I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to deeply explore a story like Delicacy with my chief collaborator (and honestly, my muse), Misty Jones. As a white, non-binary, X-Generation theatre artist, I have been working to understand my place in the world and this experience further sharpened and clarified things for me. For example, the radical empathy of directing and developing Delicacy with Misty transformed the details of the film’s location from an opaque, unexplored, white perspective to understanding its racist and classist implications and emanations. While at first, one might see this gaudy Upper West Side townhouse as somewhat pretentious, seeing it through Kris’ eyes - the point of view of a Black, non-binary domestic worker (Misty’s character) - the paintings, pictures, sculptures, architecture transformed from merely gaudy and pretentious into a bloody history of generational racism and classism.
My process as a filmmaker is in its infancy while my process as a theatre director spans many decades so this film is very much a theatrical project as much as it is a film project. I was raised by an actress and theatre educator whose influence permeates my life as a theatre artist, which means my directorial heart of hearts beats for the actor: their process, their psyche, their point of view. Twenty years ago, my mind was blown by an MFA in dramaturgy, which honed my skills of meaning making; of interacting with the world. One topic that became vividly clear to me is representation: the age-old war against stereotyping. Approaching the casting process with the goal of offsetting racism, sexism, homophobia, and size discrimination became the central reason why I had to focus on directing over acting, writing, and dramaturgy. The world onstage (and screen) needed to be fully actualized and the only way that can happen is to overcome these obstacles. Thus, getting to work on a film like Delicacy, starring an artist of marginalized identity, who, like Kris has been underrepresented across all mediums and whose body has been devalued, disregarded, discriminated against widely, is literally the reason I became a director. Our goal in sharing this film is to engage with a wide audience. Our even greater goal through the telling of this story, is to counter the perpetuation of invisibility for characters like Kris.
I am beyond honored to actualize my narrative filmmaking debut with this life-defining work.
The pre-production process for Delicacy was very fast as this film was shot completely guerrilla style. I took on the role of dramaturg for Misty as they wrote the script over the course of 4-5 days. Misty and I developed “the story of Kris in the house” together using Uta Hagen’s Basic Object Exercises, which are designed to help actors situate themselves in the moment in different ways: the sense of space, the interaction with objects, the art of the entrance. You might compare this to the work of filmmakers like Christopher Guest who improvise to generate the material, but this was a hybrid version of that with the structure focusing on character development.
My contribution to the cinematography can also be characterized as actor-based because I sought to channel the “eye” (or “mind”) of characters beyond the camera, with intense POV footage that comes later in the film. The subject matter was very difficult and emotional, but thankfully the actors felt safe with me and with each other which is due to their good working relationship as well as the valuable direction of Nafeesa Monroe, our intimacy consultant.
In closing, I want to reiterate how grateful I am to Misty for bringing me in and trusting me with this intensely personal work. I thank the Universe for Misty, the cast and team of Delicacy, and the circumstances that brought us together to make this world-changing film.
With deep appreciation and love,
Janet "Jan" Bentley
My process as a filmmaker is in its infancy while my process as a theatre director spans many decades so this film is very much a theatrical project as much as it is a film project. I was raised by an actress and theatre educator whose influence permeates my life as a theatre artist, which means my directorial heart of hearts beats for the actor: their process, their psyche, their point of view. Twenty years ago, my mind was blown by an MFA in dramaturgy, which honed my skills of meaning making; of interacting with the world. One topic that became vividly clear to me is representation: the age-old war against stereotyping. Approaching the casting process with the goal of offsetting racism, sexism, homophobia, and size discrimination became the central reason why I had to focus on directing over acting, writing, and dramaturgy. The world onstage (and screen) needed to be fully actualized and the only way that can happen is to overcome these obstacles. Thus, getting to work on a film like Delicacy, starring an artist of marginalized identity, who, like Kris has been underrepresented across all mediums and whose body has been devalued, disregarded, discriminated against widely, is literally the reason I became a director. Our goal in sharing this film is to engage with a wide audience. Our even greater goal through the telling of this story, is to counter the perpetuation of invisibility for characters like Kris.
I am beyond honored to actualize my narrative filmmaking debut with this life-defining work.
The pre-production process for Delicacy was very fast as this film was shot completely guerrilla style. I took on the role of dramaturg for Misty as they wrote the script over the course of 4-5 days. Misty and I developed “the story of Kris in the house” together using Uta Hagen’s Basic Object Exercises, which are designed to help actors situate themselves in the moment in different ways: the sense of space, the interaction with objects, the art of the entrance. You might compare this to the work of filmmakers like Christopher Guest who improvise to generate the material, but this was a hybrid version of that with the structure focusing on character development.
My contribution to the cinematography can also be characterized as actor-based because I sought to channel the “eye” (or “mind”) of characters beyond the camera, with intense POV footage that comes later in the film. The subject matter was very difficult and emotional, but thankfully the actors felt safe with me and with each other which is due to their good working relationship as well as the valuable direction of Nafeesa Monroe, our intimacy consultant.
In closing, I want to reiterate how grateful I am to Misty for bringing me in and trusting me with this intensely personal work. I thank the Universe for Misty, the cast and team of Delicacy, and the circumstances that brought us together to make this world-changing film.
With deep appreciation and love,
Janet "Jan" Bentley