Funny Women talk to Nina Conti about her quirky directorial debut ‘Sunlight’, A hilariously dark and unconventional love story, following two people on the edge of life who find purpose and romance through an unlikely connection, escaping the darkness in search of some sunlight.
What’s your film about and where can we see it?
Sunlight is a darkly comedic road trip romance set in New Mexico. It’s a love story between a derailed radio host and a woman who doesn’t want to come out of a monkey suit. No prizes for guessing who that is. It’s like a giant metaphor of my life. It’s in select cinemas from the 18th of October, and will be streaming from 28th November on Apple and Amazon.
How did you get into directing?
Shenoah Allen and I took years to create the chemistry and the story of these characters. It felt like a very unique atmosphere that we had come upon, so it was very important to me to direct it in order to preserve that. I knew that we could rely on ourselves to continue those performances into the film, and we had the wonderful, safe hands of DOP James Kwan to capture it all, but having final cut was not negotiable for me, and I knew that I would lose that if anyone else directed it. So in a way, I did it out of necessity, but I’m so grateful I had the gall to, and I learnt so much from doing that.
Tell us about your comedy style?
We improvised in my flat for days, weeks and eventually years. We got a kick out of surprising each other, throwing dysfunctional curveballs at each other and dealing with them. It’s dark in many ways, but delivered with a brightness and a good deal of love.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I was mostly inspired by the films Waves and Little Miss Sunshine. And in the process, I was very grateful to Christopher Guest for his faith in improvised scenes.
Who are your favourite Funny Women?
Maria Bamford, I truly love, her audiobook had me crying. Gina Yashere, I adore her book killed me too. I have one of the funniest women in the world, Sarah Kendall, as my best friend; it doesn’t get luckier than that. From her, I think I get the best texts ever written.
How does it feel to have Sunlight being released in the UK?
It feels like a bloody miracle, and I’m rapturous about it. Its such a mountain to climb to get a film our in the world. If I’d have known at the start of the process it was going to take 7 years I’d have lost my mind. It’s been running uphill in a monkey suit carrying a bathtub of dreams.
What do you love about comedy?
What I love is getting something out there from your deepest feelings into some kind of alchemised form. The thought of keeping it in makes me feel quite unstable.
SUNLIGHT is in UK cinemas from 17 October, you can find the full listings here.
“Plenty of laughs”
★★★★
“Conti manages the feat of being funny, emotionally astute
and kinda sexy throughout”
“Utterly hilarious!”
The People’s Movies
★★★★
“Darkly comedic and marvellously acted.”
Blu-ray.com
★★★★
