INDIE SPOTLIGHT: Interview with ‘Hannah Ha Ha’ Filmmakers Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewsky
Filmmaking duo Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewesky share with Script what went into further developing their short of the same name into a feature, working with actress Hannah Lee Thompson, creating and filming within budgetary constraints, the film’s aesthetic, and so much more.
A kind-hearted townie living with her aging father is pulled in different directions by her type-A older brother who returns closer to home and imposes his lifestyle choices on the family.
Hannah Ha Ha is the indie film you didn't know you needed to watch right now (this very instant if you can!). It's heartwarming, and charming, and includes a stellar cast featuring the talents of the title character Hannah Lee Thompson. The story is incredibly relatable and topical, dealing with seemingly big life choices and changes that most young adults don't want to make. And as a viewer, we get a glimpse inside that lifestyle and leave with a better understanding and respect for not only Hannah, but perhaps a young adult within your inner circle that is on a similar path as the titular character. Patience is a virtue.
I recently spoke with the filmmaking duo from New England behind this indie film that won the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Fiction and Acting Award, Jordan Tetewesky and Joshua Pikovsky. We discussed their collaboration process, developing their short of the same name into a feature, working with Hannah Thompson, creating and filming within budgetary constraints, the film's aesthetic (which may or may not have anything to do with the film Tenet), and so much more. Plus, they share some great insights for first-time filmmakers on how to fully embrace the indie filmmaking spirit.
This interview has been edited for content and clarity.
Sadie Dean: Was the short of the same name, always intended to be a proof of concept for the future? Or did this just kind of happen organically?
Jordan Tetewsky: Pretty organically. It was mostly a workflow thing. Josh had the idea for the short, but I would say they're relatively pretty unrelated in terms of concepts. I had wanted to work with Hannah [Lee Thompson] for a very long time and Josh had this little idea. Have you seen the short?
Sadie: I have not.
Jordan: It's a pretty different subject matter, though there is like this connectedness with economic depression going on there. It definitely has overlapping statements. But overall, it was mostly just sort of seeing the workflow. And then Josh and I were sort of spitballing a lot for what we wanted to make that summer. And we kind of landed on what became Hannah Ha Ha, and utilized again, Hannah as the lead. Josh, do you have anything to add to that?
Josh Pikovsky: We just made it for fun, because we wanted to make it and we had a really good time in the process and had a really good time working with Hannah. And it just felt like a good partnership for all of us. We wanted to make a feature that summer, and it felt like a really natural place to pick up where we left off.
Sadie: Obviously you did a lot more development work in terms of world-building and Hannah’s character, but for this feature, was there a North Star you were writing to?
Josh: I don't think so. I think there was just a kind of cohering around a sort of existential feeling that we wanted to sort of capture and feel very relatable. I'd say it just kind of felt like an instinctive, intuitive story to tell.
Sadie Dean: What was your creative collaboration like, especially with you both wearing multiple creative hats?
Jordan: I would say our writing process usually starts out with a lot of spitballing, and trying to work within our means. So, it was very much like coming to a place from the screenwriting standpoint of just figuring out what can we say with what we have. And how can we do it at a cost that I could afford? Josh, do you have anything to add to that?
Josh: I would say for every idea, there's probably a ratio of one to five false starts or ideas that sort of just fizzle out very quickly. I feel like they're sort of like a numbers game, sometimes you just get one, you get really lucky, and it just comes to you right away. But then a lot of the time, it is sort of a slog, and we'll just spend a lot of time trying out different ideas, some of them fail, some of them kind of half work, and then fail. And some of them, we cannibalize for whatever ends up being the thing that has the most ability to work. Would you agree with that, Jordan? One to five, probably, or one to 10?
Jordan: Go higher.
Josh: [laughs] Sometimes it's been higher. [laughs]
Jordan: We've gotten a lot better, I think. The ratio gets lower.
Sadie: Yeah, trial by error. With this film and writing to a budget, do you find creative liberation within those constraints?
Jordan: From a creative standpoint, I would say there are somewhat flexible caps. But with this one, and our next one, which we are sort of in the submission phase for, I think we figured out a kind of movie that we could make, that we could afford. And that was definitely a challenge getting there. We've had one short that is more expensive than Hannah Ha Ha as a feature, and I think it was just sort of looking at it in terms of long-term goals, trying to get into the features game. And in order to do that, it's just sort of looking at your surroundings and what you have access to. And so, a lot of the choices do come about as that and are still tricky situations that arise in order to meet those numbers.
Josh: I'll just say personally, it’s super cliche to talk about restrictions being good for creativity. I personally love having a lot of restrictions. [laughs] I really like the box it forces you into and some of the things I've been most inspired by are things that were made with crazy restrictions and limitations. I get really inspired by things where people really had to force themselves to come up with something really interesting and worthwhile and thoughtful with very little at hand. And, I mean, it's like two ends of the spectrum where sometimes you can be astonished by someone's mastery of direction at scale, but I also think working with the limitations, I personally have really enjoyed writing and thinking with that in mind.
Sadie: Yeah, there's something about working on your toes rather than just sitting on it for like three months and reworking it over and over again.
Josh: Yeah, and I'm a very, and I think Jordan can probably relate to it too, I feel like I can be very indecisive and anxious about decisions. And I think it's very nice, sometimes, creatively, if you don't really have to make certain decisions, because certain things are decided for you. And that sort of frees up your mind to focus.
Jordan: I also think there is this other thing where it's like, you get better at working those restrictions. And even from one on to the next, I do feel like there was an improvement in our workflow and being able to do more within those restrictions on the technical side of things, especially.
Sadie: Now jumping into this character that is Hannah and casting Hannah Thompson, who is just phenomenal, she just carries this film so effortlessly. How much did she further inform her character’s voice and development?
Jordan: There was definitely a lot of consideration for what is the kind of thing she's going to say in these situations. She also just exudes such warmth and presence. I've liked her for 10 years, having seen her perform on the stage, and having this relationship with her where I was filming her all the time and wanting to use her in that way. I'd say in the rehearsal process, there was a lot of back and forth on certain story beats where she would voice things that she would kind of do differently.
Josh: I think part of our strategy with writing for people we know oftentimes is sometimes we write exactly for the person for them to be themselves. But a lot of the time we take certain qualities the person has, and either exaggerate them or sort of riff off of those instead of other qualities. And I think for Hannah, this character is not Hannah in real life. And I think it was kind of interesting for Hannah, and for us working with Hannah to push against some of her own natural inclinations, because part of the character is Hannah. But I think there were times where real Hannah was sort of, like ‘I would react differently. And I would probably would put up more of a fight here,’ or something like that. And we kind of had to work through it with her to sort of figure out like, what would the character do versus what would she do? And what's best for the story?
Sadie: There is something very timely about this story, especially about this younger generation, in that they're kind of just letting life happen around them. And they seem pretty happy and content, but they're not really challenging their own potential or what society deems what is her potential. What were you tapping into from your own lives that informed this story?
Jordan: I would say that there is something, you said it, that people are happy and content, which I think is we wanted to sort of talk about a character like Hannah, who a lot of people would judge in her lifestyle choices that she should be doing XYZ with her life when she is feeling that she's in a good spot where she has a pretty healthy balance between work, family, and friends. But isn't doing what, for example, her brother sees her as this sort of person that could be accessing a level of security that he has access to, but she kind of knows that is not how she wants to live her life. So, she's being pushed and pulled in all these different directions by other forces at play. And I think she's getting kind of confused and slowly realizing throughout the film that she already was on the path that she wanted in terms of her life. I'll pop to you, Josh.
Josh: Yeah, I think the film just kind of poses a question, which is, why does someone who is a very caring, kind, loving, warm person, who is hardworking and does want to contribute to their community, why is this person unable to make ends meet? And why are they unable to sustain themselves in this economy? And I would say, we didn't really go into it thinking, ‘Oh, we're gonna write a story with this question.’ In writing a story about people our age going through things we've gone through, and people we know have gone through, it just kind of naturally emerged, because I do think it is one of the questions that needs to get answered soon.
Sadie: Right, it’s incredibly relatable. And without giving away too much, but that last scene of the film – you’re able to say so much within that silence. It was a great way to convey that information. And it works stylistically with how the film looks tonally. I'm so curious, what did you guys shoot on?
Jordan: Yeah. We have a contact with Chris Nolan. We got the short ends from rejected stock for Tenet, which is why it looks very similar.
[ALL LAUGH]
Sadie: Oh, now I see it. It’s totally spot on. Because of the budget limitations, was this shot on a digital camera you already owned?
Jordan: It was our digital camera. Damn, we got caught. It was a Sony FX6. Do you like the look or not really?
Sadie: I do, and I think it definitely works for the tone of the story. I mean, it's not Christopher Nolan, shot on thirty IMAX cameras.
Josh: What did you say?! It's not Nolan?! [laughs]
Sadie: [laughs] It works! It especially lends to the intimacy of this film and how quiet the story is.
Jordan: I love that it gives this sort of pastel tone to the film. I like the way things just blend into each other. Josh, do you still like the look of the movie?
Josh: [laughs] Yeah, I still like the look. The look is very controversial. I still very much like the look of the movie Jordan. You did a fine job, my friend.
Jordan: I stand by it.
Sadie: As you should. It’s always fun seeing the true indie spirit through indie films, like this film. You use what you can at your disposal to make the best movie for the story at hand.
Jordan: I think we really appreciate that because that's very much like our sentiment is make a movie with - Josh this is gonna sound cheesy - but a lot of love and heart.
Josh: All right, strike that from the record. [laughs] Also, in terms of limitations most of it was with pantyhose but there's a few shots where the pantyhose we lost it or we didn't have it on hand, right Jordan? So, we had to use plastic from a lot of firewood that we used for the bonfire scene. So, my car was just absolutely trashed, and we had a lot of plastic bags from the firewood and stuff and I think we like ripped a piece off and put it over the lens for a scene.
Sadie: The beauty of indie filmmaking! What do you hope audiences take away from this film after they watch it?
Jordan: Just that they go home and watch Tenet and experience it. That will make our day.
[ALL LAUGH]
Jordan: I just hope that it resonates.
Josh: And yeah, I feel like if it just makes people feel something, I guess it's a really cliched and unoriginal answer, but I feel like I anytime I hear that, anytime we get some feedback that it meant something to someone or someone watched and felt like they were the Hannah in their relationships with friends or family and they felt a little more validated by it or kind of heard or recognized by it, that just means so much to us. Right, Jordan, would you agree?
Jordan: It feels good to know that people feel heard and agree with the sentiments of the movie. That says a lot to us that it's even gotten to this point, where it's getting released for a week in New York and in LA. And so, we're hoping for more from that, too.
Hannah Ha Ha will be released on the following February 2023 dates at the following theatres in Los Angeles and New York City:
LA
AMC Americana at the Brand (2/10 – 2/16)
Alamo Downtown LA (2/13 – 2/15)
NYC
AMC Empire 25 (2/10 – 2/16) (Q&A 2/10 and 2/11)
Alamo Lower Manhattan (2/13 – 2/15) (Q&A 2/14)
The film will also be streaming on Fandor on March 21, 2023.
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Sadie Dean is the Editor of Script Magazine and writes the screenwriting column, Take Two, for Writer’s Digest print magazine. She is also the co-host of the Reckless Creatives podcast. Sadie is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, and received her Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting from The American Film Institute. She has been serving the screenwriting community for nearly a decade by providing resources, contests, consulting, events, and education for writers across the globe. Sadie is an accomplished writer herself, in which she has been optioned, written on spec, and has had her work produced. Additionally, she was a 2nd rounder in the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and has been nominated for The Humanitas Prize for a TV spec with her writing partner. Sadie has also served as a Script Supervisor on projects for WB, TBS and AwesomenessTV, as well as many independent productions. She has also produced music videos, short films and a feature documentary. Sadie is also a proud member of Women in Film.
Follow Sadie and her musings on Twitter @SadieKDean
