To Be Seen & Recognized Despite Someone Else's Fear: James Kautz On His Short "Frankie"
Director James Kautz is a multifaceted artist of stage and film who has been hailed by The New York Times as “fearless” and “fiercely talented” by Time Out New York. James is the Founder of Red Seed Films and the Founding Artistic Director of the award winning, Off Broadway Theatre Company, The Amoralists. His latest short film, Frankie, focuses on a non-binary transgender person who comes out to their ex-partner and his men's codependency group.
Frankie, a non-binary trans person, crashes their ex-partner’s men-only 12 step meeting, determined to be heard... no matter the cost.
This powerful film will be screening at this year’s Oscar-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival. We had the pleasure of chatting with James about his film, its origins, creating fully-rounded characters, finding the right look, and much much more!
How did the concept for Frankie originate?
A few years ago, I’d entered into a men’s codependency group. It was honestly the first time in my life I’d ever been in a space where cisgender men were so openly vulnerable. A common theme amongst all of us in the room was this idea that we’d denied our true selves in an effort to ‘stay safe’ in the face of someone else’s addictions and fears.
My spouse Morgan, who is a Producer on Frankie and plays Frankie, was coming out as trans, non-binary at the time, and they were having so many similar revelations about their own experience.
The commonality of that human need: to be seen and recognized despite someone else’s fear — that was the seed of Frankie.
All of the characters in the film feel very defined and real, which is something a lot of short films struggle with. What’s your process for developing and fleshing out your characters?
I really just try to see the movie through each character’s eyes, no matter how large or small the role is. Every character has a want, a need, and it’s either in support or in opposition to the main character’s.
As an actor who’s played a lot of roles over the years, some large, some small, you really learn that every character is three dimensional if you make them so.
The film is full of pitch-perfect performances. How did you find your wonderful cast?
The cast is really, truly the heart of the film. I’d worked with many of them over the years in NYC theatre. But others, it was just a general casting and interview process. Watching them bond and construct this super organic group dynamic on set was just magic. I was very lucky.
How did you and cinematographer Tommy Agriodimas nail down the film’s visual look?
We knew right away that we’d want to prioritize the performances and really support any emotional momentum that the cast was going to build up. So we made sure to light everything very simply with overheads, so once the camera was rolling and the actors were cooking, we wouldn’t have to slow or pause for long to move lights.
We also knew that we wanted Frankie isolated in every frame, once they joined the circle and that everytime we saw the men, they’d always be in frame with another member of the group. So we used anamorphic lenses, just to really highlight how alone and lost in this cavernous sea Frankie was and how tribal and together this group of men was in comparison.
How has your background in theater helped to sharpen your skills as a film director?
Theatre is really made in the rehearsal room, and to create a space where artists will get vulnerable and spin story gold, it takes genuine care and intention. Every participating artist needs to feel safe and seen, and though we don’t usually get the same type of rehearsal process in film, I have definitely tried to bring those same sensibilities to set.
Theatre has taught me how to listen and hold space for artists, to collaborate, to funnel multiple visions into a single vision.
What drew you to the visual arts? How did you get into directing?
My first love has always been painting. I definitely think and feel in a visual way, so filmmaking has always been a dream. It strangly took me a long time to step behind the camera. It wasn’t until I’d started writing and thinking about how I’d want something to be framed and seen that I really knew I had to take the leap.
What films or filmmakers have inspired you, your style, or your approach to telling a story?
I’m in love with stories that start, and stay, just a few paces out ahead of their audience; stories where we’re just dropped into a character’s shoes with virtually no explanation, their day-to-days already moving at full speed.
Short films like Caroline by Logan George and Celine Held, The Strange Ones by Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein, or Georgia by Jayil Pak, or features like Lynne Ramsey’s You Were Never Really Here, they’ve had such a transformative impact on my own storytelling.
When there’s so little exposition, it forces us as viewers to become very active. We become emotional detectives, story detectives. I love that.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
I hope folks who watch Frankie, especially those who maybe have some rigid preconceptions about gender and masculinity, walk away feeling genuine empathy for someone like Frankie. I hope they have a human experience, as opposed to a political experience.
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
I’ve two new shorts in post production at the moment, actually! Both are dark thrillers that explore themes of agency and recovery. And Morgan and I are growing Frankie into a feature. So the future is certainly alive with more filmmaking!
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!