted this to really feel like a whole film, not just segmented shorts. Panavision also came through with an extra camera package in LA when our schedule changed up a bit and they matched the equipment to match the look we’d established. Without them showing up first, I don’t think this film would exist.

The most important part—the talent. These ladies are all my friends. Close friends, friends from film festivals, from acting class, from improv teams. I knew this would push everyone’s capabilities and result in something extraordinary. Every one of the filmmakers is so uniquely talented and was so committed to this. Ultimately, that’s how this project happened.

DC: You are all over this project. You produced it, wrote and directed some segments, and probably did a million other things that we don’t know to credit you for. We see a lot of filmmakers having to wear multiple hats. But not on a project that is so close to home and raw. Can you talk about how you juggled all of these responsibilities during the most recent awful time to be a person with ovaries in this country? Was there even time for self-care during this process?

NH: Not that you asked, but my favorite job was driving the camera truck each day. This was also my self-care during production. Hear me out, it was the one time a day I let my phone ring and just focused on one thing. I think I’ve wiped a lot of the hard parts from my brain to protect myself from the trauma of it! Like oxytocin after birth. (All indie filmmakers can relate?) Working with 16 different directors, it felt more like being a showrunner. But on a show where each episode has a whole new team, location, equipment needs, and personality! 

The hardest part was going back and forth from being everyone’s friend to being “production”. I didn’t expect that and it was really hard to become the person 16 different teams all needed something from. When I set out on this project, I thought it would run a little more independently. Like a 48-hour film festival, but to really do it cohesively, everyone needed support and that was my responsibility.

And yeah, like you said, being a person with ovaries, all the creators, directors, writers, actors, DPs, we were all carrying the normal weight of filmmaking. But even harder, we were all carrying the weight of the issue—bodily autonomy, women’s rights, reproductive rights for all, defending equality, defending women’s health. In the moment, it feels too important to worry about how you feel, but months later it hits and it hits hard. I’m sure it happened for all the directors and writers, too.

DC: One of the things I love about the film is that it is much more inclusive than we typically see with films about reproductive health. Was that something you set out for when assembling the team? Or was that something that organically happened? Either way, it feels like a new and necessary chapter in abortion anthologies. 

NH: It’s a little of both. The writers and directors are all women of different financial backgrounds, racial backgrounds, ethnicity, different sexual orientation, different belief systems so that all showed up in the work organically. I’m a white woman, so I tried to be more hands-off on the stories being told by Black women and Afro-Latina women. Like I might think I know how it is, but I don’t, so I kept my mouth shut so I’d have the opportunity to better understand and so could audiences. 

We did put an effort into “normalizing” some things, like being lesbian partners and being trans. The film has lots of different people of different shapes and sizes, racial backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, and different sexual orientations of course, one of our actors is a trans person who is nonbinary, and our stories include women wanting to be mothers, not wanting to be mothers, in relationships with men, in relationships with women, in no relationship. We tried to sprinkle different ways of living throughout the film without diverging from the topic of reproductive rights.

There’s this other weird aspect of this issue: the topic of reproductive rights itself really comes down to control by the patriarchy. Make no mistake, this is not a battle over life. Being pro-life is a sham for maintaining patriarchal control, giving women less autonomy, making it harder/impossible for communities that are poor, punishing people who have been raped, and don’t forget, it’s the gateway to taking away contraception and same-sex marriage, at least according to Clarence Thomas’ ruling. So once you recognize that aspect of reproductive rights, it’s not shocking that people who are affected negatively by the patriarchy come forward to help with a project like this.

DC: I love horror/sci-fi anthologies, but we don’t get many that specifically call attention to societal ills. We talked a little bit at FilmQuest about how Give Me An A could sadly become a series because reproductive health is always a right being threatened. Are there currently plans for another anthology at this time?

NH: Yeah, I think an anthology has the power to be a lot more than a bunch of cool short films. Besides just making films, we were able to use this format to give voices to so many female filmmakers who might not have otherwise been seen. I think this could be done again and again and give so many opportunities to so many more people and to continue expanding the stories and get even more inclusive with the people telling the stories. 

There are still a million untold versions of reproductive health issues—stories about IVF for lesbian partners, stories about completely obliterated reproductive healthcare access for transgender and nonbinary people in some states, stories about people who are already mothers. Statistically, a majority of people having abortions are most likely already mothers! So yeah, there are a LOT more stories to tell, a lot more perspectives, and a lot of opportunities. There’s so much more of this story to tell. I’d love to do this again and introduce a new group of filmmakers and new stories into the world. I think there’s a path for that.

DC: Another thing I love about this film is that, as someone that consumes a ton of media, your cast has a few faces that I grew up with mixed in with so many new favorites. In one of your interviews, you mentioned that actors signed SAG waivers and made no money to be part of this. I was awestruck that so many people I’m a fan of showed up for this important and necessary project in that way. That’s a testament to you as a person, creator, and leader. Can you talk about how you foster a project, and environment, that makes people show up in support in such an amazing way? 

NH: I have so much respect and gratitude for the actors who showed up for this. They massively contributed to this film with their performances and also with their names. It’s a big deal to attach your name to any project. Nevertheless, one that’s being duct-taped together in a few months. A lot of these actors are wildly experienced and they know the risk and they risked it! 

Every actor was so truly dedicated and bent their schedules to help us out. Alyssa Milano, Virginia Madsen, Gina Torres! Gina was the first one to commit to the project and she was so dedicated to the project and the director Loren Escandón, she literally worked around her schedule to the point that she was filming with us a few hours before she had to catch a flight for an appearance. Alyssa already knew the Abigail Adams letter for her film, she’d read it before Congress! Virginia gave notes on the wraparound that helped change the film.

Milana Vayntrub came into the project last minute after we ran into each other at All Time in Los Feliz and she got on board without hesitation. She’s always been a light when it comes to activism. Jennifer Holland flew in last minute to make it work. Sean Gunn started in one role but then pivoted to a whole other role due to a schedule conflict and I love him as John Adams, so glad it happened that way. Jason George was so powerful and so supportive after the film came out. Jackie Tohn brought so much to the day, not just the work, but her enthusiasm and energy on set.

Molly C. Quinn in the dystopian universe of “Plan C” is so incredibly subtle and powerful. Parker Young, what a comedic talent. I’m leaving a lot of people out, but they’re all so important. The list of talent that cared about the purpose of this film is long! Their dedication is inspirational. 

DC: For me, Give Me An A, feels like it goes through all of the stages of grief, aside from acceptance. Was that intentional? If it wasn’t intentional, is that a response that you’re hearing with a lot of the feedback you’re getting on the film? You can tell me if I’m just projecting here.

NH: 100% you are not projecting. We wrote these scripts a week after Roe v. Wade was overturned, a week. It’s insanely raw and filled with grief, real grief. We didn’t have time to overthink it, to take things out, put things in, nothing about it is contrived, we didn’t have time for that. It’s just real raw grief. It’s art the way art is meant to be.

DC: This is possibly the most punk rock anthology that I have seen in forever. It’s also possibly the scariest I have seen since the 90s, which is fair because the world is scary. What have been some of your favorite audience, or critic, responses you’ve received? 

NH: Highest compliment! Thank you! I’m so grateful for people who got what it was really about. The Knockturnal called it The Compelling Rallying Cry of “Give Me An A”. Geeks called it “Nakedly Political”, I’m like, yes, yes that’s what this is. Film Compact Syndicate said it was a hellish assortment of horror and dark humor that sends a message to all! This film is something bigger than just a story and I appreciate it when people get that.

I talked to one man from the audience after a screening at FilmQuest, one of my favorite film festivals by the way, and he was feeling really overwhelmed and sad about being a “white male” who’s benefited from a patriarchal society. We had a really great talk about how we’re all learning all the time. And we all have to be able to change our minds and readjust and see new perspectives and grow. We all have to help each other when we recognize we’ve been doing it wrong, even if it’s something we never thought was wrong before. We have to wake up with this mindset every day if we want to be better people.

It was a really meaningful conversation and it’s the point of the film in a way. To change minds and encourage discussion and change. I don’t want anyone to waste time feeling guilty, I don’t want to waste time personally feeling guilty. I just want us all to do something.

DC: People are going to have many reactions to the film when they see it. However, what’s the one thing you want them to take away from the movie? 

NH: We all have to protect women’s rights and protect each other. We’re all in this together. When you take away rights from any group for any reason, it tears at the whole. 

DC: Where can people see Give Me An A next? Also, what is next for you?

NH: We’ll be able to make announcements about distribution very soon. People will be able to see it this May! We’ll still be at film festivals. We’ll be at Renegade Film Festival in Atlanta on Friday, March 3rd at 8 PM. We’ll keep making announcements on our Instagram @givemeanafilm. We hope once it’s out there, everyone will know, watch, and support us!

Have you seen Give Me An A? Let me know at @misssharai.

Tags: FilmQuest 2022 Give Me An A


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