Interview with A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Director Ana Lily Amirpour
Filmmaker: Why this movie? Why did you decide to do it?
Amirpour: Because I’m lonely, romantic, and love to dance.
Filmmaker: How much of your crew was female? Was hiring women a consideration for you?
Amirpour: Just our costume and makeup departments. The rest were a glorious and talented group of boys.
Filmmaker: How did you go about raising funding for it? (I ask this because most female filmmakers says that being female makes it harder to raise funds, so thought your story could be inspiring — I know this topic can be touchy feely, so answer it in the way that you are most comfortable with.
Amirpour: The money? I pole danced for many years to save up for this one.
Filmmaker: Do you think a male director might have handled the making of this film differently? How did being a female filmmaker effect how this film got made do you think?
Amirpour: I think any director; male, female, black, white, Catholic, Mormon, would have made it differently. We are all different.
Filmmaker: Of the big blockbuster movies out there, which do you wish you had directed?
Amirpour: To tell you the truth, I don’t think about what I could have done. I think about what I’m going to do next.
Filmmaker: What’s next?
Amirpour: A cannibal love story set in a post apocalyptic wasteland in Texas.
Filmmaker: Considering this will be released at Sundance: A) What do you hope to gain from being at the festival? and B) Who would be your dream person to meet while there?
Amirpour: A) A bunch of awesome and inspiring new friends. B) I want to meet David Lynch, but I heard Lena Dunham might be there and I’d love to dance with her.
Filmmaker: What is a question I should have asked but didn’t that you think is relevant to this film?
Amirpour: Which five directors have influenced you the most? David Lynch, Lars von Trier, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Soderbergh, Tarantino.