It was a parking lot scene that they did, and I forgot we were even in the audition. I felt like I was watching the movie of my dreams, and that’s when I basically knew. I think they did such a wonderful job supporting each other; they were very demanding roles to take on. This is Maya’s first film and I’m just so proud of what they were able to accomplish. On a movie like this, where you have 23 days and you have 10 minutes to shoot a really emotional scene, it’s not easy to do what they were able to pull off.
This film conjures such a vivid sense of place. What was on your mental—or physical—mood board to make the audience feel like they were in rural Oregon circa 2006?
When I fell in love with my Sonya, it was 2006, so a lot of 2006 references were in my brain; my bedroom, my crushes, all these things. When I would build my pitch deks and mood boards, it was so hard to find references, and it was a constant reminder throughout the 10-year journey of how important this film was, because I couldn’t find two POC girls falling in love. I was inspired by Place Beyond the Pines—I love that film, I love the nature, I love the grand feeling and the negative space. I love Carol, and I think they did such a great job with that film. It wasn’t necessarily hopeful, but it definitely felt authentic. I also think Close was a really great and well-done film. As a director, you’re just trying to put the pieces together to be able to say, Okay, this is what this world is going to be, and obviously, there’s only so much you can control. Once you get on set, you have to be really good at communication, teamwork, making sure the heads of department understand what we’re trying to achieve.
How are you celebrating Pride as a queer first-time director?
I mean, it’s Girls Like Girls summer. [Laughs.] I’ve waited 10 years for this moment. I hope I can bring this film to so many other territories and places around the world. All of us deserve to feel seen and represented on the big screen and to be able to buy tickets and see a film with our community, so my goal beyond the release is to be able to [create] more accessibility for representation like this. I love directing. I feel like I finally found a thing that I want to do forever, while also writing music for those projects. I want to create hopeful queer content and be able to list 10 movies off the top of my head that I felt super-seen by in a theater.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.