FemmeFilmFest Interview: Hyphen Producer Lissa Deonarain

From speaking to Lissa Deonarain, one of the producers of Maria Servellon’s serenely captivating short film, Hyphen, I was reminded that these behind the scenes roles have many variations. Might even say misunderstood or under-appreciated.

And that doesn’t just come from a mere list of duties that a producer has, but also the kind of refreshing awareness that Deonarain impressed in me as she spoke. Here’s what Lissa had to say about many of the different components that shape her role and the work she does.

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Robin Write: So congratulations on Hyphen. This story split into four, superbly edited, really well directed, it looks great, as well as the lingering music score. What is your job title here?

Lissa Deonarain: Probably more a co-producer, kind of an associate producer.

How did you first get involved?

I first got involved because I was going to the same school as Maria, the director. And the woman I was working for at our soundstage brought me on to another set, earlier in that year. And I met Maria and it was great.

She was like, I’m actually shooting my film later this year, and I really loved it since it was about women of color. Maria said, if you have an interest in it, we would love to have another woman of color help produce this.

I am a daughter of an immigrant. So I’ve kind of connected with the story, in different ways since we come from different backgrounds. But in a lot of the ways it’s been very relatable to me. And so I kind of fell in love with the story and everything involved with how kind of fantastical it was, and the music, and all of that.

And what was your involvement, and what was your role?

I was involved a lot on the logistics so that Maria and our other producer, Tim, could kind of work out the creative things. We balanced each other out in that way. They were like, I want to go shoot all of these crazy things. And I was like, let’s think it just think about it, without squashing their dreams.

So I helped more on the back end, like organizing things and working on paperwork and documents. But also giving creative input into how things should work out and what we wanted to focus on. So I was kind of helping direct the energy where it needed to go.

Keep everyone grounded. Yeah, that’s good. Were you involved in addition processes, alike casting, or any development of the script or anything like that?

I was reviewing and looking over the script and breaking things down, to try and figure out more of all the things we needed. And kind of helping keep the casting process cohesive. I was involved in a little bit of the beginning stages of it.

But I was also still finishing my undergraduate degree at the time, so I wasn’t as fully involved with that part. I know reading the script and looking at all the people who had auditioned, I wanted to help make sure, since it is four stories, we kept a cohesive look generally.

Immigrant families generally are very similar, even though they come from different places. Like my dad’s from Guyana, but it seems that all immigrant families kind of gravitate towards the same kind of decorations when it comes to kitchen things and house things. So I was thinking about those kind of things, bringing those little pieces to life.

Excellent. Yeah. I think all four parts capture that. Nothing is shoved down your throat or made political. Quite refreshing. You see the troubles in the first three stories, then there’s a bit more liberation with Maria’s chapter. So I really like that.

So what was the reception of the film as far as you being there? I mean, any festivals or screenings. Were you involved in that process?

I was not, but I’ve been keeping up with all of the places and the many things we’ve gone to. And so it’s fascinating to see all the different places. It’s pretty incredible to see Hyphen, a film of this reach which is so centered on real life experiences and particularly of immigrants in America, to see how it has spread across the world.

Especially since we took some risks with parts like the dance scene and the pool scene, in terms of breaking the stereotypical narrative. I really wanted to get those to work well. When we read we were like, okay, so how are we going do this? And Maria said: I have a vision, I can see it. And the end product was just so amazing.

A lot of times, although now more non-conventional formatted films are gaining some popularity, it’s really cool to see one that you don’t really expect certain things to happen. The combination of animation and choreography and music and all these things – it’s amazing to see how far the range has spread.

Yeah. I think that’s good direction as well. That they say they can see the vision, and you have to kind of trust that, and then they achieve it. Like the underwater scene, so cinematic what Maria did.

Yeah, although I branched out more, I tend to usually play it safe, because I’m kind of like the bad guy as a producer. Let’s think about budget, let’s think about logistics. We need to think about location.

But this one, when Maria started describing the transition between the acts – like she’s reaching under the couch or where she emerges from the water – I was like, okay, this really sold me, we really need to make these work. Just the fact that she was even thinking of the transitions between the acts, and the seamlessness of them, and how they all flowed together, despite being what would seem like kind of four separate stories. That was really where I knew this was a great move. I love this.

Yeah. When I spoke to Maria I compared the edits to the genius of 2001 when the apes throw the bone into the air. You almost don’t see the cuts in Hyphen. Oh, it’s a different girl now, but you go with it. I really love that.

So you mentioned your study. What have you studied recently? Is that part of where you want to go film-wise?

Yeah, so, Maria and Tim and I all went to Emerson College in Boston. I finished my undergraduate degree in 2018, and my concentration was documentary and producing. It was really amazing because I was able to work on Hyphen while I was an undergraduate student. Amazing to be brought onto it and help with a film that had a budget and with shooting internationally. Taught me so much and it really added to my producing experience, which I really enjoyed. So yeah, producing is the path that I plan on going down now. I’m currently living in New York and breaking into the industry here. So it’s a slow journey, but it’s happening.

Yeah, it’s good that you kind of break that perception – producers have done everything and they’re just bossy and they’ve got all the money. Great that you’re still learning. Have you got anything coming up next? Any new adventures?

I am currently working on some things independently. Finishing editing two films. One was actually a documentary about a protest that my friends and I led at Emerson. Demanding increased cultural competency, and to kind of diversify the curriculum. And I am working on some documentaries out here with another media production company that’s all people of color called Media Sutra. And we’re working on films about the public education system in America and how it’s kind of under attack. I went to Cincinnati with them and we get to go either to New Mexico or Baltimore next to focus on the school systems there and kind of explore that. So it’s very exciting.

It sounds good. I get excited when I hear of projects I’ve not heard about before. Especially when it’s this kind of thing, the representation of cultures – that’s what my website is all about really. So generally speaking, what films have you enjoyed this year?

Ooh, that’s a hard one. I’m mostly streaming person, since the movie theaters are a little expensive. In terms of things that have come out, the Ava DuVernay series, When They See Us was incredibly impactful. I thought it was just so beautifully done, cinematically story-wise. And even though I knew the ending, since it was a real life case, it kept me on my toes. I’m staying up all night to finish this because I really can’t stop watching it.

The only movie I’ve seen in theaters recently is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which I thought was a very interesting movie.

Yeah. It’s certainly got people talking. Tarantino generally does that. It was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

Yeah. As a person who loves documentary and creepy things, I’ve watched plenty and read plenty about the Manson family. So it was very interesting to see all of the things that I knew about it. I went in not knowing much about it. Other than that it dealt with the murders. And so I think Tarantino kind of gave people the ending they always wanted, with his classic going out in unnecessary blood and gore, and how a woman literally burns to death in a swimming pool, Oh, the irony.