During the pandemic – violence, rape and female homicide (femicide) have been on the rise. We’ve seen it in the news, in the US, the UK and here in Canada. It’s alarming, it’s horrific, it’s frightening and it needs to stop. It’s gender-based violence committed by men that were birthed by mothers. There are organizations bringing attention to the alarming rise, cause and eradication of the violence, such as the UNiTE to End Violence against Women, led by the UN Secretary-General and UN Women since 2008 that calls for global action to increase awareness, promote advocacy and create opportunities for discussion on the challenges and solutions.
Violence Against Women (VAW) is a serious and pervasive problem that crosses every culture, social boundary, and affects every community. As a man and a brother to 2 sisters, I am very aware of the issues. I’ve had to protect my sisters from violence, I’ve intervened in an attack on a woman and attended a court hearing to testify against the man responsible, only to learn that she dropped the charges on the day of the trial. The assault was from an ex-boyfriend. That was then and this is now. The laws have improved but the VAW still happens. Although most men have never committed crimes against women, we still need to keep other men in check to ensure that all girls and women feel safe, everywhere they go.
Making a film that addresses a women’s emotional state when faced with the prospect of becoming a victim of rape/violence turns on the airport lights to the issue. Tanya Jade wrote, directed, produced and stars in the film, Wallpaper – a film that examines an innocent gesture of help that goes sideways. David Lennon co-stars and Blake Matthew created an outstanding musical score. The film screened at the Vancouver Short Film Festival recently and it was Tanya’s first solo script that she produced, directed and starred in. The story was a reflection of an experience Tanya had 10 years ago and it never leaves her thoughts. She wanted to bring attention to what women deal with on an ongoing basis. When a man approaches them in a vulnerable setting, they always think of the worst-case scenario. For a man, it can seem so innocent and non-concerning but a woman might be dying inside, as she prepares for everything to go wrong. Two very different mindsets that Tanya really wanted to express in the film.
I spoke to Tanya Jade about her first self-written film, Wallpaper and the impact she aims to achieve. I’ve watched the film and I think the message was loud and clear and very necessary. Roll the tape!
HNMAG “Congratulations on a great film, I really enjoyed your style of directing. Do you find that your acting experience has made you a better director?”
TANYA “Absolutely. After endless auditions, we know where scenes might fit into a script and the purpose of that scene, in order to move the story forward. Being an actor enables the intention of every scene to come through as well, so we know where we’re going.”
HNMAG “In the film, there is little to no dialogue. What was the intention behind that?”
TANYA “I wanted the film to offer a sensory experience, as well as a point of view. I wanted the audience to use all their senses to feel what Dionne was going through – being cornered in her own room. I really wanted that to come through in the music, the frames that we chose and camera movements.”
HNMAG “I think the music is married perfectly with the images. You really found the right person for the music composition.”
TANYA “Thank you, Blake Matthew was incredible. I would absolutely work with him again. He really took the time to go through every beat with me. As a non-musician, it was difficult because I didn’t know the language, to ask for what I needed (laughing). I didn’t know how to put it into words, so I was so blown away that he was able to interpret what I wanted.”
HNMAG “When did you write the script?”
TANYA “It would’ve been about 6 months before the pandemic hit. I put it on a shelf for a while until I was chatting one day with somebody and they’d asked to see some of my writing. I hadn’t read it since I wrote it, so after I sent it to him, he had quite a strong reaction to it and said I should make it. I thought I should read it again (laughing) because I didn’t understand the strong reaction.”
HNMAG “Is the writing quite new to you then?”
TANYA “Yes, this is my first solo-written script. I’ve co-written on two shorts, but they haven’t come to life yet. I don’t think that I realized I was writing before. As an actor, I had written and made 3 scenes for myself. It was a bit of a conundrum, where I thought I had to wait to be cast to get material for my demo reel. I realized that the material might not be any good or it might paint me in a light that I don’t want to be represented through – so I decided to write three scenes for myself.”
HNMAG “Do you see yourself directing more, moving forward?”
TANYA “Absolutely, one hundred percent I’ll be directing more. I’ve actually been asked to direct a short film for someone else, so that’s exciting. I was in the top 12 of Crazy 8’s this year for another script that I wrote, called Tinto. Although we didn’t make the top 6, the crew attached to it – still wants to make the film. We’re currently trying to decide when we’re going to move forward with that film.”
HNMAG “What is that story about?”
TANYA “It’s a drama with a bit of magical realism to it – about a grieving widow who discovers the essence of her late husband in a bottle of wine. The catch line is, ‘can you have your wine and drink it too?’ When she drinks it, he comes back but only stays for a certain amount of time, so she has to keep drinking to keep him there. The bottle refills itself, so it tackles both substance abuse and grief. I’m trying to create an understanding of my own voice as a writer and director. As an actor, I serve other people’s writing and I love script analysis and doing justice to other people’s words. I tend to dabble in the camera department as well and didn’t realize I had a point of view until I picked up the camera.”
HNMAG “Where has this film been screened?”
TANYA “It premiered in LA late last year at the Awareness Festival, which is all about shining a spotlight on social issues. After that, it went to the Toronto International Women’s Film Festival – where it received an Honourable Mention, the Indie Shorts Awards – which won me Best Director and it was also in the New York Indie Shorts Awards. I was very excited and blessed to be screening in the Vancouver Shorts Film Festival (VSFF) because they only selected 50 films. In my category, I was competing against films that had budgets of 30,000 – 40,000 – dollar budgets, so I felt very privileged to be screening alongside such high caliber films as well. It really restored my faith – that story is first and foremost, the most important thing especially with the topic highlighted in this film.”
Tanya continued to explain how vulnerable a woman can feel when she’s alone with a man that may or may not have sexual desires/violent intentions. It is something that men will never have to feel because we are bigger and stronger than most women. Tanya explains that a woman will always lose if the situation becomes violent. She demonstrates a triggered reaction that most women will practice when feeling vulnerable, which is a flat fight (holding flat hands up) and freezing because they don’t know what the best option is.
Tanya says, “When a woman freezes, she’s accepting what might happen and can have a sort of out-of-body experience. This is where she starts to notice the peel in the wallpaper, which symbolically represents the unravelling of her safe space. It’s something that happened to me 10 years ago and I literally started noticing these bits of wallpaper behind him because I’d clocked out as a way of coping.”
Tanya makes it crystal clear that she’s not trying to punish men, she is merely explaining the panic and vulnerability of women – when they’re alone in the elevator, the underground parkade, walking past a group of men. They always have to be prepared for the worst case scenario and it can really weigh heavy. During post production of her film, a close friend and colleague of Tanya’s had been attacked and brutally beaten by her long-term partner, was in a coma and later died.
Tanya says, “This was someone that she trusted the most. It was also the same week that Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by an off-duty police officer on her way home in the UK. This is 2022; we’re still here. I really want this film to bring to light how real our mortality is as women and how the rate of femicide has gone up since the pandemic. At screenings, it can strike a nerve with men but for women, it’s cathartic. Every woman at the screening knew that feeling, that situation. We’ve all been there and we talk about it like it’s normal. I actually cast David, because he was the only one that had admitted to being that guy. He didn’t hurt anyone but probably scared the daylights out of her.”
HNMAG “How did you finance the film?”
TANYA “I self-funded it.”
HNMAG “What size of crew did you use on the film?”
TANYA “It was Covid, so we only used 10 people, including myself.”
Wallpaper is a short film with an impactful message that needs to be shared. As a brother to sisters and a son that loves his mom, I am also an advocate for the safety of women and feel privileged to share this important story. Tanya Jade is carving a path in film and we can expect more great films from her soon.