Indy Film Fest: Jennifer Reeder

For show times and tickets to "Signature Move," please click here.

Hoosier director Jennifer Reeder talked with Christopher Lloyd of The Film Yap about her new feature film, "Signature Move," playing at Indy Film Fest.

Tell us about the journey of making “Signature Move” — how you came to the project, what the shared vision was, finding the right cast, and shooting?

First of all, know that if and when Fawzia Mirza asks you to be involved with a project, you abide immediately and with everything you have to offer. The producers of "Signature Move" were looking for a Chicagoland- (which includes Northwest Indiana) based female director, which I am. This is the first film that I have directed but did not write. And so although at first I was not sure that I was the right person to direct it, I knew that I did not want anyone else to! This is an extremely important and timely story, and I am deeply honored to have helped tell it.

This is essentially Fawzia’s own story so she, as a Pakistani Muslim Lesbian comes with essential authenticity. Plus we cast the additional roles with equal authenticity, which seems rare in so many other larger-budget features. I am an intersectional feminist, which I bring to my filmmaking. I listen and listen and ask and ask and keep listening. Art can save lives. I know this, and all humans need validation, which can come in form of representation at the very least. This is a film filled with women of color — they carry this story and own it. Having said all that, this film is also deeply relatable. It’s a tender and touching love story and family drama. The most radical aspect is that it totally normalizes images of American Muslims and presents the most true image of the contemporary American family.

If there’s one thing audiences take away from this movie, what do you hope it is?

I want audiences to take away a very clear sense of humanity and the need to preserve it! This film is a comedy and very relatable. I want people to understand all humans need love and acceptance and validation, and so if you are not part of that solution, you are certainly part of the problem.

Can you tell us about your background as a Hoosier living near Hammond, Ind.? Did you grow up or go to school in Indiana?

I moved to Indiana 11 years ago. I have received funds for projects from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Efroymson Family fund. I have shot films in Indiana and also screened them here. I try to stay involved in the creative communities of Indiana as much as possible.

What challenges are there to being a woman director who lives in Indiana?

I wonder, of course, if there are others...I feel a bit like a unicorn out here. It's not just that I am a woman, of course. It's also that the films I make are about people and situations that might seem at times antithetical to Indiana's general agenda. I am a unicorn swimming uphill both ways in the snow, but I am still going with no signs of slowing.