How are we to sort fact and fiction here? Things changed a lot creating this story. But I do like working with personal material. I like mining the specifics to create comedy I hope will resonate with others.
AD: Your first feature, I hate myself : , seems to have struck a nerve with some critics. Do you get a kick out of being provocative with your art? I think the way that women are portrayed is often very narrow.
And I think women expressing sexuality in ways that challenge norms or go outside of those portrayals can sometimes engender those kinds of reactions. AD: Do you anticipate this one doing the same thing? How has it been received at the festival? Was that something you wanted to address with your film? JA: I feel like there are a lot of misconceptions around BDSM and I wanted to portray the protagonist as a very active participant in the planning of the sessions, partly to counter that.
I feel like the way BDSM is depicted without conversations is very unrealistic and even unsafe, and sometimes it gets pathologised. In my experience, people involved in BDSM have to be triply communicative and respectful to participate, and I wanted to film to reflect that.
JA: I wanted to include threads of work and family in addition to relationships and sexuality; I was interested in how our experience in all its mosaic qualities informs who we are. The sneeze, for example. JA: Yes. Dazed media sites. AD: Are we talking about the fuck pig scene here? Is that what he calls it?
