Interview With Leah McKendrick, The Creator of ‘M.F.A.’

Last October, the Weinstein scandal shook Hollywood, sparking the #MeToo movement and a wave of sexual assault survivors coming forward with their stories. Coincidently, a small indie film entitled M.F.A. (You can check out our review here) rocked the indie scene around this time after premiering at South by Southwest Film Festival, where it was nominated for 2 awards. This incredible story of vengeance saw the timely release date of October 13, 2017, adding to the conversation of sexual assault. PopHorror recently caught up with the creator behind M.F.A., Leah McKendrick, who saw this project from beginning to end. We had the pleasure of discussing her start in the industry, M.F.A. and an exciting project that is underway.

PopHorror: Hi, Leah! Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

Leah McKendrick: Of course!

PopHorror: So, to start, how did you become involved in the film industry, and is it something you have always wanted to do?

Leah McKendrick: Yes, I always knew that I wanted to work in film. There was never really a moment where I discovered that I wanted to become an actress or singer. I just always knew that I would end up in Hollywood doing show business. Originally, I use to sing and perform in musicals growing up in San Francisco. Eventually, I went to college for acting. But I was always focused on becoming a pop singer. I did quite a bit of showcasing, and I had been in and out of record labels since I was young. So, I was always really pursuing a record deal. But during my time in college, I directed, I wrote and I produced. I did all of this stuff in college that I never thought I would do for a living! I was just very experimental. After graduating college, I landed a record deal and relocated to the east coast to sing. It felt like all of my dreams were coming true! But then my label folded.

PopHorror: Oh, no!

Leah McKendrick: At that time, I didn’t really know what to do with myself. So, I started producing my own music videos, which lead to producing my first web series about sororities at war. From there, I realized that I could do much more than being a performer. I could also write and create roles for myself. So, I became involved with bigger and bigger projects along the way. This eventually led to making M.F.A.

PopHorror: That’s a crazy twist of fate! Has the thriller horror genre always been your genre of choice, or is it something that just happened?

Leah McKendrick: My favorite kinds of films to watch are horror. I love horror films. It’s what I grew up on! But as a filmmaker, it isn’t necessarily the only type of genre I like to explore. I tend to make a little bit of everything. Making a film isn’t an easy thing to do. So, for me, it’s always important to have something to say. If I’m going to fight to make a film, it is going to be because I have something I want to say. At this point in my career, I don’t see myself creating a film that is just meant to be funny or scary. For me, the types of films I create are rooted in some sort of social issue.

PopHorror: I think you did just that with M.F.A., which I’ve already seen twice!

Leah McKendrick: You watched it twice!? Thank you!

PopHorror: Of course! It’s a very well written, powerful film. It deals with some intense stuff! When did you begin writing the script?

Leah McKendrick: It was around 2014, and we shot the film in 2016. It took several drafts, the first of which was incredibly dark. I was very angry during that time. A former professor and mentor of mine was the one who suggested that I include a little bit of a Django Unchained element as levity to where it felt good when she kills the rapists.

PopHorror: I think you did an excellent job. What inspired the story?

Leah McKendrick: More than anything, it was seeing in the news what felt like the same story told over and over. News stories of college girls being raped, and the schools protecting their brand and letting these girls down or worse. In some instances, the victim ends up being bullied and ostracized. This whole thing is very upsetting, and I feel like not nearly enough is being done about these situations. And I feel like the first step in the right direction is awareness. So, if I can help to raise awareness from my small corner of the world, then I think I’ve done my job as a filmmaker.

PopHorror: That is very commendable! So, outside of writing the script and acting in the film, how much were you involved in the whole development process?

Leah McKendrick: M.F.A. is my baby. I produced the film with my production company, and I was there every step of the way. I fought for my director, I brought on the other producers, and I gathered the investors. I was there all the way to the last day of cutting the film and delivering it to South by Southwest! At some points, it felt like it would have been nice to have someone else take it over, but you can’t do that when you love something so much.

PopHorror: Oh, absolutely. It’s a lot of work, but if you want to see your vision come to life, you need to stick with it. Due to the nature of the film and the intensity of certain scenes, was casting difficult?

Leah McKendrick: Definitely. Noelle is a very tough, challenging role. It’s the type of role that requires so much from the actress as far as range and bravery. It requires a big commitment to the role and to the film because of the rape scene, nudity and violence. When you have a role like that, you don’t want to cast an actress who isn’t ready for it. You don’t want to put an actress in over her head. So, we felt very strongly that we couldn’t cast someone who was only half in or unsure in any way. We needed an actress who was ready to dive straight in and be one hundred percent committed. And Francesca was that actress.

PopHorror: Francesca really stepped up to the challenge. She was incredible! How did you come across her for the leading role?

Leah McKendrick: Our casting director, Arlie Day, sent my director, Natalia Leite, and I several reels and we debated for awhile about who we thought would be a good fit. I wasn’t familiar with Francesca’s work before I received her reel and headshots. Her photos were what really struck me. She has a very beautifully unique look. She also has this darkness and depth to her that I really liked. We were determined to find a great up and coming talent who was willing to dive straight in, and Francesca was the perfect fit.

PopHorror: I think you made a great choice! Other than the challenge of casting, what were some of the other biggest challenges in making M.F.A.?

Leah McKendrick: Scheduling was very difficult at times. Clifton Collins Jr. is a high in-demand actor and was booked on another job, so timing was very critical. There was little room for error, and we had to juggle a lot of things. We filmed at Chapman University, which was wonderful in allowing us to use their campus, and there were actual students going about their daily routines. So, we were trying to avoid disrupting campus life. We also had several things go wrong. A couple of cars were hit. The police showed up at one point to try and shut us down due to a complaint about too many trucks being parked along the street. Aside from all of that, I think that letting go of your original vision you initially had as the writer can be tough as well. It’s like they say: you make one film while you’re writing the script, you make another film while you’re shooting it, and you make a third film in the editing room. As a tiny indie film, there’s never enough time and there’s never enough money, which is pretty typical of any small production.

A more unique challenge for M.F.A. is that it isn’t easy to make a film about rape. In the filming process for this topic, it can really get in your head. It definitely got in mine. But I’m very proud of the finished film, and it makes me so happy that people are enjoying it, whether that be relating to the film on some level or having it really mean something to them. Receiving such great feedback makes me feel like it was all worth it!

PopHorror: Oh, absolutely. And it’s crazy that you refer to M.F.A. as a tiny indie film, because it appears to have the production quality of a studio film.

Leah McKendrick: That’s so nice! I’m so relieved that you feel that way because, when you’re on the other side, you see all the mistakes. It is so easy to be critical. But we are a very tiny indie film, and we scraped by all the way to the finish line. And it has been a nice reward to have people feel that it wasn’t as small as it was.

PopHorror: What was your favorite part about developing M.F.A.?

Leah McKendrick: To be very honest, it has been sharing the film and having it coincide with this great moment for women, for survivors of sexual assault and for female filmmakers. It’s so cool to have my film come out while people are really embracing this topic with the #MeToo movement.

PopHorror: Unless I’m mistaken, M.F.A. released soon after the #MeToo movement took off in Hollywood and gained national news.

Leah McKendrick: M.F.A. actually released the same week the Weinstein scandal hit.

PopHorror: The same week!? I knew it was close, but I didn’t know it was that close!

Leah McKendrick: It was the same week, and it was just so crazy. It was purely coincidental and everyone had this “whoa” reaction.

PopHorror: That is crazy timing, for sure. So, obviously the topic of M.F.A. is a real-life issue. We can’t go around seeking vigilante justice. You have a scene in the film where a group of college girls are brainstorming ideas about how to combat the issue of rape. There are several good ideas, but they’re still a bit passive. How might you suggest addressing this issue in real life?

Leah McKendrick: I wish I had the answers. But to me, what I stress so often, is what we can all do and I think it’s so important to talk less and listen more. It’s important to believe women and men who come forward as survivor of assault. To me, it would be a monumental shift if we could all just learn to believe someone who is strong enough to come forward. And it’s a hard one because it opens up the debate of proof and circumstance. It’s a very insidious issue because, in many cases, there is no proof. It can be very complex. I just wish that we lived in a world where a report of rape was taken very seriously and we believed the person strong enough to speak out. There are definitely systematic changes that need to happen. There needs to be a system in place for handling this issue. I think it’s important to empower a survivor by believing them rather than shaming them.

PopHorror: I agree. Change has to start somewhere and the first step is dialogue. And I think M.F.A. does bring needed awareness to the topic. So, do you have any upcoming projects that you would like to discuss?

Leah McKendrick: Yeah, actually. I have several exciting things that I am pursing. My next script that I’m deep into writing is a father daughter drama. It’s about complex relationships between fathers and their daughters and how this relationship changes through childhood through adolescence to adulthood. It centers on an MIT student who is a virologist when the zombie epidemic hits. Her father becomes infected and she houses him while searching for a cure. It’s kind of I Am Legend meets Arrival. I wanted to create something that shows a woman saving the world with her brain rather than fighting in spandex (laughs).

PopHorror: That sounds incredible. I hope to hear more about this in the future! Thank you, Leah, for taking the time to speak with me.

Leah McKendrick: Of course! It was great speaking with you.

If you have not checked out M.F.A., it isn’t too late! This must-see film is available on Amazon VOD as well as for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray. This is sure to be the beginning of a long career for Leah and we cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!