"This film is a huge piece of my heart. To me- that’s art. It’s giving your heart in the hopes that you reach someone else’s."

Five Questions for Fresh Kills director, writer, producer, and star, Jennifer Esposito

I came back from a tough day on set, poured my self a drink, plunked down on the couch, and flicked on the TV set. I opened up Hulu and there was a film I heard good things about, but had missed along the way. Double points it was from an actor whose work I admired and had the opportunity to work with previously.

You know how when you want to like something, but you think, how come it didn’t get more attention? Why did I miss it? Is it not any good? It’s like we are trained to become doubters. Where do these biases come from?

What a thrill I had. The film was better than good. I was totally impressed, and having grown up indie through and through, I can see between the lines. I know they made it inexpensively — but it was never lacking. Large movies with hefty budgets are often lacking. But not Jennifer Esposito’s FRESH KILLS. The film is surprising, heartfelt, really real, and although it is a high stakes emotional journey it is also a really fun ride.

I asked Jennifer if she could answer a few questions and share some secrets with all of you who maintain a sincere hope for film.

You get such great performances across the board -- I felt there was a movie in every character's story. You have deep respect for every character on the screen and I think it generates a different sort of performance, one that prioritizes the actors and what they bring -- dare I say a bit like what I get from Cassavettes. Although the classic mob movies have great casting too, you give the actors more room within the story and really allows each character to emerge. What was your process working with them? Did you keep them strictly on script? Everything is so vivid and lively, how did you police that and keep such a high level throughout?

First and foremost thank you for allowing me this space to speak about Fresh Kills. To see Cassavettes mentioned in the same sentence as my film is quite an honor. An early review after premiering at Tribeca Festival made the same comparison and it never gets old. The reason though is more than an ego boost. It’s the work. The acting in Cassavettes films is what made me want to be a better actor. That raw, ugly, beautiful, journey of this thing called “being human” is so present in all of his films. It’s a respect towards the actor to do their job fully and completely. This is one of the main reasons I wanted to become a filmmaker. I grew really tired of surface level character development as an actor but also as a viewer. Creating full formed characters for Fresh Kills with their own unique wants, needs, and desires was vital to me. It’s actually the way I write- through character.

I started working with Emily Bader (Rose) a few months prior. Just talking about how she knew Rose. I’ve taught acting throughout my career, and still do, so I’m extremely comfortable with speaking to actors. I’ve developed my own method to getting under the words, the wants, the needs by fining where the actor and the character intersect. To me that’s where that rawness exists.

Odessa Azion (Connie) was a bit of a live-wire in the best possible way but pinning her down to chat was not easy. We had a few very necessary conversations about how she knew this extremely intense character. When I knew where Connie lived within Odessas own life- I knew what to call on during filming. As far as allowing actors to go off script I’m absolutely open to it- within limits of course.

One of the many things that I really appreciated about your movie is how it is both "classic" in style and yet in many ways bold and innovative. We recognize it early as a mob movie, and settle in with it, but the surprises are many -- and not just that it tells the story from a female multi-generational perspective, the prior lack of which in our culture is shocking/not shocking.

You respect the genre and clearly love it, but also turn it on its head. Your film is both familiar yet really fresh. I am always fascinated by how much of our art we engineer and how much of it emerges because of our life experiences. Knowing your background as an actor first in an industry filled with rigid requirements, I could not help but at times also see metaphoric aspects of your career in the business in the story line of the movie. I can't help but think some of the film's richness is a mix of careful planning but also happy accidents. Life becomes art; art becomes life -- that sort of thing. Can you speak to this a bit?

Fresh Kills has been a film that has lived in me in many ways for almost 20 years. While I did grow up around a culture that is depicted in the film, there was something more that I needed to express here. I can honestly say I don’t really think I knew exactly what that was for a long time. It wasn’t until I realized my own deep desire to escape the boxes I was pushed into within the industry and within my gender. As i’ve said so many times in interviews about this film that it really has nothing to do with mafia. It’s all about finding a voice in a world that tells you not to have one. Expressing that through the very clear rules within a mafia family for women was the absolute perfect setting. Here is the small space in which you’re allowed to exist in. If you step out of that space you are vilified, deemed ungrateful and a problem.

In my opinion it was also time to see this world flipped on it’s head. To think we’ve never seen this beloved genre from the POV of the women is shocking - or is it? I was just so tired of it- not only as a female but as an Italian American. So yes- life/art- was closely related here. I’ll say this: Rose is who I actually am and Connie is who I had to become to survive.

I found your use of all aspects of cinema and the craft truly impressive. Everything works well together. It's balanced. It is so hard to do on any film, particularly a first film. The film feels lived in. And yet, I suspect you had really limited means -- but it doesn't show. What did you do to both make the collaboration between departments work together and bring their best game?

We shot Fresh Kills in 20 days, in covid, in February in Staten Island for a VERY limited budget. I had children that couldn’t work certain times and needed the tutor on set and I was directing and acting. Thankfully I came up in Independent films- when Indies where Indies. Shooting in the East Village without permits with a crew of 10 all doing double duty, and managing to shoot 10 pages made this experience easier. I LOVED those days. People were there to create something together, nothing more.

I was ready for this challenge. I knew I HAD to be as prepared as humanly possible. I got so lucky with most of my heads of departments though. Especially my Production Designer and Costume Designer. They had around two weeks prep-- that’s it. What I did though which I don’t think they had experienced before was everything that I saw for design of the world and the clothing was all character driven. I would explain the WHY of wanting a blue carpet then the pink carpet etc etc. Everything meant something. For instance- the house being so hyper feminine was based on my character, Francine, having little control elsewhere. Making what little control she did have be a BIG choice. She was going to make Joe suffer with the hyper femininity of it. Yes, it went that deep for me. But it helped give them a clear guide to what I was seeing and more importantly why.

One of my favorite themes in cinema is the transformative power of art. Often when I speak with filmmakers they mention how a specific movie worked a bit as therapy for them, or just in some way enabled a level of healing. Your film feels like a gift to the family, to the outsiders who are just a bit different, to ones that may never get the chance and the ones that escaped the net -- to the paths we get to take or evade -- and because I can't help see the artist's tale with your hand in so many aspects, can you speak a bit about that theme -- the transformative power of art -- and how it applies to you and the film (or not)?

This film is a huge piece of my heart. To me- that’s art. It’s giving your heart in the hopes that you reach someone else’s. It’s why I wanted to tell stories to begin with. Its finding that connection to others, to the world, to ourselves and to try and understand the human condition a little but better. I think we’ve strayed from that in our mainstream films. And, I believe that’s on purpose. The more we know one another the less harm we will do. The less harm we do, the less anyone can sell you the remedy for what you “lack. This is why I’ve taught throughout my career and have created a school for acting/writing/mentoring called, A Rebel Collective. I do this to stay in the work. Not for the industry, not to make content, not for likes, but to do the actual work. Its saved me time after time. To be able to share what i’ve learned in the almost 30 years in this industry brings me great joy and teaches me something every time.

What were some of the learnings from the whole experience of making and releasing FRESH KILLS that you are going to apply to your next film and why?

Oh my, so so many lessons. I don’t even know where to start.

1-Think of distribution from the beginning. Not in the manner of getting your bankable name ( like 10 choices that greenlight anything) but in a way that YOU can get your film to the people. We NEED a new distribution model- period.

2- Listen to YOUR gut. If I didn’t stay true to what I KNEW about my film this film would have never made it. This is something i will keep doing in the future especially when shooting a true indie as i did. You MUST know your story inside and out because when the shit flies, and it WILL fly, you must not be knocked over. Use it, love it and be able to flow with it. That fearlessness only comes because you know your story so very well.

3- a VITAL lesson I learned the hard way- you MUST have a great producer!!!!!!!!! The single most important item that if I had from the beginning would have changed so very much. Thankfully I wound up in the last left of the insane race with a few great female producers that helped me save my film. The next film- from day ONE!!!!!

Jennifer Esposito most recently was awarded an Astra Award for Filmmaker On the Rise for her critically acclaimed film, FRESH KILLS. Jennifer wrote, directed, produced, co/starred and almost completely self financed the film.. RogerEbert named the film, “The best Mafia film since the Godfather.” Fresh Kills has also won The Audience Award at The Hamptons International Film Festival in 2023, An Excellence in Directing from NYWIF and Best Feature and Best Cast from The Annapolis Film Festival.

Jennifer’s breakthrough in the industry was an an actor in 1999 in Spike Lee's film, SUMMER OF SAM. Esposito’s career has spanned over 25 years, appearing in many films and television productions. Most notably the Academy Award-Winning film, CRASH, where she received a SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD, CRITICS CHOICE AWARD and a HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS AWARD for Best Ensemble.

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on Substack. And check out some of her classes online via https://www.arebelliousact.com/film-club