Sophie Kargman — The Bare Magazine

Sophie Kargman is a bundle of beauty, talent, style, and warmth. She is an up and coming director, creator and visionary we felt compelled to find out more about. Her incredible and inspiring film “Susie Searches” premieres at Toronto’s Film Festival on September 9th and it is part of the Next Wave Selects! It’s cast includes Alex Wolff, Kiersey Clemons, Rachel Sennott and Jim Gaffigan. Tune into our photo diary and chat below to find out about her film making journey, love of storytelling, favorite style icon, bare essentials and how the name of her production company Relentless Escargot came about. We are now on a Sophie Search keeping an eye on this rad human!

The Bare Magazine: What was your biggest motivation/reason to tell this story?

Sophie Kargman: I was interested in making both an elevated genre film and also a detailed character study that speaks to our universal quest for love and validation. On the surface Susie Searches is a darkly comedic mystery but it’s really a cautionary tale about our society’s current fixation with insta-celebrity and how it can even lead good people with positive intentions astray.

Bare: Can you breakdown Susie Searches journey from it's beginning to premiering at TIFF?

SK: From Day 1 of its inception, my plan was to have Susie Searches, the proof-of-concept short, be my calling card for the feature version of it. So we (meaning Will Frank who is my co-creator and I) broke the story beats of the feature before I went into production on the short. So, as I was finishing post on the short, Will was also finishing the first draft of the screenplay of the feature. I then went in and gave Will my notes and tweaks and changes (Will is a true saint for dealing with my persnickety nature). And finally, after several back-and-forths, when we felt the script was finally in a great place, we went out to to producers/production companies/financiers with the screenplay and completed proof-of-concept short.

My thinking was, if I make a good short, it not only shows my ability as a director but also showcases the film’s unique tone. Generally speaking, the entertainment industry as a whole (especially financiers) tend to be risk averse (which makes sense from a financial point of view) and they’re always looking for reasons to say no. I wanted to limit the reasons to say no as much as I could.

So… we went out (meaning my agent turned manager) sent the proof-of-concept short, script for the feature, and look-book I had also made out to producers/financiers. One of those companies was 141 Entertainment (Ingrid Goes West). 141 and I met about six times over the course of several months… but during the time, I had caught the directing bug and was itching to shoot another short film. Something tonally on the opposite end of the spectrum from Susie. And something really simple: two actors, one location; a simple setup and payoff. I went to Ryan Farhoudi (one of my other frequent collaborators) and we came up with an idea that would become my next short film, Query. From inception to picture lock, Query only took a month and a day—one of the fastest things I’ve ever made. And it was actually Query that apparently sealed the deal with the financiers. Query ended up having its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival a couple months after the feature was green-lit. The whole process from a moving-making timeline perspective, was unbelievably short (even with a global pandemic). I do realize how difficult it is to get one’s first feature off the ground, and I feel really fortunate that it happened relatively quickly for me.

Bare: What do you hope the viewer will walk out of the theatre feeling/thinking?

SK: Although her actions are extreme, I want the audience to relate to Susie’s emotions. I want them to empathize with her as a person. And I want them to root for her. Because at the end of the day, we should be able to see ourselves in Susie. I certainly do.

The film’s universal appeal lies in the dilemmas it presents: if you could achieve your lifelong dream overnight, would you do it? Especially if you felt you truly deserved it? And under what conditions would you commit a seemingly victimless crime? How far would you go not to get caught?

Bare: Describe the team work and chemistry between crew and cast on this project, and how it helped make it come together?

SK: Wow. I could talk about my incredible cast and crew for the rest of this interview! I can’t articulate how lucky I was with my Susie Searches family. I had the best cast, the best crew I could have ever wished for. I think communication between departments is essential. On other sets I had been on, it always shocked me when I found out that the department heads didn’t really have a relationship. My favorite part of the filmmaking process is how collaborative it is. The whole is so much bigger than the sum of its parts. But in order to make that a reality, communication is key. So one thing I instituted early on was a zoom movie club on Saturday mornings for my department heads. I would assign two movies a week and we would all meet for two hours over zoom and discuss the movies I assigned and what elements felt similar or different from Susie. I tried to encourage my creative partners to suggest movies as well so we could all begin to speak the same visual language. I really loved that experience.

One other thing that was really important to me was that come our tech scout, I felt it imperative that I know the name of every single crew member on set. I actually had one of our office PA’s put together a document of every crew member’s photo and position and I studied it like an actor studying lines.

I remember going up to our gaffer, Gavin, at the tech scout and telling him what a fan of his previous work I was. He looked at me like a deer in headlights: “How do you know what I’ve done?”, he asked me plainly. “Of course I looked you up on IMDb!” He replied that no director he had ever worked with had done research on him prior to shooting— and this was a brilliant, accomplished gaffer who had been in the industry for maybe 30+ years at such a high level. I was shocked. It’s such a simple thing to put in the extra effort to know your crew and yet for some reason, I’m told it’s not something many directors do. It only allows for better communication and it’s something I will employ for the rest of my life.

I think the fact that I storyboarded my film also helped inspire confidence in my crew (which was especially important as a first time feature director). As a leader, you can’t expect people to work hard for you if they don’t feel you’re the hardest working person there. You must inspire confidence. But to inspire confidence, you have to be so prepared that the film is in your bones— that’s the only way you can ‘play jazz’ as I like to say.

Bare: During our photoshoot you said you knew at a very young age you wanted to direct and make films. What do you think it was that lead you to this path?

SK: I knew from a young age I wanted to be in the storytelling business. I’m a perpetual student of film and have been for as long as I can remember. At first, movies gave me the chance to get outside of myself, to clear my head. I was able to disappear into another world for a few hours and rest my overactive, hyper self-critical brain. But as time went on, films became so much more: they offered me a language to articulate my own thoughts and feelings, while simultaneously reminding me that there is something beyond my own experience.

Initially I thought my way into the storytelling business was as a story-telling vessel (i.e. as an actor). When you’re younger, you don’t really understand that there is a writer and director and producer as well as huge crew behind the scenes. You think it’s all the actor. They’re the “face” of the movie after all, the one that’s on screen. But then I quickly realized that the story-telling vessel was more the job of the “creator”. But it took time for me to have the confidence to jump into the creator seat.

For a long time (since I was ten years old to be precise), acting was where I put all my energy. My senior year at Harvard University (where I went to college), I won the Jonathan Levy Prize for the most promising undergraduate actor. Then I moved to LA and acted in many TV shows and independent films. Some of them were good and some of them were not. But very little of that had to do with me as the actor. Which was frustrating—and also enlightening. And that’s when I started writing. I started small, writing short films that I would produce and star in… Which eventually lead to short films I would produce, direct and star in… But the truth is, once I started directing, I had a moment of epiphany: I had finally found my purpose.

Bare: For our shoot you brought some amazing vintage pieces - and you mentioned you like to borrow from your mother's amazing wardrobe. Please fill us in further!

SK: My mother is my fashion icon. The running joke in my family is that when I get successful enough to hire a stylist, I’ll just ‘hire’ my mom because fashion is something that she just does so well. She has the most discerning eye. And she keeps EVERYTHING! Whenever I go home to Boston, I make sure to pack half a suitcase because inevitably, we will both be in the attic going through her clothes. She has everything organized and labeled too. She’ll even put outfits together on a hanger a la a stylist. I’ll pull something out and be like “Wait. What is this?! How have I never seen this?!” And she’ll be like, “Oh! You must try it on!” And then, “Oh! You must have it.” My mom is the most generous human. I’m very aware of how blessed I am! And the fact that we’re the same size is just icing on the cake… especially because I’m a workaholic and don’t have a ton of time to shop, myself.

Bare: Can you describe your style from a go-to on set uniform...to a red carpet look?

We shot Susie Searches in late fall/early winter in Westchester, New York and so I just wanted to be comfortable. And warm. Actually, being warm was the most important. Which meant LAYERS. Lots of sweaters and jeans… but I would say I wore overalls (always thrift store finds) and my old-school painter jumpsuit (vintage as well) the most in the rotation. Maybe because I dont have to think about putting together an outfit when I’m wearing overalls or a jumpsuit. And my overalls and jumpsuits are roomy which give me so much leeway to jump around. You could always find me crouching somewhere out of sight with my tiny portable monitor. And then jumping up. Crouching down and then jumping up again. The stuff I wear can’t be too nice because I’m getting dirty! Lying in backs seats or trunks of cars or under a table or behind a couch. So I need to comfortable (but prefer to still be somewhat put together). My AD instituted fancy fridays which I loved and looked forward to. I like wearing skirts and tights and boots when I can. Except when/if it was really cold and we were shooting outside. And then it will always be… what outfit will keep me the warmest? I was ALWAYS in my bright orange Rachel Comey puffer from 7 years ago. One of my few purchases (not taken from my mom’s closet). I found it kind of great because I was easy to spot always.

8) Your skin is stunning. We would love any tips or tricks that you might share...besides good genes!

Thank you! That’s such a lovely compliment! I’m a BIG SkinCeuticals fan. SkinCeuticals, if you’re reading this, maybe you’ll let me be your brand ambassador? At night, I go back and forth between their Replenishing Cleanser and their the Micro-Exfoliating scrub. And I use their Resveratrol. Oh! And Aquaphor under my eyes. Someone is probably going to read this and be like, “You cannot use Aquaphor as under eye moisturizer, what are you doing?” But it works for me. In the morning, I just wash my face with water and then use a tiny drop of their CE Ferulic. It’s their Vitamin C Serum that costs an arm and a leg so I just use a drop of it to make it last. A little goes a long way. I call it liquid gold. I also use a tinted sunscreen with SPF 45 from Revision Skincare. I never leave the house without 45 SPF on my face. I try to avoid the sun at all costs. I also do Clear and Brilliant Laser with a woman named Dianne Bedford at Skinnicity (in LA) once a year. I love and trust Dianne and I attribute a lot to her.

Re: makeup, I don’t wear much. If I wake up with dark circles under my eyes, I really like the Chantecaille concealer which is lovely and light. I use Nars concealer for more coverage. But that and brow gel are it! When I am really doing my makeup, I love LOVE Westman Atelier, Gucci Westman’s products and Blinc mascara.

Bare: Please list your top 5 bare essentials ....they can be anything.

True Lemon Lemonade packets. You can get them at CVS. I’m trying to drink more water and the packets make water delicious. I bring them everywhere.

Aquaphor. I use it for everything.

A gold necklace that I got made at New Top Jewelry(a jewelry store in NYC). I never take off… it has the letters “R” and “E” on it which is the acronym for the name of my production company, Relentless Escargot. A lot of my friends call me “S Kargo” or “Escargot”. Short for Sophie Kargman. When I was forming my production company and thinking of names to call it, I thought “Escargot Productions” sounded great! The name [domain?] was taken. So then I thought… if I could only use one adjective to describe me, what would that be? Relentless. Duh! So my production company is called “Relentless Escargot Productions”. It’s quite possibly the silliest production company name but… that’s also very much me. Playful but tenacious? The acronym “R E” is like a reminder to keep being my relentless, determined self.

A ponytail holder or clip. That’s a boring response but it’s true! My hair is always up and out of my face because when it’s down it’s a distraction. Even when I try and start with it down, it eventually will be put up at some point.

A mophie extra battery iPhone case. Yes it makes my phone heavier but but the extra battery juice is essential.