Stray Dolls: I AM Sonejuhi Sinha
Samrat Chakrabarti, Olivia DeJonge, and in Stray Dolls (2019) - Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
Interview by Grace Neave
At the beginning of her career, Sonejuhi Sinha was a successful New York editor, who later expanded into writing and directing—after working with acclaimed directors; Spike Jonze and Harmony Korine.
Her break-out short film Love Comes Later premiered at the Cannes film festival and was one of ten short films that competed for the 2015 Cannes Semaine De La Critique. Later, Sinha was selected for talent discovery platform Shoot New Directors Showcase and participated in Tribeca Film Festival’s Through Her Lens program, where she was mentored by Dee Rees, Catherine Hardwicke and Rashida Jones.
In 2019, Sinha’s debut feature Stray Dolls premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Set in the same universe as Love Comes Later, the crime drama follows the story of an unlikely pair; a recent immigrant, Riz, and an American runaway, Dallas; forced to turn to crime in order to survive in the underbelly of upstate New York—in pursuit of the American dream.
Stray Dolls, which stars Cynthia Nixon, Olivia Dejonge, Rob Aramayo and Geetanjali Thapa was listed in Filmmaker Magazine's most anticipated films of 2019.
Stray Dolls OFFICIAL TRAILER (2020) - Courtesy Samuel Goldwyn Films
Sinha took time out to discuss and look back on her successful career as an editor and filmmaker with I AM FILM—sharing how she got her big break and her upcoming projects.
You got your start in the film industry at Final Cut, as an Editor. What led to your decision to pursue writing and directing?
SS: I went to college to be a writer. I came out of college wanting to tell my own stories, but really, I saw no path to writing and directing right out of college. I had always loved the art of editing, as I think it goes hand-in-hand with writing, crafting a narrative, a story, and a character arc.
I became an assistant editor which led to a full-on editor position. It was like film school for me because I got to work with some great directors, like Spike Jonze and Harmony Korine—editing their work. I got to sit across from directors as they thought about story and character and worked with them to shape that.
So, the nuts and bolts of how to tell a story — I learned as an editor. After becoming a successful editor in New York, years later, as I was finishing two feature documentaries, I thought to myself, "What happened to all of the stories that I went to college wanting to tell? Now that I have the tools to tell that story, I should really give that a shot.”
Can you tell me about the personal experiences which inspired your films Love Comes Later and Stray Dolls?
love comes later OFFICIAL TRAILER 2019 - Courtesy of the artist
SS: I grew up in India until I was 13 and then my entire family moved to America. Those first few years were hard as an immigrant family. I know that experience first-hand, and I knew that I wanted to tell a story about that.
However, I have seen stories of the immigrant experience in media and in film and I felt that, quite often, they're reduced to a really one-dimensional character and a one-dimensional story. It's either just purely a story of survival or on the other hand, they're vilified in the media.
So, I thought that there was a lack of stories in the middle, in this grey area where they're complex and flawed human beings. They're messy, they experience love, they experience desperation. Of course, they are trying to survive, but they also experience this entire spectrum of the human emotional wheel.
I wanted to create this character that was flawed, that made mistakes, who we rooted for, but at the same time, perhaps not identified with all the time. I also wanted to play with some genre elements and really push the story into a new form.
Who are your influences?
Some of my influences were Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Claude Chabrol's La Cérémonie. I wanted to play with a subversive character who also happened to be an immigrant. I wanted to present a character we had never seen before and showcase it in a way where the audience would experience something new.
There's been a long history of controversies surrounding attitudes towards immigration. What was important for you to showcase differently?
SS: There are some archaic stereotypes that have formed around immigrants and the immigrant experience. And I think it was important for Stray Dolls to shatter those stereotypes and create a new path.
I think white male characters have had the range to inhabit all kinds of roles, both flawed and heroic, and women, especially women of colour, are given this small box to fit into.
I wanted to shatter that box and create this character that felt fresh and new, and flawed and messy, and made mistakes and committed crimes, but we were still on a journey with her. And we were willing to go to hell and back for her.
It goes back to representation and perspective, and who is telling the story—who gets to tell the story. And whether that perspective is that of someone from the outside. I knew I wanted to tell this story from the inside out.
In today's political climate, especially amongst the younger generation, there is a demand for honest representations of women. How do approach this?
SS: The truest I can be to this perspective is really because of who I am. I'm a woman of colour, I've experienced a lot of these issues and what I try to do is just be honest about bringing my experience into the work.
But also, I look at it as an artist as well, because I think art is about pushing boundaries. It is about shattering stereotypes and challenging the way that the audience in the past has seen people like us and pushing their perspective into new territories.
And so, looking at; what have we seen before? And how can we create a new language around this or create a new discourse around this or challenge people into really experiencing it in a new way? I think it's also about, as an artist, really pushing an audience out of their comfort zone.
“I think people are comfortable with a certain kind of immigrant story, but what if it’s more than that? What if this character challenges us to question our own morality, despite our background?”
The film and the arts have historically been heavily whitewashed in male-dominated industries. What obstacles have you personally faced as a female filmmaker of colour?
SS: I think it's just starting to change because of so much talk in the industry and this movement towards equality in front of and behind the screen.
Geena Davis’ Institute for gender balance and equality has exposed decades of gender and racial discrimination in the film industry and I think all of these conversations are definitely reverberating in our zeitgeist. Everybody is talking about it, but to really fix equality, it has to be a conscious decision to create equality.
We all have a role to create that together. Every time we put a crew together we need to really examine whether enough women are being hired behind the camera and in front, and try to create this 50/50 balance. It's a complex issue that is just starting to unravel, but I think we are starting to see some change and I am optimistic.
It's a really exciting time to see these new perspectives because art is all about perspective. We need to be giving voices to the people who haven't had their voice be centre stage as of yet. It was exciting to make Stray Dolls and have it premiere at one of the top festivals around the world.
We're going to have a theatrical premiere, so a subversive film like this about women of colour, queer women, who are challenging stereotypes — it is exciting to get this out to a wide audience.
What advice would you give to other aspiring filmmakers?
SS: I would just say to believe in yourself. The industry is full of setbacks and rejections. And I think for women and women of colour whose voices are not in the mainstream, those setbacks initially are pretty enduring and test your confidence constantly. I would suggest to keep going, to seek out mentors and keep moving forward even if it is in small increments. I think if you have a voice and you have a story to tell, it's important to stay committed to that.
What are you working on next?
SS: I'm working on a series idea that's based on the world of Stray Dolls and picks up some of the flawed and complex, confounding characters and takes it into a series show format, which I'm really excited about. I am writing another feature with a subversive American icon from the '70s.
I'm also just excited to expand my tool kit as a director, push myself into new stylistic territories and really expand my style. And I'm really excited about putting a lot of stuff out there that has my mark as a storyteller and as an artist, that reaches a bigger audience.
Stray Dolls is being released theatrically in the USA on April 10 by Samuel Goldwyn Films. You can follow Sonejuhi Sinha on Instagram and Facebook.
about the filmmaker
Sonejuhi Sinha
Writer, Director, Editor
Sonejuhi grew up in Northern India until the age of thirteen. She has edited several commercials for high profile campaigns such as Keep a Child Alive and Stand Your Ground, which garnered recognition from ADcritic, Creativity, and Huffington Post and won Gold Lions at Cannes. Sinha has worked alongside acclaimed directors such as Harmony Korine and Spike Jonze. She produced and edited These Birds Walk and Homegoings, two award-winning documentary feature films that played at several festivals, including SXSW, Full Frame and True/False, and garnered several international awards. Sinha’s directing career began with a narrative short film, Love Comes Later, which was one of ten short films accepted to the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. She was selected for the prestigious Shoot New Director’s Showcase in New York and participated in Tribeca Film Institute’s prestigious Through Her Lens program where she was mentored by Dee Rees, Catherine Hardwicke and Rashida Jones, among others. She is the recipient of the Jerome Foundation development grant and TFI’s IWC award for her feature Stray Dolls, which recently premiered at the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL in US COMPETITION, winning a SPECIAL JURY MENTION FOR LEAD PERFORMANCE. Sonejuhi is one of INDIEWIRE’S 25 RISING FILMMAKERS TO KNOW IN 2019.