Producer Sevier Crespo on his feature film “Karen”
[as originally published on ventsmagazine.com]
In this interview we reconnect with producer Sevier Crespo on his latest project “Karen,” which addresses the subject of a section of society that — as though privileged or entitled in some way — makes demands beyond what is considered conventional.
The feature film “Karen,” which you produced, stars Taryn Manning and Cory Hardrict. What was it like to work with them?
It was great. They’re really team players, as was the entire crew. It was a really good experience where everybody kind of came together on a project where art was imitating life as we created it, as we were doing it — where things could have had tensions running high, or things could have been intense because of the basic subject matter and how relevant it is in our culture currently. It was a very pleasant, upbeat and supportive environment.
What was the catalyst for you taking on this project?
The catalyst was essentially what we’ve all been witnessing from the sidelines, so to speak, around the world over the last year or year and a half, especially in America. That and also having two close friends approach me and ask me to help them on the project. It just seemed like something I had to do as a way to feel like I was helping raise awareness in some way.
Coke Daniels wrote and directed “Karen.” Tell us about bringing his vision to life.
There were a lot of challenges in the sense that. Once the subject matter of it got out it, once it was leaked, it made things tricky. You could clearly feel and see that it made people uncomfortable, and you could also see the direct opposition of it. There was a pushback. But luckily I was able to bring a fantastic group of people on board who were really modern-day “gladiators.” The attitude was: We’re doing this, we’re going to execute it, and we’re going to make it the best possible project we can — and we will not be stopped.
Did you come across any real-life Karens while you were filming the movie in Atlanta?
Yes, we did. One hundred percent. It was instantly Karens and Kens recording us, people flying drones over the set, people calling the cops on us, us having to take extra precautions to make sure we had police, security, etc. So, it was a situation. But we also experienced the flip side of that too, which was the fantastic people who were involved, the owners of some of the locations that we were filming in, and some of the neighbors — really wonderful people.
How do you keep your crew’s energy up and inspired, especially on a long night shoot?
Well, we did have some moments where people were pushed to the limits. The weather, for example, was brutal. It was going from sunny to thundering to lightning to raining to 20 degrees and freezing temperatures. It was tough, but the entire crew was made up of real team players keeping the best attitudes and working together. My job is to protect the crew, and in this case, to also help protect against the pandemic by keeping in our Covid protocols.
Do you have a regimen you do to recover after being away on location?
The first thing I do is I don’t regimen. I try to rest. I try to get acclimated to my environment. I try to be with my loved ones, decompress, and take everything in. Do some “normal things” like unpacking or washing clothes. Sometimes it takes me a while to actually do even that though. Sometimes I’ll leave my stuff on the floor a week. But then, little by little, doing basic, non-work-related things, that just eases me back into regular life.
What do you hope audiences get out of seeing this film?
What I hope is that people will get another perspective that they actually may not have seen before. With different cultures — and this has happened to me too — you don’t always realize something because it’s just not in your perception. It doesn’t make you wrong, which I mention since people in society are so quick to blame others. But sometimes you just don’t see it. It doesn’t mean that you’re turning a blind eye to it or that you’re being ignorant. Maybe you’re just not exposed to it. It can be a sort of “blind spot” if you’re not taught about it. There’s no history class in your basic high school that teaches you about Juneteenth. There’s no history class in South Texas or Oklahoma that teaches you about the Tulsa Massacre about Black Wall Street. So you grow up thinking that what you know is what’s happening, when you may not. And only in the last decade or less has it all flipped. It’s exploded and is everywhere. Prior to that people genuinely didn’t know. I have friends that had no clue. I think my point is to look at it from someone else’s point of view, because you may or may not have ever encountered or seen it before.