Sometimes the most meaningful interactions can take place in the unlikeliest of locations. Consider the central relationship in George Ellzey Jr.’s riveting short film, “Cottage Grove,” between a young man, Emmanuel (Patrick Agata), and his father, Senior (Sean Blake), who has suffered a stroke. The film’s action takes place primarily in the parking lot of a store, as the father and son start to forge a much-needed connection.
Cinema Femme had the pleasure of speaking with four extraordinary women who had key roles on the production: actor Danyelle Monson and producers Kat Blade, Jordan Rivers and Cara Winter.
How were you introduced to this project, and what attracted you to it?
Kat Blade (KB): George’s mother was a friend of mine. She knew that I was entering into the film world and told me her son was in the film industry. She said that she’d love for us to meet, and I found that I had an instant connection with George. We shared a lot of similar views on life and on film. The experience of making “Cottage Grove” was “magic.” It’s a phrase a lot of us used during the making of this film: during the writing process, the table read, and then leading up to the production.
As the pieces were coming together, we felt that a story was being told that every person could connect to. We’ve all had issues with people who are close to us in our life, whether it’s been with a family member, a friend or a coworker. You can connect with this film through the experience of having disappointments in a particular type of relationship, and being able to say, ‘You know what? This relationship may not be the fantasy that I want it to be. And that’s okay.’ I distinctly remember after the table read, there was a young lady there who sat and talked to me for around two and a half hours afterward the table read about her relationship with her mother. This shows you the impact that the film has already had, and will have as it is seen by more and more people. It shows you how much this story resonates with people. I know that this film will continue to touch lives. George is an amazing filmmaker. He’s our fearless leader who just has it.
Jordan Rivers (JR): I met George because we were both students at DePaul University in the School of Cinematic Arts. We were talking one day about how I never had the opportunity to work with him, since we were always working on different projects. One day, he sat down next to me and gave me a script. I read it, and said, “Oh, this is so beautiful,” and it wasn’t even for “Cottage Grove.” This was a different script, and he said, “Okay, you’re producing it.” So we did that production together, and afterward, he said, “I want to work with you forever.” I replied, “Same here.”
When “Cottage Grove” came about, I read it, and felt that its story was so universal. Touching on what Kat said, I know so many people, including myself, who have estranged relationships with their parents. That really resonated with me. Showing fantasies on screen of what we wish these relationships would have been, could have been, or should have been, is George’s calling card. My father actually passed before we could sit and have a conversation like the one that takes place in the parking lot in this film. I just feel like this film would definitely touch the hearts of everyone who watches it. Anyone who’s ever had an issue with a loved one, be it a parent, sibling or friend could relate to it. Sometimes you just want that moment where you can tell that person, “I’m sorry.” Sometimes that’s all people need just to be able to heal and move forward, and I believe that’s what “Cottage Grove” does. It points people in that direction of healing.
Cara Winter (CW): I had already been working with George on a couple other projects before we started making “Cottage Grove.” We met while doing some theatre together and then we made a couple of short films together. At that point, we both realized that we didn’t really know what we were doing yet as filmmakers, and maybe one of us should go back to school. So he went and got his MFA at DePaul. When I read the first draft of the script, I was like, “Don’t touch anything.” Maybe there were two or three rounds where we’d make suggestions like, “Take this up, take this down.” But it was really well thought-out from the beginning. I knew right away this story connected universally, and from that point on, I was like, “Whatever you need.” I think that’s what a good producer does is ask things like, “What resources do you need?” All of us here pitched in to the greatest extent just in pursuit of making that story come to life.
Danyelle Monson (DM): My process is a little bit different because I am one of the only actors here. Basically, this film came across my desk through my agent. It was right before I switched agencies when I got the audition posting. I was told that the casting director David O’Connor wanted to see me for this film, and I was like, ‘Okay, cool.’ I read the script, and though I didn’t quite understand the affliction that the dad had, I did key into the relationship between the men and the role of Talia hat I was auditioning for. She is a tired single mom who is with her son and her son’s father. They’ve just spent the day together and they’re trying to catch the bus. And I feel like I’m not being heard. That something that could very easily relate to and was able to personalize. So I went in for the audition, and as they say, the rest is history.
Was there something you learned about yourself during the making of this film that you plan on taking with you into future projects?
KB: George is really known for being heavy on the pre-production part of making a film. And when I say pre-production, I’m not only talking about the technical aspects of making sure that we have the equipment and locations that we need, but also building community, trust and relationships with the team as a whole. When we came to the set on day one, that was translated. It was like all the pieces came together automatically. There weren’t hundreds of takes for each scene. We came on set and were a family already prior to shooting. The connection between the actors was already there. It was just effortless because there was a lot of preparation.
I am the only one in this process who does not have a film background. I had zero film work experience before I entered this arena at age 50. My education was trial by fire and I felt very honored that George would allow me to be a part of his dream. I was able to tap into my studies in mental health, which was helpful considering the emotions and social issues that this film explores. I would check in with George, because I knew this story was very personal to him, as well as the cast and crew to make sure they were okay. A lot of us were coming on set with similar experiences. As Jordan said, she wasn’t able to have that moment with her father.
There was a space available on set where we had a massage pad. People could go there and take a moment to be calm and relax. I’m a pretty laid-back person, and really surprised myself by how I was able to wear various hats. I have never done that before. Having my eagle eyes on to see what was really going on emotionally with the cast and crew really developed my skill set to be more detail-oriented and to be open to learning. I’m a grandmother from rural Indiana, and being able to just sit at the feet of these young people and learn from them was such a humbling and amazing experience.
JR: I try to hide my emotions. But by working with George, he somehow is able to help you let it out. At the same time, watching him as a Black man expose himself to so many people in such a beautiful and intimate way is inspiring. We’re very careful of how we are when we’re around him during the filming of certain scenes, because you don’t want to say, “I think he experienced this.” It makes you more aware of other people’s emotions. I don’t know what the life experience is of the person I’m with, so I make a greater effort to be more understanding and kinder to them. You knew that Danyelle’s character was under stress and there was a disconnect between this couple as well as this father and son.
What I’ve realized is that a lot of times, people really don’t say what they truly feel in order to not hurt the other person, but they still hold on to that hurt that they have from whatever situation. It’s really caused me to be a lot more careful and try to show more understanding, regardless of one’s age and background. We’re now in a climate where we have to really be careful about what we say and just who we are, and I feel like I learned how to do that on this film. George has a great way of creating a family. I would gladly work with Cara, Danyelle and Kat over and over again, and a lot of times, I don’t really want to work with anyone who isn’t related to George. Because at least I know that when I go to any set with them, we’re all safe. It’s really lovely.
CW: I was going through the early stages of a divorce during the production of this film. Pre-production and post-production felt relatively normal to me, but the actual filming was, for me, a time of insanity. I barely turned up. I think I only came to set once or twice because my life was falling apart at the time. I was only able to be there minimally for what I consider to be the most important thing, which is when there’s boots on the ground. I was kind of losing it a bit. I did stay in touch with George, but I didn’t want to interrupt his process.
I knew I wasn’t essential. I wasn’t, you know, coiling rope, but the thing that I learned about myself during this time was really related to my work ethic. It was killing me that I couldn’t be there all the time. And yet, I was in the midst of a valuable learning process in which I began telling myself, “You’re doing all that you can do right now. You’re breaking up a 17-year-old marriage. You’ve done a ton of work before and you’ll do a ton of work later. This is just one of those convergences where you don’t feel good, and you just have to trust that. You’re not letting anybody down and you need to go handle what you need to handle.”
George was aware of what was happening and that I had limited availability during the week-long shoot as a result. He was just like, ‘Yep, we got it, we’re a team.’ Producers tend to micromanage and be really detail-oriented, and so to suddenly find yourself with your hands off the wheel felt insane. What I learned was I’m pretty resilient, even when I can’t quite do it all. And I learned to trust the team. I would have been going crazy if I hadn’t trusted them as much as I did. I did get the U-Haul to and from the set, and we got the parking lot cleaned up after the shoot. Above all, I learned that doing your best is all that anyone can really ask for in the end.
DM: One thing that I learned about myself was that I love the table read experience. I worked on “The Chi” for six seasons and I’ve never been at the level on the call sheet where I’d be invited to a formal table read. Getting to do that for “Cottage Grove” was a first for me. I had done a lot of table reads for my time in theater, but I had never done one for a film, and it was really nice. I got to sit around this big table and get introduced to everyone. It was also the first time I was given formal introductions to a production team.
When I was on the set of “The Chi,” you’re meeting whoever’s there to greet you and things are moving fast. There are so many people who are working around you, so you really only get to meet one or two of them from the production. But with “Cottage Grove,” I got to meet and listen to everyone in production and we got to read this piece out loud as a cast. Patrick Agada, who plays the main character, was in California at the time, and he zoomed in for the table read. It was a really amazing experience and I realized that getting to do a table read is my preference.
The Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TED Talk about the danger of a single story. “Cottage Grove” is, in essence, a slice of life. We get a peek into a moment. We get bits and pieces of the story, and we piece it together on our own at the end. If a person had been walking down the street and saw me yelling at the father of my child, calling him all these names, they’d be like, “Oh, she’s terrible. She’s emasculating that man. She is aggressive.” In the case of this film’s scenario, if people were to walk down the street and see this young man yelling at this older man, they’d be like, “Respect your elders. Why are you talking to him like that?” But the truth is you don’t know the whole picture, and that is the danger of a single story. In this film, we get to see the whole slice of life, which shows us that there is so much more underneath the surface. Being in “Cottage Grove” helped me to become cognizant of the way that I view things in my everyday life. On the surface, they may mean one thing, but if you go deeper, they might be something else entirely.
What are some of the highlights from your festival run?
KB: I’m a newbie to this whole process. The first festival that I attended was the BraveMaker Film Fest out in Redwood, a little suburb of San Francisco, and I was totally blown away by it. BraveMaker elevates filmmakers who are brave to make films that touch lives, and I love the fact that there was a program dedicated to mental health. So I landed at the right film festival. I will be honest with you, there were times that I had to go outside and wipe away my tears because I felt that I had found my calling at 50. The other night we were at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago and George was there until midnight because the people there had so much to say about how the film had impacted them. I was telling Cara earlier that I had a lady who was crying in my arms. Another woman said, “I want to get into film, but I’m just too old.” It’s beautiful to see that this film is touching lives, to see George be so transparent as a Black man, to have people ask those questions of him about “Cottage Grove,” and for him to share that part of himself that was based on his own life. So the film festival run has been amazing. We have loved the feedback, and it has really pumped us up to keep going.
JR: This has probably been the longest festival run that I’ve experienced as a producer. Kudos to the entire team for just getting it completed and moving forward with it. I think it just shows how much everyone who was involved in the film believed in it. One of my favorite moments was at the Gene Siskel Film Center, where I got to be on the other side of the rainbow, and hear everyone’s responses to the film. There are a lot of Black film producers, but you don’t see them all the time. For me to be seen for who I am was really beautiful. People were coming up to me and sharing so much gratitude about the film. When you see another Black woman and she’s giving you the eye or wink, you feel like, ‘Okay, I’ve made it.’ Like Kat said, you know that this is what you’re supposed to be doing. For me, it doesn’t matter if I’m the writer and director, I’m just really glad to be part of a team that I’ve grown to love and want to work with. “Cottage Grove” has brought us into each others’ personal lives as well, where we have a support system. Cara mentioned how she was going through a divorce. I don’t think I knew that at the time, which shows how protective George is of his family and friends. Being on the other side of it and seeing the reaction to all the hard work that everyone put into it is a beautiful thing. There’s nothing else like it.
CW: The festival circuit has been wonderful. There have been so many that we’ve been able to go to, and the reaction of the crowds has been really great. We feel like we’ve really succeeded when we’ve received the feedback. Every time I go to a screening, I’m just blown away by how you can hear a pin drop. You could just feel that people were having their feelings, and it was beautiful. The AMC deal is good through February, and now we’re looking for a permanent home for it with a distributor or streaming platform. But the AMC has definitely bolstered us up. Having a reputable outlet see the potential in our work was the icing on the cake.
DM: Unfortunately, the only festival I was able to go to was the Midwest Film Festival, which was also at the Gene Siskel Film Festival. It was an amazing experience for me. I never experienced having a film in the festival circuit before, and it’s really been an eye opening experience. I’ve tried to be active in posting and reposting about the film on my social media. It’s been so exciting seeing the success of this film, and watching it win all of the awards. I’m so happy for our team. This is a film that continuously proves to be touching for so many.
