Poppy Gordon Follow Up: For Your Consideration A Year Later
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
It’s been a year since we last spoke with filmmaker Poppy Gordon (you can find our interview with her here), and we’re ecstatic that her short film For Your Consideration has made quite a few waves. Critics and audiences have noticed how boldly vicious its commentary on film industries and award show academies is. In a small amount of time, we see the hearts and dreams of the naive get broken, a hilarious look at the problematic concerns of higher ups, and an end result of a film that may be considered “deep” (but is actually just a series of elements pieced together to win some Oscars). We love the short here at Films Fatale, and are so pleased to see this same response is popping up in numerous places.
Gordon has had a lot of developments since. We interviewed the film’s star Samantha Robinson. COVID-19 hit the entire world. For Your Consideration was released to many audiences. Then, there’s Poppy Gordon and her latest chapters as a filmmaker (you can read more on that below!). We had the honour of being able to check in with her to see how she’s doing. It’s always a pleasure to talk with Poppy Gordon, and we hope to be able to do so again in the near future. You can check out her official website, and the official pages for Feral NYC and For Your Consideration at these links. You can watch For Your Consideration in full here. We thank Poppy Gordon for her time.
Films Fatale: Congratulations on the success of For Your Consideration! How much has changed since we last talked?
Poppy Gordon: When we last spoke, COVID-19 had just started. I literally attended the premier at Cinequest (or at least tried to), and, as the plane touched down in San Francisco, I checked my phone and was notified that the festival was in the process of shutting down. I wish I could have seen the way in which a live audience was reacting to the film, and also meet other creators. But, on the positive side, For Your Consideration got into so many wonderful festivals, which wasn’t really expected; lots of public reviews and some amazing press coverage. The reviews were especially meaningful to me as it was a way to dialogue and have a back and forth.
FF: How strange has it been seeing For Your Consideration succeed during the pandemic? Has it made the release and promotional pushes for the short difficult? How have you succeeded?
PG: The one short coming has been that I’ve largely had to navigate the release and promotional pushes myself, versus being able to meet other film makers and sharing learnings with one another. But even without festivals, I’ve been lucky in that a few film makers reached out and we did some coffee zooms together during the harder months of the pandemic and shared insights. That ended up being so important. I think I succeeded more than I imagined I would succeed, but I think the jury is still out on if and how I’ve been able to grow as a film maker through this experience.
FF: Given the awards season revelations, especially relating to the Golden Globes, can you speak on For Your Consideration's relevance that is clearer now more than ever?
PG: Yes, I almost have no comment here, because it’s just too poignant. It kind of just says it all doesn’t it? Sadly it continues to be all too relevant…
FF: What upcoming projects are you working on? Are you able to share anything?
PG: I have a feature that I’m developing and numerous ideas I would love to work on that – so I would say a lot in development, but nothing that I’m ready to talk about quite yet. Hopefully soon. You’ll be first to hear about it though.
FF: What movies/shows have you discovered during lock down? Anything you'd like to recommend? Doesn't have to be recent.
PG: Like many others, I was glued to the news mostly for the election. Reality had become so surreal by that point. And for pleasure watching - I was really into tv series during lockdown. I loved re-watching Fosse/ Verdon. Also FEUD: Bette and Joan. And the Dirty John series is incredible – both seasons. I have some more serious watching to catch up on now. Let me know if you have any recommendations for me.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.