In advance of BFF’s 2020 Online Festival, we will be sharing exclusive interviews with this year’s filmmakers. Get to know their films, their inspirations, and their advice to fellow emerging filmmakers. First up, we spoke with Elise Bauman and Leah Doz, director and actress/producer of BITE AND SMILE.
A graduate from New York City’s 'Circle in the Square Theatre School', Elise Bauman is most widely known for her role in the popular Shaftesbury Film’s web series turned feature film Carmilla. Elise has recently begun directing and producing, with three music videos and a short film under her belt.
Leah Doz is an actress, writer, and producer based in Toronto, originally from Edmonton. She wrote and co-produced the upcoming short film, tips. She can be seen on the Crave Original series New Eden, and has performed on stages across Canada, including the Soulpepper Theatre Company, Stratford Festival, and National Arts Centre. Other TV acting credits include Schitt’s Creek (CBC/Netflix), Ransom (CBS), and Murdoch Mysteries (CBC/Shaftesbury). She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.
Congratulations on your 2020 BFF film selection! Can you tell us a bit about your film?
Elise Bauman: Bite and Smile is a satirical look into the, often opposing, expectations of a woman’s role in society, especially within the film industry. “Speak out about the harm of the ideal beauty standard, but only if you completely fit the mold of it!” “Be assertive and strong, but also agreeable and easy to work with!” It’s maddening, but quite hilarious if you zoom out.
What inspired you to tell this story?
Leah Doz: I was at an audition for a fast-food franchise commercial. In the waiting room, I heard the term ‘bite and smile’ and I was like, ‘They really call it that?’ Then I got into the audition room. They handed me a piece of Wonder Bread, reminded me to pretend it was the franchise’s signature meal, directed how and when I was to ‘bite’ and how and when I was to ‘smile’, and pointed to a wastebasket to spit out between takes (‘you don’t have to swallow it’, they said - there’s an innuendo there they didn’t intend).
EB: Leah had a flash image of herself on the floor carnally destroying a piece of raw meat like a feral animal in defiance and that seemed like a good jumping off point. I’m such a fan of sketch and satirical comedies and their ability to get an audience thinking about a different perspective without feeling as though they’re being preached to.
Still from Bite and Smile
BITE AND SMILE is definitely bite-sized. Can you tell us more about your decision to make the film 60 seconds?
EB: We originally made this to apply to the TIFFxInstagram 60 Second Film Festival but didn’t get in. We had filmed enough for a 5 minute short film, but learned a lot about comedic editing (from our amazing editor, Sabrina Budiman, who you should hire for everything, and pay a lot of money) and leaving things on the editing room floor, which came in incredibly useful for the second short film Leah and I co-produced, TIPS.
What’s the core message that you wanted to convey to your audience through this film?
LD: I’m a half-Jamaican, half-Jewish Canadian woman. I’ve auditioned for numerous commercials seeking (I’m literally quoting here) ‘ethnically ambiguous-looking women, preferably mixed race, likeable, friendly, relatable, pretty but not-too-pretty’. In our current media, the ‘ethnically ambiguous’ body has somehow become a universal symbol of inclusivity, and is therefore extremely marketable. The (flawed) idea is that if I look like a combination of everybody then I’m somehow relatable and accessible to everybody…? And it means there’s profit to be made in showcasing the mixed race, female body. Bite and Smile was a part of my revelation around feeling tokenized as a biracial woman in the entertainment industry, and the way in which our bodies are used in marketing.
This tokenism is exploitation masquerading as inclusivity: I’ve been in numerous professional situations as an actress where the depiction of my body is still through a white, male lens without genuine interest in the story of my body, its voice, and its heritage, and more about the currency to be gained in showcasing it. The danger is an appearance of inclusivity and progressivism that self-congratulates as ‘liberalism’ but is still a form of institutionalized white, male dominance. This is very Canadian.... And it is not post-racial; it is steeped in denial and racial history. In fact, I’m often directed into more and more ‘likeable’ passivity as a biracial woman of colour. ‘Just stand there, smile, and look grateful for being here’ is a broken-record instruction for women of colour across all industries; we’re not making that up. I am not discounting the progress and positive strides made in the diversity movement, but I’m outing a form of hypocritical inclusivity that serves the public image of a corporation or organization while exploiting and silencing the individual whose body is serving that image. And it is not solely white men in power who are responsible -- in my experience, capitalists of all backgrounds need to self-examine. In Bite and Smile, the actress is silent. Her silence, though conditioned, is complicit in her exploitation and oppression. That harmful silence is something I think about often as an actress in this industry…. So all that, but in a 60-second satire.
EB: When life hands you systemic misogyny, make a comedic short film.
Still from Bite and Smile
What’s next for you?
LD: Elise and I co-produced a short film I wrote called TIPS. It’s premiering on Super Channel Fuse as part of the Canadian Film Fest June 6 and then airing on Super Channel next year.
EB: Lunch. I can only think one meal at a time right now.
What advice would you give to an emerging filmmaker just starting out?
LD: Rules are made up…. We’re in a global pandemic watching lawmakers and governments scramble to look like they know what they’re doing. They don’t. There’s no playbook. I’m finding this empowering as an artist. Our physical world has limitations right now, but there are no barriers to the imagination, and the artist’s job, especially the female artist of colour, is to reclaim and liberate that imagination. As an emerging creator, follow-through is important. Get on the other side of ‘I have an idea’ by beginning now. There are no perfect conditions; there are no guarantees; there is no certainty. ‘I’m not good enough’ is a trick; it’s the fear of how great you are, and how much you still have to learn. Work from what you know today without worrying about what you’ll find out tomorrow. Permit yourself to make mistakes and learn. We need that reminder.
EB: Pay attention to what excites you. Be patient with yourself. It’s okay to not like Quentin Tarantino.
Behind the scenes of Bite and Smile
Care to share any films you’re inspired by, that our community should check out during this quarantine?
LD: I’ve been watching a lot of French cinema. The Piano Teacher, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and La Haine.
EB: My system seems to only be able to handle comedies and children’s movies at this moment of global upheaval. I’m a huge fan of the Canadian sketch shows Baroness Von Sketch Show and TallBoyz. And I absolutely adored the latest season of High Maintenance. Seeing an anthology of stories and people you don’t always see in the mainstream gets me so damn excited. I have successfully managed to avoid watching Tiger King and I would say that is my greatest Quarantine accomplishment thus far.
Catch BITE AND SMILE as part of BFF’s 2020 Online Festival, with a special live-streamed Q&A with Elise on Thursday June 25th. Join us June 25 - 28 for screenings, virtual Q&As, panel discussions and more! Get Tickets Today.