Blueberry

After Drew brings his girlfriend home from the hospital, his fears over the relationship ending lead to a frank discussion about the reality of the emotional and physical toll of having a miscarriage during the times of COVID.

Blueberry is a cathartic realist film about coping with loss through love featuring actors who have gone through this personal pain with their individual partners. It is through the creation of this film they are expressing their truths and healing together.

Claire Chubbuck is an award-winning director, who creates films actor forward films that focus on truth. Her process of Cathartic Realism provides an experience that allows the audience to witness the authentic transmutation of actual traumas and shame.

You are the mother of Cathartic Realism, do you only do Cathartic Realism?

Not exclusively, the breakdown of my work is about 50% Cathartic Realism, 40% traditional narrative (comedy and drama), and 10% documentary.

The experience of making a Cathartic Realism film is very different - and that trickles down to the on set culture. There is a communal attitude that is essential for the Production Step of Cathartic Realism as a process. It gives a greater meaning to the effort.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a filmmaker focusing on Cathartic Realism?

The process I use to make a Cathartic Realism film allows for an increasing possibility for catharsis, but it lives in a spectrum from creatively spontaneous, which can be fun, to emotionally revealing, which can be painful. It is the marriage of those two feelings, the aforementioned fun and painful, that help us create catharsis.

||To encourage people to want to get through the process, we have built in mini-cathartic moments so people start to see the benefit quickly.

How challenging was it to fund Blueberry?

It was serendipitous, actually. Our Executive producer, Jamie Hagan, came in with the right amount at the right time. She was a literal angel for the project. She didn’t ask for any creative changes and was supportive because she believes in the Cathartic Realism process.

Please name three of your most favorite directors. How have they been influential in your work?

John Huston - I enjoy the lack an overarching unifying vision. I relate to that as my films all feel very different from each other, but that is because I want the film to speak about itself - just as I am allowing the survivor to speak for themselves. Huston started to bring in his pain from the war into his work, and an early piece that I would consider Cathartic Realism with “The Red Badge of Courage”.

Sofia Coppola - I love her style, and I believe she dipped into a bit of Cathartic Realism with “Somewhere”, even thought I wouldn’t call that a Cathartic Realist film. I love the topics she chooses, and the intention with which she chooses them. Right now, I am in love with creation. Because I have been focused on exploration and craft, I have only started getting picky when it comes to story.

Judd Apatow - My all time favorite movies are Apatow. I like how they make me feel. Even though people are critical of his depiction of women, I think he is reflecting a truth. These are important historical documents that will one day show how far we’ve come from “Chinatown”.

How did you find the cast and the crew of the film?

The cast found itself - it’s made up of actors who have gone through the same life experience, using acting as a way to heal.

The crew, on the other hand, I had mostly worked with before. I like to work with the same people over and over again.

What is the distribution plan for Blueberry and did the film receive any screenings or was it featured in festivals?

We are currently submitting! So look out for that!

Why do you make films and what kind of impact would your work have on the world?

I make mission driven films that create catharsis for all working on it - taking a macro problem and looking at the micro story of it through the survivors lens.

I make films to highlight important stories that need to be added to the larger cultural conversation in a way that promotes understanding.

What is your next film project and what are you currently working on?

We are working on a Cathartic Realism project about E.D. and a man’s controlling relationship with his member. After a failed one night stand, Jason and his imaginary friend, Victor, a life size personification of his penis, decide that Viagra is the answer.

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