An Interview with Filmmaker Nena Eskridge
A killer decides to settle down in a small town and start a family. But first she has to find the right guy to help make it happen, whether he wants to or not. Stray, boasting an award-winning screenplay from writer-director Nena Eskridge, premieres On Demand on Amazon Prime this September from Indie Rights. When we got the chance to sit down and chat to Nena about the film we couldn’t refuse.
Hi Nena, it’s great to meet you.
Where do you call home, Nena?
I live in Philadelphia, now. Moved here from New York City. Moved to New York from Ithaca. Moved to Ithaca from Texas. Moved to Texas from Kentucky where I was born. How’s that for an answer? lol.
Wow! So you are well travelled then!
Have you always been making films of some short?
I began experimenting with film in the late 70’s while living in Huntsville, Texas.
What was the first thing you ever shot?
A short film called ANDY written by Freeman Williams and directed by Bob Garrett. Just a couple of hippies and a film camera. It actually won best short at the Texas Film Expo all those years ago. After that, I was hooked.
It is great to see your talent was recognised after your first film! That’s good going.
How did you come up Stray?
I’ve always been fascinated with mental illness and how it manifests itself. My father was a psychiatrist so I’ve been around it most of my life. The largest percentage of those suffering with emotional issues aren’t criminals or killers, obviously, but the ones who are, are the ones who interest me the most. There is a reason people kill. Stray tells the story of one and how she came to be.
That’s a very interesting subject to tackle.
Who or what inspired the screenplay?
It’s actually a long story. A murder took place when I was a kid in the small southern town I was born in. It was a gruesome one that stuck with me. So after I graduated from film school, many years later, I started doing research about it and learned that the killer, who was a teenager at the time of the killing, was incarcerated for a couple of years and then released… to this day he’s probably still walking the streets of Kentucky. Freaked me out and so I started writing a screenplay it… a killer roaming around the country trying to live a normal life.
Yeah, it is a scary thought when you think about it like that.
Who are your directing influences?
I like indie films. A step farther, I like low to micro-budget movies most. Terrance Mallick’s Badlands, had the biggest effect on me. And Blood Simple taught me a lot… it’s a perfect movie. I still watch it every chance I get. Oh, and Wyler’s The Collector, of course.
Some excellent influences. You can’t go wrong looking up to people like that.
Do all your projects have a recurring theme or message?
Not that I’m aware of. Maybe my therapist would disagree. The one constant is that everything I write is very dark. Actually, I don’t think it is, but others seem to, at least that’s what they tell me.
Ha! We will have to check with your therapist on that one.
What about this one? What do you consider the message in it?
The message is pretty simple: cherish your children. Don’t abuse them! Monsters aren’t born that way, they’re created. Jennifer breaks my heart because she wants so desperately to ditch her past. But abuse sticks with you. No matter how hard you try, it’s always there. Can’t shake it. Can’t kill it. Can’t run from it. Kind of like Sy, in Stray. No matter what Jennifer does, she can’t escape him.
That’s pretty powerful.
How much has the internet helped in your marketing?
Without the internet there’s really no way to promote an indie film like Stray other than film festivals. Stray is too small for the big fests and the lesser known fests are swamped with entries, so it’s difficult to get noticed there. Not to mention festivals are expensive. So, to answer your question, thank god for the internet!
We agree, it is a great platform to showcase work of all sizes.
What can we expect from you next?
I want to do a true horror film with a decent budget, very little blood, no sex. Kind of like Stray but truly scary. Not just a mind fuck but something you have to watch with the lights on. Either that or musical comedy.
Well that is going from one extreme to the other! Good look with either of those, I am sure you will manage to produce something truly special. We see a dark comedy musical on the horizon. Thanks for you time and good luck with Stray.
