Christina Parrish – Call Me Brother

By starrymag | November 10, 2020

By: Kemberlie Spivey

 

 

Q) Please tell us the premise for Call Me Brother.

A) I’m sure there’s a way I should say this that my producer has crafted, but to me, it’s about a brother and sister finding comfort in the dysfunctional world they live in…and perhaps, their connection builds closer than they had planned.

 

Q) Not only do you star in Call Me Brother, but you wrote the film. What inspired you to write the script?

A) I was living a lot in my brain; I guess a bit depressed and getting high, actually. I started watching a ton of movies, mainly Todd Solondz and Yorgos Lanthimos movies. A bit of Charlie Kaufman. I got really inspired visually and storytelling wise with their frameworks and design. So, I set out to start writing a story about childhood and its preciousness. Suddenly, I found myself tapping into the realm of incest. Ha! I didn’t plan for it and I will state that NO I DID NOT HAVE INCESTUOS relationship with my brother. I feel the need to caveat that. This story came to me like a fever dream. I stayed up late, I went out and experienced life’s hidden treasures, I fawned over small moments and, at the end of the day, I found myself with an actual movie that was worth all its weight in my mind.

 

Q) Did you always have an interest in writing or was this a new opportunity that you decided to pursue?

A) I’ve been writing for some time now. Yikes, I think I just realized it’s been almost ten years of writing, filming, writing, filming, scratching off the list of things I need for people to see of what’s in my mind and how I look at the world. With this film, and for my next one, I do feel like I’m carving out a destination for myself that lives and breathes creating content for more and more people to see.

 

Q) What did you find challenging about playing the roles of a writer and star of the film? 

A) I studied acting for about five years, but I never had the anxiety as I did on set for Call Me Brother as I had before. Except for the time I had a minor speaking role on HBO’s “The Leftovers” and Mimi Leder yelled at me for not knowing the exact lines. The industry can be so precious about their writing, I love it. Anyway, I guess it was challenging to act and have written this big piece for myself and have a whole crew there bringing it to life. I do think that that anxiety came through in a beautiful way for Lisa’s character. I will say it was challenging to be a focal point with everyone needing to count on you to “bring it,” but I conquered and well, here we are.

 

Q) In what ways do you relate to Lisa and in what ways are you different from her? 

A) Lisa, I believe, is a facet of my youth and I constructed her that way. She’s shy, genuine, thoughtful, needs or wants love. Maybe a bit dependent on that. I feel her struggle with dysfunctional surroundings that don’t make sense and that need to make sense of it. I think the beautiful thing about writing what you know is that you “know it” and have, hopefully, moved on. I’m feisty, I’m loud and I have agency in the world and that wasn’t how I used to be.

 

Q) How would you describe the relationship between Lisa and Tony, played by Andrew Dismukes?

A) As characters, they were hopelessly trying to find a way to make sense of the world and found comfort within each others’ silence or, rather, ease. They were connecting and bridging a gap between what was missing and what they’ve found in each other. Outside of the characters, Andrew and I as people, we trusted a lot of one another to tackle this charisma and connection. He’s a fabulous actor and I hope we work together again someday. Maybe not incest. Ha!

 

Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to shoot? 

A) For humor, I loved watching Tony and Frank (Asaf Ronen) have that terribly awkward, but an intimate conversation about love and those goddamn peaches. For me, personally, I really enjoyed all the slow-motion shots of Lisa and Tony being together. Especially the fight scene outside in the sprinklers. That was really fun.

 

Q) What was it like working with David Howe as your director?

A) As much as you trust your co-stars, you trust your director even more. David has been on my film journey, either giving me feedback, shooting, directing and I trust him because he understands where I’m coming from and why. I think because we’ve known each other for so long, it’s an easy relationship and an absolute no-brainer for him to have directed. He’s a true gem.

 

Q) What message do you hope viewers take away from watching Call Me Brother?

A) I want the viewers to feel uncomfortable knowing that they can understand relationships and connections that they would’ve not been compelled to in the first place. I also want them to just laugh and escape into my brain for a little while. Yeah, I just want them to laugh at the insanity.

 

Q) Who are some comedians that you admire that have an impact on your writing aspect? 

A) Comedically I love Maria Bamford, Beth Stelling, Morgan Murphy. I love the writers Todd Solondz, Yorgos Lanthimos and others like Lee Sung Jin.

 

Q) What is next for you? Are you working on any projects the fans can keep an eye out for?

A) I’m onto writing my next feature, it’s a bit different, but the working title is StealingKitty. It’s an homage to my mother who has passed and her life. The last night she was alive is still on Facebook and, so, I’m playing with that story. I’m also creating audio-only comedy album “experience” called 10 Years On Fire that will be accompanied with a book of illustrations and essays. I hope to have these done as soon as the world can guide me.