Dirty Towel : In this coming-of-age comedic drama, a teenage girl grapples with feelings of shame and guilt after having sex for the first time, leading to a thoughtful exploration of generational shame, societal expectations, sexual empowerment, and self-worth.
Director : Callie Carpinteri
Writers :Callie Carpinteri, Emma Parks
Cast : Emma Parks, Laura Coover, Ben Criger,
Interview with Director Callie Carpinteri and Actress Emma Parks
Q: Together you wrote the script for the new short, Dirty Towel. What was the inspiration in penning the screenplay? What was the process like of scribing the script?
Emma Parks: Callie and I are actually cousins. I think we both feel that growing up as women in this world is a very complex and challenging thing. It comes with a lot of baggage, especially around one’s sexual choices.
We’ve both experienced generational and societal shame and guilt. We’ve both come to terms with whose opinion matters when it comes to what we do with our own bodies.
So we were talking one day and this topic came up. I think we both felt seen in the shared experience we found in each other. The more we talked about it with each other and our friends and family, the more we realized that the shame is something that everyone has felt in some way at some time.
We had one friend who said that when she got her sex talk when she was younger, her mom used the metaphor of a dirty towel. So we thought, that’s it – that’s the film. From there, the characters and story were born. So that’s kind of how it began.
Q: Callie, in addition to writing the screenplay, you also directed debut on the project. How did penning the script influence the way you approached helming the dramedy?
Callie Carpinteri: When it comes to writing, it’s very much about us figuring out such topics as, what’s the story we’re trying to tell? What are the places that we’re going to tell it in? It’s a lot more about being creative in that sense.
Then when it comes to directing, something that I always like to do is break down the script into beats, moment by moment. I look for the shifts, particularly in what the characters are feeling. I make sure that I can track it, so that the audience can track it, too.
So once we locked down the script, I was really fortunate that I was able to rehearse with Emma and Laura Coover, who played Elizabeth, beforehand.
Rehearsing before the shoot is something that I find to be really important because you get to talk about the characters more. You’re not in a rushed environment, like when you’re on set. By doing that, I felt that everyone had a very clear sense of the characters,. That was especially true with Emma, who had written the script with me. That helped in developing the characters with the actors.
I also love directing because I love working with the other departments, as well. With my cinematographer, Emilee Ford. We made the shot list together. We also did the test shooting, going to different locations to figure out which shots were going to work for the transitions and things like that. As the producers, Emma and I also worked with the other producers on the location scouting.
I feel like the script really starts to come to life the more you get into directing. I’ve always enjoyed that part of the process a lot.
Emma Parks: I just have to jump in, to prop Callie up a little bit. I’ve worked with a number of directors on different projects. Callie, by far, was one of the most prepared, caring and empathetic ones I’ve ever seen.
She knows how to talk to everyone on set, and is such an organized director. I think that brought the film to life in a really special way. People look up to her and trust her; there was a lot of trust on both sides on this film. From the actor perspective, she was so prepared, which was so amazing. It’s great to have that support system.
Callie Carpinteri: That’s so sweet!
Q: Speaking about the actors, Dirty Towel stars you, Emma, as well as Laura Coover, Ben Krieger and Laurel Nail. What was the casting process like for the film?
Emma Parks: It was really cool. I had never written something that I also acted in. Co-writing the script definitely gave me an in to the character and the world in a way that I’ve never experienced before. It was really magical, and an honor to be able to understand a character and story so completely because they came from our brains.
In the past, I would break down a script and try to break down, who is this character? This time, I didn’t have to do that as much because I knew her like the back of my hand. It was a story that we cared so deeply about. So I was grateful that I was able to go from the writer position and then step into the actor one.
With casting, we did open calls on Backstage and Actors Access, and had people send in tapes. We did some callbacks. We were just very open to finding someone who was going to put themselves into the character, and also shape the character in ways we didn’t imagine.
I think we found that in all of the actors. We’re grateful to have such amazing actors there to put themselves into those characters and find new elements of the story we didn’t even know where there.
Callie Carpinteri: I completely agree with everything you said, Emma!
Q: In terms of building the characters with the cast, how did you rehearse with the actors to bring the story to the screen?
Callie Carpinteri: For me as a director, I have never directed something with someone who had also written the script with me. I think you, Emma, had never had that experience, either.
So going into rehearsals, I think both of us were wondering, how is this going to work? We’re both writers, but we’re shifting into our other roles of director and actor, so how is this going to go?
I think by the first rehearsal, I had already done my first breakdown. So I would say tot he actors, “Why don’t we try it like this?”
Emma was so open to trying anything; she was like, “Yes, let’s try this; I agree!” She then saw my beats and said, “I love this, so let’s keep going.” It was the same with Laura and the other cast members; they were all so open.
So we were immediately like, “We’re going to try different things, especially in the one that we’re working with.” We didn’t know which moments were going to have to be lighter or more dramatic.
So we were definitely trying that in rehearsals. We were like, “How does saying this line like this impact this scene?” Everyone being so open to try new things and trust each other made everything so nuanced.
Emma Parks: I would also say the character building, and finding who they were in the script, was an amazing experience. One of my favorite things about working with Callie on the script was that it felt like there weren’t any egos in the writing process. We had the same vision and knew what we wanted out of the story.
But we were also open to whatever ideas the other one had that would help us get closer to that goal. Especially with the role of Charlie, we just wanted to create a character who felt relatable and real, and who people could see themselves in. That felt honest.
Q: You both also served as producers on Dirty Towel. Why did you decide to also produce the short? How did you balance your directing, acting and producing duties throughout the production?
Callie Carpinteri: Producing is a whole different beast entirely from writing and directing. Producing is usually thinking, the writers and directors have this vision.
But for this film, we were also the writers and director. So we had to focus on how we were going to bring our vision to life in a way that’s going to stay on budget? So producing is a lot more problem solving and logistics.
I remember for this film, Emma flew out in June. We spent an entire day driving around L.A., going to every laundromat and family-owned grocery store we could find. We pitched the story for the film to every person we could find, and asked if they’d be willing to help us.
We had a very small budget. So we couldn’t afford to rent out spaces that were used to charging people a lot more money to film there. So we reached out to businesses that may not have had that experience, but were maybe willing to let us do it.
We felt so fortunate that that day we drove around, we found this grocery store that was willing to let us film there within our budget. They were so nice and accommodating.
That was one of the biggest things we were scare about when we started production on the film. Beforehand, everyone was telling me, “You’re never going to find a grocery store for a cheap rate; it’s going to be thousands of dollars. So you should just change the script.”
If we were just the producers, we may have said the same thing. But since we were also the writers and i was directing it, I said, “Just let me try.”
We then ended up finding that store. That gave me the confidence to say, “We found the grocery store, so we can find anything!”
Then as we went into more of the logistical stuff, more producers came on board. They were able to help mitigate the actual logistics of the paperwork. That really when we were on set, when I had to focus on directing, and Emma had to focus on acting..It was a journey, but we got the places and everything we wanted, and I’m so grateful for that. Everything worked out great.
Emma Parks: I agree with everything Callie said. It definitely helped that everyone, even the other producers, who came on were just as passionate about the story as we are.
We want to do it justice, which goes a really long way. It’s easy to feel beaten down by the industry and all the nos you get because we got a ton of nos. There were people who said, “This is unrealistic. I don’t think you’ll be able to do it. Who knows if you’ll be able to get into a big festival?”
But I think I learned a lot from making this film. That’s especially true on the producer side of things, but having the belief in ourselves and pushing through those hard moments.
Q: Speaking of the festival run, Dirty Towel [had] its World Premiere in the Shorts at this year’s Tribeca Festival. What does it mean to you both that the dramedy [screened] at the festival?
Emma Parks: It’s been amazing and incredible. I feel like every morning during the festival, we [woke] up so excited, surprised and grateful that we [were there]. It doesn’t even feel real.
Every filmmaker dreams of having their film be at, and premiere at, a festival of this quality, and be surrounded by so many other amazing films. We’re both blown away by all the other films we’ve seen so far.
Callie Carpinteri: Yes, it truly has been incredible. I think for a lot of us filmmakers [at the festival], it’s been something we’ve been dreaming about for years. We’ve made other short films. But I remember when Emma and I started developing and pitching this story, we felt like it was something special.
But we were scared; we thought, what if people don’t see it? What if they do see it, but they don’t connect with the story in a lot of ways? So to have the programmers at Tribeca recognize that, and want to share it with the world, was an incredible experience. We’re very honored to be here.
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