Over at Ain’t It Cool News, Elston Gunn interviews producer Lily Bright, discussing her productions of M Blash’s recent Lying, which premiered at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight, and Asia Argento’s The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. Particularly, she discusses being in roll-up to the release of Argento’s film when the news that author J.T. LeRoy, who wrote the underlying work, was a literary hoax:

Well, we’ll never really know, but I do think it was very unfair and unintelligent for critics to say a film of a story based on a hoax is pointless. Asia was inspired by the material as a work of fiction, the producers option the material as a work of fiction, it stands alone as a fictional story; what made it slightly more sympathetic and redemptive was the autobiographical reference. It’s still a film, a story which requires the viewer to go into discomfort zones, which I personally think is brave and exciting particularly in a world – specifically the U.S. – where we are spoiled with comfort and numb to pain.

That being said, there was a redemptive factor when it was supposedly based on a true story. For some, the story still is true in what it represents, so it doesn’t matter. It’s still prescient and courageous film making, which is what inspires me most.

She is also starting a company called BrightLab which will specialize in creating merchandizing opportunities for independents:

I think tasteful and stylish merchandise allows filmgoers and lovers of independent cinema ways to support material and stories that they love and relate to. I obviously feel very passionate about this. I aspire to create an additional revenue stream for filmmakers and distributors by creating sell-thru merchandise that goes along with a films’ marketing and promotional strategy. Eventually, BrightLab will be a distributor’s best friend, as proper merchandise only creates more visibility for a film and will prolong the life of a film.

For more on Bright, visit her website.