Diversity Rules Magazine

And yet as human beings, it is the essence of our spirit that allows us to hope. To open our eyes and rise; to work through our pain so that we may feel again, love, and carry on another day. We are not numb. Yes, we are all "incomplete" but in the very best possible way. JRK: Can you provide us with a brief synopsis of T11 Incomplete? SG: The movie is about Kate Murphy (Karen Sillas) who lost everything when she hit rock bo om. Now, ten years sober, middle-aged, and living alone with her elderly cat, Kate strives to rebuild her broken life and repair her damaged rela onship with her son Jack (Zachary Booth). Barely making ends meet as a visi ng home health aide, Kate marches quietly through her uneven ul days, un l she is assigned a young, beau ful, paraplegic pa ent named Laura (Kristen Renton). Bonded by their mutual suffering, the two women share an undeniable connec on and it isn't long before they fall deeply in love. But when Kate steals money to save her dying cat, she betrays Laura's trust and finds her fragile world sha ered once again. JRK: Can you talk about the cas ng for the film and how you selected folks to be part of the project? SG: For this film, T11 Incomplete, we made a con- scious effort to cast actors with apparent and non- apparent disabili es in front of the camera and be- hind the camera. We wanted collec vely for this film to have disability run through the fabric of the en re produc on not just in the story itself. So we cast an actress with Lupus and another actress with MS. We cast an actress who is a double amputee and two of our producers have a disability. We even chose a blind ki en! We have made a con nuous effort to stay true to the story we are telling in every possible way which includes cas ng actors who iden fy as part of our LGBTQ community as well. Not an easy task to be inclusive to the many communi es our film represents but it is our responsibility to try. My theory has always been, "if not me - a disabled, les- bian writer/director, then who? " It must start with me and by being inclusive, we are opening up the scope of this film to several communi es who seek honest representa on. JRK: The styling of the film is a bit different than most. Can you talk about that? SG: Aesthe cally, for the look of the film, we have made some bold choices that support the story in incredible ways. We begin our film in 16X9 aspect ra- o with Kate on the beach, present-day, looking out into the vast water full of possibility. Then we switch over to the 4X3 aspect ra o for the majority of the film. This smaller framing not only enhances the lonely, limited, and claustrophobic feel of Kate's world but it suggests that the story we are telling is perhaps from Kate's memory. Addi onally, everything in Kate's "world" is shot handheld with low, natural light, to emphasize her world that is colorless and empty; dark, gri y, and raw. In Laura's world, we have fluid movement most- ly on dolly's; we have color and light. Addi onally, we are shoo ng on vintage Super Baltar lenses which are giving us an "old", familiar feel and so ness that supports this very different love story. JRK: When will T11 Incomplete be released? SG: T11 Incomplete will be released in the US & Can- ada (by Gravatas Ventures) and in the UK (by Bohe- mia Media) in Early-Mid April 2021. JRK: You have made great strides in highlight- ing persons with disabili es in your films, and the struggles they endure. How can that be expanded in the film industry generally? T11 - Con't on page 6 Diversity Rules Magazine | Apr 2021 | 5

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