As I delve into the captivating tale of Tabitha Conti, a woman who donned a monkey suit for her directorial debut, I find myself utterly mesmerized by her audacious spirit and unwavering determination. This is not just a story about a film or a business venture; it’s a testament to the power of embracing one’s quirks and turning them into a unique narrative.
In her first directorial venture, comedian Nina Conti‘s movie “Sunlight” transforms one of her ventriloquist characters, Monkey, into a life-sized counterpart for a woman escaping a poisonous relationship. Beyond handling various roles behind the camera, Conti takes on dual roles in front of it, portraying both the woman and the monkey, donning two different costumes for each character.
“The monkey is much easier,” she tells EbMaster.
The main filming for the project occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico, approximately a short drive from the Santa Fe International Film Festival. This is where the movie was shown on October 19, with Conti and executive producer Christopher Guest present. Immediately following the screening in the El Dorado Hotel lobby, there was an evident sense of joyful relief as she shared her satisfaction that “Sunlight” had been positively received by festivalgoers. The film’s completion and current screening at the festival signifies the culmination of a journey that started over 20 years ago when she discovered a monkey hand puppet on a shelf in a Woolworth’s store.
Conti describes how he initially discovered me and provided a platform for my comedic voice over many years. As time passed, she notes, it becomes apparent that one’s strongest qualities are expressed through this on-screen persona. She elaborates that the prop she has utilized for decades is not at all like the character that dominates her film; instead, the monkey on screen is a genuine individual, while my character is more of a constructed figure to navigate the world.
One key factor contributing to this disparity is the size of the character. In real life, Monkey is a small id that stage performer Conti interacts with on behalf of her audience. However, in the movie, it’s a full-body costume that provides protection and strength for Jane, her character, helping her escape from her troubled past. Conti credits a role in a “Star Wars” film for enabling her to enhance her furry co-star’s scene. She explains, “I had a minor, non-speaking part with a puppet in the Han Solo movie, but it ended up being recast and reshot without me.” But because I worked in the creature department at ‘Star Wars,’ I saw these massive, impressive creatures moving around, and I asked if they could make Monkey as large as Chewbacca. [Supervising animatronic designer Vanessa Bastyan] replied, “of course! That’s what we do.
Conti aimed to design a character resembling Chewbacca, who could express emotions through his mouth, yet simple in terms of animatronics. She found the shift natural, stating it was like stepping into a familiar tiny character she’d been conversing with for years, eliminating the need for movement study or physical training. She explained that the puppet didn’t move much, but its floppy arms and lack of fingers didn’t matter; the character felt deeply ingrained within her, and she knew its personality well.
In the end, she managed to bring Monkey to life so powerfully that it struck her as best to keep Jane’s human face hidden for a while longer, making the moment of revelation even more impactful. She explains, “I didn’t want it to be like a typical hair-flipping commercial where she makes her entrance.
In the movie, Jane sets off on a journey with a suicidal radio broadcaster named Roy (Shenoah Allen), following her escape from her overbearing stepfather, Wade (Bill Wise). As they travel together, an unexpected bond forms between them when Roy offers to aid her in financing her desired enterprise – a unique business involving pulling people across a nearby water body with a large banana-shaped float. Working alongside Allen on the script, whom she partners with for the improvisational podcast “Richard & Greta”, Conti found that donning the full-sized suit enabled her to access deeper feelings than the lighthearted rom-com tone might imply.
She chose to pen a tale about a woman trapped inside a monkey, explaining it’s like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in reverse since she thrives in expressing herself within this confinement. The challenge is, once out, she encounters a predicament because she finds her true self in that state.
As the film’s director, I took the helm myself after courting numerous filmmakers for a larger budget. This self-directing journey was challenging and scary, but it granted me more creative control over the project’s transformation. Throughout this process, I leaned on Christopher Guest, an experienced director known for “Waiting for Guffman” and “For Your Consideration,” whom I had collaborated with previously. During those early days of uncertainty, I recall worrying about scene blocking and camera placement. However, Christopher reassured me, “It’s not really your job.
The guest expressed complete confidence in her abilities, yet offered perspectives distinct to his expertise – notably, discussing a narrative that’s constantly evolving due to the spontaneity of the actors on-screen. “She possesses every talent,” he remarked. “When I make my movies, they aren’t typical productions. They change each time. However, once Nina grasped the essential technical aspects, it was simply her doing what she does best.
Conti likened the process to independent student filmmaking. “We handled our own makeup,” she explains. “Shenoah’s father owned an Airstream which we utilized. Someone else provided a location for us. So it was quite DIY in nature. The best part was that it was entirely ours, free from external influence. We could delve deeply into our unique environment and shield it, never having to comply with someone else’s demands.
One of the choices she made to protect that atmosphere was to select a soundtrack featuring bands like Radiohead and the Pixies, whose songs would under normal circumstances be far too expensive for a production like hers to afford. “But I managed to get to one of the band members through six degrees of separation, and he watched the film and said, ‘You’ve got to have this’,” she remembers. “And then he said, ‘You’ve got to have that Pixies track — I’ll give you a number of somebody who I know knows them’.”
Conti confessed that he temporarily added those tracks for future replacement, thinking it might be disappointing if we had to change them later. However, as it turned out, we didn’t need to swap any of them. This realization left him feeling like he was achieving something truly unique.
Describing the completed movie as having “similarities to ‘Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid’ or ‘Thelma and Louise’,” Conti implies that the act of watching it shares a closer resemblance to the process of creating it than she initially anticipated. “Monkey, Jane, and Roy are along for the ride,” she explains.
Setting up to direct my initial feature film while performing in a monkey costume was quite a challenging task. However, I figured it would be fitting since making things difficult for myself would likely bring about laughter throughout the process, providing enough amusement to help me navigate through it.
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2024-10-24 19:47