FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Identity

The Indie Filmmaker Fighting to Reveal a Deeper Humanity

Award-winning director Josephine Decker on storytelling, creating space, and finding strength in the unknown
Photo by Anna Ritsch

Since graduating from Princeton University in 2003, writer, director, and performer Josephine Decker has focused on a very particular type of storytelling. Decker’s unconventional approach to exploring the female subconscious has garnered her a slew of honors, including a spot in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2013 and the Alternative Spirit Grand Prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2008 for her film Bi the Way, co-directed with Brittany Blockman.

Advertisement

Most recently, Decker directed and wrote the screenplay for Madeline's Madeline, about a young woman’s struggle with a mother who doesn't understand her. The experimental thriller received international acclaim and multiple wins and nominations at the Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and Champs-Élysées Film Festival. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich praised Madeline's Madeline as “one of the boldest and most invigorating American films of the 21st century.”

Photo by Anna Ritsch

We spoke with Decker about her new film, how she finds strength in vulnerability and meditation, and why the idea of space is critical to her work.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

On creating a new dialogue
There's a tradition of male storytelling in film where you don't have that much time to tell a story. There's always a lead up to a big climax. The female storytellers I love are subverting this with stories that are more cyclical, elliptical, circular. The narrative rises, and then rises again, then again—a longer climax, you might say. It's exciting to be part of this moment, because, together, we're creating a language that brings to life new stories.

On unearthing issues through personal storytelling
I'm drawn to working with real people on personal stories inspired by our own lives or the lives of people we love. Personal storytelling allows a space for women to have a deeper dialogue. What are the issues that are important to us? What are the aspects of our lives that aren’t discussed?

Advertisement

On finding strength in the unknown
Strength is vulnerability. It's very clear, and it's really hard. As a director, you're supposed to stand in front of 100 people that are working on your film and seem like you're driving the ship—like you're supposed to know what you're doing all the time. The truth is, my whole job—what I'm good at—is not knowing. If I know everything, then I'm only using my own brain. The whole point of making films with a group of talented people is to engage all of their brains. It requires that I allow this scary space of not knowing what we’re going to do next. Those are the most exciting moments in film.

Photo by Anna Ritsch

On moving towards fear
Practicing meditation has been life-changing. I started practicing in 2011 at the Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York. Zen is funny because it's so intense. It's a very rigid form. The practice is like deeply encountering yourself, which is fucking terrifying. In sitting in stillness, you meet parts of yourself that you're like, “Oh, I really don't want to look at that. I really don't want to look at that. Fuck,” you know? But it made me a stronger person.

On choices and making space for an audience
I read 100 Years of Solitude [by Gabriel García Márquez] when I was in college and decided to learn Spanish and study abroad in Argentina. It changed the landscape of my whole life to be exposed to that culture, and to magical realism. The art that always works on me leaves me a lot of space to have my own experience. The great writers, you're writing the book with them. You're inventing the characters and connections as you go. When we're editing my films, I work with my editor to create space for the audience to participate in the storytelling of the movie.

On the story of Madeline’s Madeline
Our narratives are getting simpler and more divisive—trying to showcase complex views of humanity is important. Madeline's Madeline is about a young woman who's struggling with a mother who doesn't understand her. The protagonist, who is struggling with mental illness, is part of an acting troupe that makes her feel like the glow inside of her is acknowledged. She's so happy to be there. I tried hard to leave her personal struggle very ambiguous. When we tell these specific stories about one person, it opens up a lot of space to have a bigger conversation around what we’re all dealing with.

"I hope more women feel the confidence and strength to share their unique stories in their own ways."

On hopes for a future of differences
I hope more women feel the confidence and strength to share their unique stories in their own ways. I hope we take better care of our environment and leave something beautiful for our kids, and our children's kids, and many more generations of humans. Right now, we're living in a moment when being different is dangerous. It sounds so cheesy to say eliminate difference, but that is really what I hope we do. Things would go a lot better.

25 Strong is a new series highlighting people who have broken barriers and changed culture in 2018. Created with Reebok.