Celebrating Five Years of Tea Time
Filmmaker/polymath Matthew J. Kaplan released his hit short film, IT’S TIME FOR TEA, five years ago. This award winning short film has screened all around the world, including some of the USA’s most prestigious indie festivals like Raindance and the Big Apple Film Festival (not to mention Canada’s Foggy Isle Film Festival, arguably the highest honor of them all… IYKYN!). It also opened a ton of creative doors and lead to Matthew following his passion and writing and producing stage plays. To celebrate this film’s extraordinary festival run, watch the film for yourself, here!
On the red carpet at the Big Apple Film Festival!
This film beautifully balances a tragic plot with well-written dark humour. What draws you to dark comedy?
I think some of us are just wired that way, right? And it's attractive to a storyteller. There's more opportunity to find unique ideas within that darkness. It's vast and less explored. With It's Time For Tea, it was important to all of us that the dark humour in this film never overshadowed the tragedy of the story, and instead, allowed the viewer an opportunity to understand Rebecca's pain and struggles. But we still had a lot of fun along the way!
It’s Time for Tea takes place in one location, but it never feels constrained by it. Did you write the script the way you did because that is the space you had access to, or was it a happy accident?
A mold used to create one of the character’s masks.
I do try to be mindful of location, budget and logistics while writing - as long as it doesn't constrict the story I'm trying to tell. I'm happy that we were able to do so much in that one space, but that's all because of the amazing work of the crew and cast. A great thing about indie film is a team coming together to figure out how to get the most out of every possibility. As for the space itself, I figured we could find a house, and fortunately, my friends allowed us to use their home. I can never repay them enough.
Whether they realize it or not, filmmakers’ styles are impacted by regions they live in (historical influences, the landscapes/buildings you have access to film, motivations and attitudes by the people around them, etc.). How do you think living in New York has influenced you as a filmmaker?
Sometimes you’ve got to get creative when recording foley!
I think it's the people. New Yorkers are so expressive, our emotions burst out of us. And I've embraced this more in recent years and it has greatly served my playwriting. As far as landscapes and buildings, I'm lucky to have spent time on the beaches of Long Island, the mountains of the Hudson Valley and the delightful insanity of the city. I'm sure these different settings have all influenced my sense of space and vision.
To those that don’t know, you also direct theatre. How is directing for film different than directing a stage play?
Actually, I've never directed a play! In general, I think of myself as a storyteller first. Even with It's Time for Tea, I'm not sure I was a director in the traditional sense. I didn't go to film school, and I can hardly operate my iPhone. But I knew the story I wanted to tell and I found all the right people to help me tell it.
Oops, well that’s embarrassing! Okay, let’s try this again… When you are producing a play, do you find it odd not to have a monitor or a camera to look through?
I love sitting in the audience and feeling the vibe of the crowd. It's all right there - my actors performing my work in real time. It's surreal and it's wonderful.
Who are some of your favourite comedians?
I've always loved George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Steven Wright. There was a great comedy scene in Brooklyn, maybe fifteen years ago and you could regularly see performers like Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Kurt Braunohler, Reggie Watts and so many others. They all still lived locally. The comedy was often absurd yet grounded and approachable. I think I took a lot of inspiration from this scene at that time. They were all hilarious, but also so original and true to their own weirdness and sense of fun.
Do you have any darkly funny stories from your life you’d like to share?
Yes, but you'll have to wait until the next film...