Avery Looser
Avery Looser is a writer/director/producer whose personal work has been recognized by NFFTY, AAHSFF, SXSW, Sun Valley Film Festival while her branded/documentary works have been featured on ABC, CBS, broadwayworld.com and more. Avery is currently a Sophomore at NYU Tisch School of the Arts Kanbar Institute of Film & Television.
Avery is launching her own media company, BraveMouse LLC today on October 3rd! I got lucky enough to ask her about BraveMouse, what inspired her to become a filmmaker, and chat with her about what it means to appreciate the past while moving forward as a trailblazer. Because that’s exactly what Avery Looser is— a trailblazer.
How do you identify yourself as an artist and as a creative?
I am a writer, director, producer that focuses primarily on female led narratives and tries to run inclusive sets on all productions. I use she/her pronouns.
Why did you decide to become a writer, director and producer? Why do you like it?
That’s crazy to me that in high school in your filmmaking classes you were the only woman in the room. . .
Yeah. It was a little crazy. I mean the reason why I wanted to form BraveMouse is because in high school I found myself in a situation where I made a film about being a woman in the film “industry”… just being the only girl in my film class was the underlying of this film. I made this film and everything was approved before I shot it, it was all good. I made it, and showed it to the heads of my high school and they told me that it couldn't screen anywhere because it was derogatory towards the film department and the other boys in my class— after they told me I could show it somewhere.
Watch the film Avery’s talking about here:
I was called into an office with two men, in a closed-door office, where I was basically just berated for telling my truth as being the only woman in my film class. That film was not allowed to screen anywhere in my high school and I didn’t have a senior film because that was my senior film.
After that experience I knew that I had to do something to help amplify and empower women’s voices especially behind the scenes because I feel like they get disregarded as being authentic and true. That experience really pushed me to take a step and actually do something instead of sitting back and watching it all happen and complain about things that were happening to me. Just trying to change it. It was slightly traumatic but, we’re here now.
Yeah, I’m so sorry. Are you gonna release this film with BraveMouse?
Well it’s funny because I put the film on Youtube when this happened. I just thought well if I can’t show it at my high school I’m gonna put it on my platforms. Then last year at NYU we had this class called “Sound Image” and we got to do our final project where we take sound and we can do whatever we want with it.
So actually when I was called into their office so many other events had transpired before that with these two particular individuals that I was smart enough, I guess, to record it on my cell phone. I took that audio and put it under the film that I made and it’s all the bad things that they’re saying about my film with my film playing on top of it. I released that last year...I got some interesting feedback from that. . .
Watch the version of the film Avery’s talking about here:
It was very empowering because for so long it was only me who had known what had happened to me, and it’s just nice to be able to put that out there. Not as a stick-it-to-the-man thing it was just to be like, “yeah these experiences happen and they need to be talked about or else nothing’s gonna change.”
Even a lot of the MeToo movement was focused on the actor’s perspective which is just as important, totally. Their experiences with producers, executives and all that stuff is totally important. I feel like it’s just as important for all the women working in production and I feel like that wasn’t necessarily vocalized at that point.
It can sound bad but it’s the reality of it all— people forget that there are other people behind the curtain. It’s not all just the glamour you see in front of the screen.
What’s behind the name “BraveMouse”?
Okay so first of all, BraveMouse has been a coined term in my vocabulary since I was really really little. I don’t know why I’ve just always been saying it! When I logically thought about it: Brave is a combination of mine and my sister’s names. Brock + Avery= Brave. And I am the biggest Disney fanatic that there ever was, I’m obsessed with Disney. So I’ve included that into the name (the mouse part). But it’s also just that something thought to be inferior proving to be superior is a concept that I like to put in all of my films. People proving people wrong, subverting stereotypes; generally you wouldn’t think of a mouse as brave but that’s what my company is! It’s about a brave mouse!
Images by Brock Looser and Skylar Kim.
I also think so much of the time women don’t talk about things, their experiences, because they’re scared of the repercussions of the people that are in power.
Totally
I personally have to say it took a lot of bravery to come out and talk about what happened to me, but it ultimately led to a great film and a film with a director’s cut with their audio, and now this production company. So if I hadn’t gone through all of that stuff before, none of this would have transpired today.
Gotta be thankful for it, but you also gotta be brave enough to put it out there.
What’s the mission of BraveMouse?
BraveMouse LLC is a media company that empowers women through our stories and our productions. We tell uniquely, female-led narratives, while empowering the women behind the narratives, requiring that each BraveMouse production meet the 51% female requirement. By supporting every woman who tells our stories, we believe they have the power to change the narrative for all.
Amazing.
It’s very exciting. And you’ll see on the website I have a “resources” page which lists a bunch of people that I’ve met in the industry that I trust and have worked with in the past. And I’m really excited about that part because I’ve always wanted to give back to the people that have given so much to me on my set. When people think of resources they think of fancy equipment or editing software but what makes a good story is good people. I’m excited to be able to connect the people that I’ve loved working with so that should be really cool. And they’re from all over! They highlight every aspect of the company with writing, photographer, Film and TV and web design.
That’s a great way to uplift people and give back to them.
Yeah! And also it’s that if you work with BraveMouse and you’re missing a writer or production designer or whatever, then I can bring on one of those people to your set or production.
What would you say is unique about your writer/director process? What’s most important to you when creating pieces and what’s unique about it?
Image by Yongki Sunarta
We are in this interesting position right now where theatre’s on pause, obviously, because we can’t gather in crowds. And filmmaking is starting to come back with safety measures in mind for COVID -19, but we’re in this moment where a lot in the entertainment industry is on pause so people in the industry started sharing their experiences online when it came to racism, sexism, homophobia or any kind of discrimination and degradation in these spaces that really claim to be “inclusive”. And really we’re just getting to the tip of the iceberg when it comes to having these conversations with each other. Do you feel like any of this has affected your process personally in terms of how you will go about filmmaking in the spaces you want to be in?
Yeah it’s interesting that you bring this up. I like how you say it’s the tip of the iceberg, because I truly believe that’s the correct phrase. Especially with the releasing of the new rules for the Academy Awards. I have so many mixed emotions about that. Overall, generally I think it’s great that it’s a first attempt. But it’s just that question of: are these rules really promoting the willingness and the wanting to actually have inclusive sets? And actually have female heads of departments, or actually telling underrepresented stories? Is it just to check the box?
There’s no way to determine that so, I guess I’m glad that they’re implementing those rules because it’ll get people thinking about it. But I just hope that translates into the authentic desire to have that space around you.
I have always been the kind of person that likes to have diversity. Diversity in terms of gender, diversity in terms of race, etc, on my sets and as voices that I talk to about story. Like my writing partner, well he’s not really my “writing” partner, he helps me develop the story then I write the screenplay. I mean, he’s a guy. Yes, I’m starting a company that is all about female empowerment, but I think it’s equally as important to make sure that you’re still including everyone. It’s just important to still be inclusive of everyone and I hope it doesn’t lead to exclusivity of people who are already well-established and know what they’re doing just because they are a male, you know what I’m saying?
It’s just a very interesting dynamic especially with the Academy Awards.
Listen to the rest of Avery’s answer here:
What kind of stories do you wish we saw more of on screen?
I wish that we saw more stories of— okay, I’m gonna start broad then I’ll get more specific— I wish we saw more authentic portrayals of women living in the 21st century. Especially younger women. Like my feature that I just wrote is set in high school, and that seems very coming-of-age, very typical, but what Greta Gerwig did with Lady Bird was the first time I’ve ever seen something that was so true to reality. It’s the question of, does media influence behavior or does behavior influence media? And I feel like a lot of portrayals of the “traditional” growing up experience in America is sometimes idealized and very unrealistic. It’s always about the flashiness, the go-getters, and I don’t want to say “crazies” but it’s always about the most loud portrayal of a woman.
All extremes.
Right. Exactly. And it’s like, where’s the story of the woman trying to do good? Where’s the woman who doesn’t drink and doesn’t go to parties and doesn’t have sex? Where are those stories? So that’s what I wish we saw more of probably. The stories of women that aren’t the loudest.
Hmm, that’s a good quote.
What is bringing you joy right now, amidst everything?
What’s bringing me joy is being back in New York City. I definitely missed it.
But I also think that even though we all are zooming all the time everyday, I think it’s been so beneficial in some ways. You’re able to collaborate and work with people all over the world. That’s the norm. And so many people have freer schedules so you’re able to just talk with these people and I feel like that’s been the most exciting thing for me creatively-- is being able to connect with people who I haven’t been able to connect with otherwise because of our physical locations and schedules. So yeah, that’s been bringing me a lot of joy.
And also learning how to shoot in a COVID safe setting! That’s something I’m having to figure out because I’m in a production class at NYU where we have to make 20 films in a semester. We can’t have more than 5 people on our sets, so trying to figure out how you can adapt your stories to that setting while also having crew members, while also being safe. It seems a lot like a challenge but to me it’s really exciting. I’m thankful to be getting the opportunity to learn how to do that now because I feel like it’s gonna be that way in the industry for a little bit longer than we all would like.
And facetiming my dogs and my family, that also brings me joy.
I mean in your career when you face any problem or challenge when it comes to making film you’re gonna be like if I could figure out how to shoot during a pandemic I can figure this out
Exactly. I also feel like constraints can sometimes bring up the most creative stuff. I’m excited to just be open to constraints which sounds weird but it brings the most creativity.
I have some fun speed round questions! What was the last thing you watched on your screen?
Dead to Me, I binged watched both seasons in a week it’s really good.
What was the last thing that you read?
I just read this book called What the Wall Would Tell You and it’s about writing screenplays. It’s a very short book, and basically the whole synopsis was: when you’re writing a scene, look up at a blank wall and play the scene in your head and if it doesn’t work it doesn’t fit in your script.
Last question— if you could tell a younger version of yourself one thing what would it be?
This is kind of cheesy but I’m going for it. I would tell my younger self to always be brave. Despite what it is that you’re facing, always be brave enough to be the first one to raise your hand, the first one to speak up, the first one to help somebody else. Don’t be afraid to do anything because the worst thing that will happen is that someone will tell you no, and that’s not that bad.
Image by Melissa Taylor
