Weather getting you down? Then why not crack open a new episode of Indie Beat?
On this installment I spoke to filmmaker Jennifer Phang, the rising talent behind the indie sci-fi hit “Advantageous.”
After a number of shorts, Phang released her first feature film “Half-Life” in 2008. It centered around siblings dealing with both the absence of their father and a global catastrophe. The film had a healthy life, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and garnering numerous awards and platitudes along the way. You can digitally stream or purchase the movie here.
The director’s next project was a segment for the program “Futurestates” and that short eventually mutated into Phang’s second feature “Advantageous.” Set in a dystopian future, Jacqueline Kim plays a woman who gets let go from her job because her employers consider her too old for the position. A new, risky proposition comes upon her, and she must decide — in a world with very high unemployment — whether her identity or her daughter’s future are more important.
The film also debuted at the Sundance and was acquired by Netflix in 2015 (check it out here). Though it’s only been two years, it’s difficult to keep the fire of a film going with so many other options appearing to audiences almost daily. And yet “Advantageous” is still frequently talked about around the digital water cooler. Not a week goes by without some positive slew of tweets or an article containing some great enthusiasm for Phang as an up-and-coming filmmaker worth paying attention to.
As Phang prepares her new project, she is now also playing in the sandbox of television. Last year saw her helming episodes of “The Exorcist” (which was not a great show but Phang’s episode was undoubtedly the strongest of the bunch) and “Major Crimes” with more directing gigs on the way later this year.
So what else do you need to know? Smash that play button, friends! Jennifer and I spoke about the benefits of Netflix distribution, what it’s like directing television, and the roots of her sci-fi love.
