How YDA Gold winner Fiona Obertinca brought lost queer history to the screen

What led up to you making this film?

The idea for this film came from my long term creative collaborator, the screenwriter Corey Pinchoff. I was seeking ideas for my thesis film at the American Film Institute Conservatory when Corey showed me the first 40 pages of the feature version of Dandelion.

When we meet Margaret, she’s like a poorly contained fire — explosive, untrusting, capable of destruction.

I knew immediately I had to tell this story. Not only because of the incredible true history that inspired it, but because it had all the ingredients of a great story; heart, humour and a hopefulness that I think the world really needs right now and that I often try to infuse into my films.

Tell me about the process of researching the work of the Youth Advocates and similar organisations supporting queer youth.

There is very little known about the work of the Youth Advocates [an organisation in the US that placed queer teens into queer-friendly foster homes]. Partially due to the underground nature of their operations but also due to the intentional burying of queer history in America.

Margaret starts out as rock ‘n’ roll and ends up folksy.

Thanks to an article in The New Yorker by Michael Waters, we were able to learn about their work through one of the people who was placed by them in the early 70s in Seattle. We are doing lots of research for the feature but for the short we focused mainly on staying emotionally truthful to their experience because it is ultimately a fictional take on the events.

The film has a subtly different tone in the beginning, almost punky and irreverent then becomes more heartfelt. What did you want to convey in making it.

That’s the journey of our protagonist, Margaret. I really wanted the tone of the film to reflect her interiority as much as possible. When we meet Margaret, she’s like a poorly contained fire — explosive, untrusting, capable of destruction.

Every location, prop, every piece of wallpaper and even the sink in the bathroom was carefully chosen and had a story behind it.

But as the story goes along and she meets Joyce, her walls come down and we get to see that soft and vulnerable centre that she’s protecting. When discussing with all the department heads, especially with my amazing composer Emily Rice, I was really just expressing that — Margaret starts out as rock ‘n’ roll and ends up folksy. It sounds silly but I think it’s appropriate for the film.

Above: The crew capture the rebellious run of Margaret (played by Ava Lalezarzadeh).

The film features very moving performances from the two leads, can you share something about the casting.

My favourite thing about this film are the performances from Ava Lalezarzadeh who plays Margaret and Vic Michaelis who plays Joyce. Ava was cast the moment I laid eyes on her tape. She has a wonderful ability to be strong and vulnerable at the same time. It’s impossible to look away from her.

We found a way to combine a vintage lens look with grain and dust, which gives the image a slight vignette.

And Vic was someone Corey had known for their work on Dropout’s [mock talk show series] Very Important People, and we fell in love with their earnestness, how genuinely funny they are and the way their eyes are able to express so much emotion. Together the two of them are dynamic and authentic and just fun!

Above: The film's poster sets the retro scene. 

The film captures the 1970s feel very well, can you tell me about the styling?

The 70s look was created by my brilliant Production Designer Ana Visuetti. Ana knew the characters inside and out and designed each space with the intention of not only staying true to the time but also to the characters. Every location, prop, every piece of wallpaper and even the sink in the bathroom was carefully chosen and had a story behind it. Additionally, my Cinematographer Bruce Wang and I spent a lot of time thinking about ways we could texturise the image to resemble celluloid which was used to capture moving images in those days.  

It means so much to me that the world might get to learn about this beautiful piece of lost history.

Together with our amazing Colourist Walter Volpatto, we found a way to combine a vintage lens look with grain and dust, which gives the image a slight vignette, some movement and warmth. The overarching idea was for it all to move toward the warmth and light, as Margaret gets closer and closer to finding home.