“I Can’t Sleep” Is All The Millennial Dilemma On Top Of Supernatural Intervention

I Can’t Sleep is a story told again and again of the Bay Area creative—add aliens and out of this world lifeforms to the mix and that’s where director Gina Rose’s mind really takes off.

The premise: a young writer struggles to complete her science fiction story while battling supernatural forces in real life. A tale as old as time but for Rose, creating a masterpiece and finishing it from end to end is something that continued to drive her as she worked multiple jobs on top of writing, directing, and producing this multi-award winning film. Rose, herself, is an African American and Chinese American filmmaker in Oakland, California. Having attended Barnard College in New York City where she received the Howard M. Teichmann Writing Prize, her writings have been featured in Rigorous, Penultimate Peanut, and The Conium Review. Her plays have been produced by Latenite Theater, The Aluminous Collective and The Piedmont Center for the Arts. All in all, a woman on a mission to create and isn’t stopping anytime soon.

We caught up with Rose over email to chat about the film, the coming up of indie women directors, and why creating this film against all odds is “giving herself a chance.”

Q

Firstly, congratulations on all the accolades your film “I Can’t Sleep” has gotten in the past few months—tell us who you are and how this film came to be?

A

Thank you! My name is Gina Rose and I’m a filmmaker based in Oakland, California. I first became interested in filmmaking when I was about thirteen. My father worked as a television producer, writer and director for many years and he let me take a week off from school so I could work as a production assistant on one of his shoots. I loved the experience and it made me think about making my own films.

I took a film and video elective in high school and started making shorts around that time. In college, I majored in psychology and subsequently pursued a career in the mental health field, but I was always taking screenwriting, film, creative writing and acting classes on the side while also producing small film projects whenever I could. 

A few years ago, I was working two jobs in the mental health field when I started reading and learning about micro budget films. The micro budget film I examined most closely was the well-received movie Frisky by Claudia Pickering, which she made on a budget of $5K in 2014. It took a year, but I saved $10K to make my own film while writing the script. During this time, I wrote two other scripts that turned out to be too “big” in scope.The focus in writing this script was on using the locations I already had access and what I could achieve affordably, and I Can’t Sleep was the most feasible of the three. 

Q

As an artist yourself, tell us the process of how making this film came to be? Making a film is no easy feat, it takes a village as they say, how did you assemble the team?

A

I’d taken an acting class at a community college about five years ago and met a few people through that class who ended up working on the film, including The Holographic Children who composed the original score. My family was very supportive (my aunt and uncle let me film at their house) and my boyfriend’s boss was kind enough to let me film at her store (Transports in Oakland). The assistant producer Ally May introduced me to Taiowa Osceola Cordts (cinematography, editing) who brought on a great crew (Brandon Hamilton for lighting, CJ Austria for sound) and I found most of the actors through Backstage. I had some friends help me out too, including one of my best friends who helped coordinate the auditions and my friend Diego Kusnir, who helped with pre-production and provided ongoing moral support (he also appears in the film as Kevin the Alien!). 


‘I Can’t Sleep”s Emily Chau plays Astrid, an East Bay sports store employee whose boss leaves her stuck on the clock as the aliens descend.‘I Can’t Sleep”s Emily Chau plays Astrid, an East Bay sports store employee whose boss leaves her stuck on the clock as the aliens descend.

‘I Can’t Sleep”s Emily Chau plays Astrid, an East Bay sports store employee whose boss leaves her stuck on the clock as the aliens descend.

Q

And with the village, making a movie that resonates with audiences is tough, what were the struggle points you’ve realized making this film and how did you overcome or problem solve them through?

A

I faced so many obstacles making this film. After it was finally done, I sat down and wrote a list of all the lessons I learned from the process. I think the biggest lesson I learned is how important it is to find the right people to collaborate with, people who understand what you’re trying to do and have a can-do attitude. Working on a film set can be stressful, but I honestly believe it should be a bit of fun, too. I was fortunate to find the right people and a big part of that (which is a lesson I’ve had to learn over and over again in my life) is to trust yourself. Trust your personal and artistic intuition, and actually honor what it’s telling you. The way I resolved a lot of the setbacks I faced was to, quite simply, not give up and to trust that I’d find a way to finish the film. And, of course, don’t listen to the naysayers! 

Q

As a Richmond native, a person of color, and an artist—were there any blockers that you had to overcome or prove to others? What were those instances? If not, how would you describe your life and the work you do up until now?

A

I have certainly felt the pressure to prove myself throughout a lot of my life. When I was eleven, I switched from attending public schools in Richmond to an academically rigorous, predominantly white private school on financial aid. I struggled for years just to keep up with the academic demands I hadn’t really been prepared for. It felt like I had to prove that I belonged. That experience taught me how to survive challenging situations, to work really hard and bounce back from failure. Now that I’m an adult, I try to take a more experimental approach to life. I approached making I Can’t Sleep as a learning experience. That’s the thing about film: you can study it day and night but the only way to learn how to actually make films is to make them. I knew I wasn’t going to be perfect at it my first time making a feature, and I knew the film wasn’t going to be perfect either. But finishing the film and learning all the lessons that came along with it was a huge triumph, personally and artistically.

Q

When creating, writing, concepting, when do you know an idea is going to stick? And on the flipside, when do you know an idea is going to be a flop?

A

That’s a great question and the truth is, I don’t have a concrete answer. You can take the route of doing a lot of research and trying to figure out exactly what an audience wants but you might find it more fulfilling to look at what you respond to and get excited about, something that you have an emotional connection with. Chances are, if you connect to an idea, others will as well. Sometimes I like to watch movies and analyze what isn’t working, why the beats are falling flat or why the characters aren’t ringing true…and then try to figure out what could fix these problems. I think it’s just as important to study what doesn’t work as it is to study and gain an understanding of what does work.


Portrait of director Gina Rose.  Photo courtesy of Gina Rose.Portrait of director Gina Rose.  Photo courtesy of Gina Rose.

Portrait of director Gina Rose. Photo courtesy of Gina Rose.

Q

In the movie “I Can’t Sleep”, your character Leonore as played by Josephine Chiang is a writer who has trouble finishing her stories, this leads into the world of hers that surrounds the supernatural. Do you relate to your main character? How was she inspired?

A

Like Leonore, I had had trouble finishing my creative projects in the past. I always liked the concept of films/stories that take place over the course of one night and how she sets this self-imposed deadline for herself. Years ago, I read an interview with the writer Thomas M. Disch who said that when he was in college, he wrote his first publishable story during a “nervous breakdown.” This also inspired the film’s concept. Leonore literally says in the movie “I had this thought that I could either write this story tonight or have a nervous breakdown.” She has so much she wants to tell, to share, but she’s afraid of it being rejected by the world, and I can certainly relate to that. In making this film, I had to face that fear a lot. In a lot of ways, I Can’t Sleep is a story about someone working up the courage to share their creative voice, which is the same process I went through in real life.

Q

Also tell us more about the process of self-funding your project, what were the personal takeaways from the experience of working non-stop to make your dream a reality?

A

I was taking on a lot of work with two jobs and knowing that I was saving money to do something I’d wanted to accomplish since I was a teenager really helped me stay focused. There is a quote by Madam CJ Walker: “I got my start by giving myself a start!” and that is how I felt about what I was doing. I was giving myself a start because I knew no one else would, and I was giving myself permission to go after something that was important to me.

Q

What is something about being a female director that you wish people would know more about? Misconceptions that you’ve experienced or an anecdote from your career?

A

I had a chance to do a Female Directors panel at the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival earlier this year and I was on the panel with Karen Lam and Virginia Abramovich. It was so nice hearing that they’d faced similar struggles and come out the other side. One thing we talked about was the perception that as a female director, you and your film (especially your first film) have to be “perfect.” We agreed that giving yourself permission to not be perfect is extremely liberating. After all, filmmaking is a skill that you have to go out and practice. Making mistakes is inevitable. As long as you learn from them and keep moving forward, you’re on the right track. 

Q

On a lighter note, what are some of your favorite Bay Area haunts that inspire you, get you in the right mind set, etc?

A

When I have some free time on my hands, I love taking drives around the East Bay, just exploring and watching the world go by. Over the holidays, I stumbled upon Port Costa on one of my drives and I found it quite charming. Contra Costa County is my favorite place to take drives, particularly the towns like Martinez and Rodeo and Pinole and El Sobrante. Something about those towns make me feel like I’m stepping into a different time, which I find inspiring. I have a particular fondness for El Sobrante. My aunt and uncle live there, and we actually filmed quite a few scenes at their house.   

Q

Picture this: you have a dream cast for a new movie you’re working on—who are they and why?

A

After making I Can’t Sleep, I have learned that in all honesty, my dream cast really consists of actors who are easy to get along with, who know how to take direction and can deliver a genuine performance. But if you’re looking for specific names (which I assume you are), I just rewatched Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher and I think she’s absolutely incredible! Her presence onscreen kind of sneaks up on you. Also Mahershala Ali, because I love his mix of sadness, detachment, and intensity. I’d love to work with some of the actors from I Can’t Sleep again, too. 

Q

We think it’s cursed to say that “2021 is our year” but we optimistically want to ask, what’s something you’re excited for that you can share from your work, personally, or just in general in the world?

A

I’m working on a few script ideas for my next film and hoping to shoot late 2021 (pandemic permitting)! The Holographic Children (who composed the score for I Can’t Sleep) and I are talking about teaming up to do some shorter videos this summer (again, pandemic permitting), which I’m excited about as well. 

Q

The final question: Who were you? Who are you? And who are you becoming?

A

I was an aspiring filmmaker creating shorts in the Bay Area with my friends. Now I’m a filmmaker with a feature film completed. I’m becoming the artist I always wanted to be. 

// Check out the whole movie and see a screening near you; icantsleepmovie.com. Photography and film stills courtesy of Gina Rose.


“I Can’t Sleep” Is All The Millennial Dilemma On Top Of Supernatural Intervention
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