None of Your 'Beeswax'

Beeswax the third feature film by award-winning director Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation) will open at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles Aug. 21, with a national release to follow.

Beeswax tells a story of twin sisters in — Jeannie (Tilly Hatcher), in a wheelchair since her youth, and Lauren (Maggie Hatcher), bouncing between jobs and boyfriends. Tensions mount when Jeannie’s semi-estranged friend and co-owner of a vintage clothing store in Austin, Texas, threatens a lawsuit.

Focused mainly on dialogue and nuances between characters, Beeswax, which has received praise from the likes of The New York Times, isn’t your typical cinematic experience.

“It’s a film without a whole lot of plot per se,” says Bujalski. “I want things to resonate with people’s real experiences in a way that’s probably years away from traditional drama or at least what traditional drama has evolved in to.”

Like Bujalski’s previous films, the cast of Beeswax is made up of nonprofessional — but carefully cast — actors filmed with a light, fast-moving crew.

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“Nonprofessional actors bring a feeling of freshness on the screen; they’re not bringing the same kind of strategies that professionals tend to learn,” says Bujalski.

The film, which focuses on people trying to find their way through the currents of their lives, feels more like a documentary, with authentic costumes and settings and spot-on dialogue.

“I needed the actors to give a little bit of uncertainty and confusion,” says Bujalski. “If you tell that to a professional actor they’ll act confused or act uncertain, but that doesn’t have quite the same texture to it as someone exploring acting and not bringing any preconceived perceptions of how to perform to it.”

Beeswax was also inspired by Bujalski’s real-life relationship with the Hatcher sisters.

“I wanted to do something with the twins; I’ve known them for about 10 years,” he says. “Like anyone who doesn’t have a twin, I’m fascinated by twins. I had the concept in the back of my head for a decade that would put some of their magic into a film.”

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Like her character, Tilly Hatcher uses a wheelchair, but Beeswax takes a different approach to this story line.

“We were doing a film with a character with a disability, and the disability wasn’t the focus of the film,” says Bujalski’. “We hadn’t seen that (in other films).”

Again, Bujalski pulled from life to create a sense of reality on screen.

“I would’ve been unlikely for me to write a film with a character in a wheelchair without knowing Tilly,” he explains. “If I’d been writing it without a sense of her, l think it would’ve been more built up in the story… I knew her well enough that it ceased to be the most interesting thing about her.”

Another matter-of-fact aspect of the film: the twins have two moms.

“I was looking for a real feminine energy in the movie — I wanted a movie with a lot of women in it,” Bujalski says.

And if that isn’t gay enough, the Hatchers do have that je-ne-se-qua on screen and off.

“I do hope the lesbian community finds this film,” says Bujalski. “I’ve always thought that the Hatcher sisters should be lesbian icons if they’re not already — these girls they have a lot to offer.”

As for Bujalski’s next project? “I have at least four things kicking around in my head,” he says. “We’ll see which one kicks my ass and gets me moving.”

For more information on Beeswax, as well as show times, visit www.beeswaxfilm.com.

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