FemmeFilmFest: Filmmaker Courtney Hope Thérond talks to Filmotomy about The Dress You Have On

Relationship can be tough at the best of times. We learn about each other, not necessarily getting to decide which aspects of the other person we get to know – or even love – first. Or for how long. Or through what weathers.

Hands-on, personable filmmaker, Courtney Hope Thérond, tackles one such corner of the adult world in her film short, The Dress You Have On. Running in competition at the 4th Femme Filmmakers Festival, the film confronts a couple when a small discovery leads into much deeper emotional territory.

Courtney Hope Thérond and I caught up recently to discuss the project, her inspirations behind it, as well as her love for the craft of filmmaking. “I really love the collaborative aspect of filmmaking. The way I usually like to work, I tend to be very character driven, so I really love working with actors. That’s one of my favorite aspects. I generally like to work by doing rehearsals, exploring back story and talking about the characters and their relationships to each other, and then build everything from there.”

And that’s pretty clear to see in The Dress You Have On, Thérond respects these characters as they dissect one another in this tiny little room. “It helps to see how the camera feels about the actors and how the camera feels about the characters’ relationship. That every element going into it is from the people that are there, that we’re watching on the screen, to just sort of build that empathy.”

We’ve all seen films where couples that clearly know each other well, that fight. That awkwardness. I mentioned Revolutionary Road, a far more toxic affair, but that lock of horns is there. We’ve all been there. And Thérond does it very well in her film.

“I’m really fascinated by that sort of viewed emotions, I guess, that people don’t talk about very much, or that are uncomfortable. And finding ways to put that on screen and make it something that people can talk about more tangibly.”

But with The Dress You Have On, the components of the relationship are different, of course. This story deals with an issue that just is not that common to many of us. We might be familiar with that kind of conflict, but not under those circumstances. And the kind of transition the characters of Jess and Libby are still going through, from when they were very young, certainly made me wonder how a film director creates those intimate dynamics.

“Part of that was in developing the script.” Courtney tells me, “I co wrote the film with a woman named Emily Claire, and I came to her with this idea that was originally going to be a whole series of breakups. Ranging from lighter to darker. And this is the first one we wrote, which was supposed to be the finale of this project.” Sounds great.

“But we ended up liking it so much. We were like: Let’s just do this one. My pitch to her was to have a couple that was still in love, but couldn’t be together. So we’d always talked about what that looks like. And she had gone to high school with a couple where this was similar to their stories. They were high school boyfriend and girlfriend, and stayed together through college. They got married, and the husband transitioned a few years into their marriage, and they’re still best friends. But the divorce process is really difficult.”

So borrowing from that story, both writers had been in codependent relationships of their own. So they drew from the personal part. “I think mostly that’s something more broadly relatable, just being in a relationship where you don’t know where your story starts and the relationship is, and you sort of lose yourself in it a little bit.”

I know when you’re supposed to write about character’s backstories when you wrote a screenplay. You don’t always see it in films, and although The Dress You Have On didn’t have to pinpoint certain elements, you can clearly see the intimacy – that Jess and Libby have known each other a long time. That they are so familiar with eachother. That just really impressed me. As a writer and a director, Thérond was invested in them.

“That’s really the casting as well.” responds the humble filmmaker, “We held just open casting and both the actors came in then read together. The whole table, my producers and I, we had goosebumps by the end of it. They just had a sort of immediate chemistry. And they’re still very close friends to this day.”

And there’s a key trait that one of the characters has which plays a significant part. But this is not spelled out as such. There may be specific times in the film where the audience is supposed to know, but Thérond didn’t think of it that way.

“We never set up that there would be a point where people would realize. And so it was funny getting feedback when we showed people rough cuts – that people even referred to it like a twist. I had never thought about at what point people would realize. And it depends on the audience too.”

So technically speaking, The Dress You Have On reflects different points of view throughout. Quite literally at times, with mirrors. From the opening scene with Libby in her car, then the first time we meet Jess.

“Yeah. So they’re both sort of looking at themselves. We tried to play with the mirror for seeing things. That you have individual moments that you wouldn’t necessarily pick up on in your relationship. That’s kind of where the relationship is now, or they don’t really pay attention to each other anymore. They just sort of take each other for granted. So you get those little slivers of them being individuals, but it’s lost to the other person.

And the fact the film pretty much entirely takes place in the bedroom – and one with little room when you think that Thérond and her film crew had to shoot in that tiny space. It ultimately suits the atmosphere – forget budget – that must be what they wanted going into bringing the story to life. That kind of physical and figurative claustrophobia must have been an intention of the setting.

“Yeah, definitely claustrophobia. We wanted to make it feel really small and for the characters to feel really closed in. It was sort of a technical challenge to make it look dynamic in this room, that every time you’d switch which side of the room we’re on, we’d have to move everything because it was so small. But I think in the end it, it added to that feeling because even on set it was very claustrophobic and everyone was very close. The room was really hot, so all of that tension I think added to the performances as well.”

So a director has to keep their cool, so to speak, in such an enclosed area. And Courtney Hope Thérond is definitely a talented director. Listening to her speak about when a character would raise their voice, or the blocking of the actresses, simply because of a character’s desperation in wanting to get your point across when someone isn’t listening to you. There are moments in The Dress You Have On that feel authentically quite awkward. Not in a bad way, but in a way that if you’re right there. Like when you find yourself amidst a squabbling couple and want to subtly back away.

“A lot is on the actors. I think a lot of it is just pull in from those sort of backstory amendments. There’s a point when Jess comes into the room and refers to Libby as Elizabeth, by her full name, and that just sort of happened on set. I told her, just come in and call her Elizabeth. And that sort of had Jessica like, oh er. So just those little things. And then the blocking too, you know, feeling trapped, and this might be your only opportunity to get your point across. So if you don’t say anything now, this is never going to happen again. Those are the stakes. I’m just setting those up so that it feels more urgent.”

What I will say, without giving too much away, is that some of the discussions among the jury members, we talked about good directing is not always something showy or dynamic. It can capture a kind of rich intimacy, without shoving the shaky camera in their faces. The Dress You Have On demonstrates a natural poise for story-telling.

“I think that subtle filmmaking is trickier sometimes. Maybe I should’ve been making films in Europe, because I feel like that’s more of the style there. Just like letting things sort of play out and not telling the audience what to think, when a lot of times the impulse is to force an opinion. Just like letting the camera sort of sit back and just watch the characters go about their lives. Those are the films that I’m drawn to watching, and I think they give you the most to think about afterwards.”

Thérond also thrives on the challenges faced by short film directors, as opposed to features. “It’s definitely a different kind of art form because of the different sense of storytelling. I like shorts that are moment based, which I guess is why a lot of my films tend to be that as well.” And what of festival runs, crucial for short films that tend not to be exposed theatrically?

“Technically, a short film is under forty minutes, but anything over ten I think becomes harder to program. I meta festival programmer and she told me, I really love this film, otherwise those extra minutes are pushing it.” Referring to The Dress You Have On, which is a mere thirteen minutes.

“My latest film is eight minutes, so I learned my lesson. Though I think not necessarily knowing there’s a transgender element to the story until later in, if a screener is only gonna watch two minutes, it looks like it’s just a couple fighting maybe, and isn’t as interesting. So, yeah, the shorter version would’ve played differently. I feel like in Europe there’s a bigger market for short films. I lived in France for a few years and short films that would play in front of features.”

I couldn’t let Courtney leave without her giving us some juice on her new short, Rehearsal, which also feature Jessica Mendez Siqueiros. “It is about a courtesy rehearsal of a sex scene for the female lead that pushes the boundaries of consent. it’s a very stark eight minute drama. It doesn’t really tell you how to feel necessarily. It just sort of lets you be part of this experience and decide for yourself.”

Once again, Courtney Hope Thérond, that’ll get us talking. “I made The Dress You Have On just to have conversations about. It was great going into the festivals and screening it for an audience and talking to people afterwards. I love making films because people feel like they know you in a way by seeing them. So many people just told me these very personal stories about themselves that related to the film. That great connection with people is one of the nice benefits of short filmmaking – you get to really interact with the audience.”

Look out for Courtney Hope Thérond, who will be at the BFI London Film Festival.