First time feature director Jennifer Sharp knows she got lucky. From working with a supportive cast and crew on I’m Through With White Girls, or The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks, the effusive filmmaker laughs easily, her calm spirit focused on all the good of the production.

Originally a theater student at New York University, Sharp willingly traded her spot in front of camera for the helming position behind it after writing and directing her debut short Waiting. Concerned with challenging her audiences with social issues spiced by humor, Sharp went on to produce the short Boxed before coming on to direct the feature, a sweet and intelligent romantic comedy about a relationship inept comic illustrator Jay Brooks and his attempts to overcome his fear of commitment. After a series of messy break-ups with his white girlfriends, Jay makes a pact alla "Operation Brown Sugar" only to date women of color. By addressing the dating scene through the lens of race issues, the film goes a long way to break down stereotyping in portrayals of Black-Americans on film. Now looking around for a new project, Sharp here speaks about stereotypes in film, opportunities for female directors and why she’d much rather wear sweatpants to set.

SM: What were you attracted to when you first read the script [for I’m Through With White Girls, or The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks]?

JS: The first thing I was attracted to was having black characters who were not typically black. I loved that (Jay) couldn’t dance. I loved that he couldn’t play basketball. I loved that (Catherine) loved the beach. The number one thing was just showing black people in a different light, and then [there’s] the humor. 

SM: How did you negotiate the line of, “I want to make a statement about the way people are portrayed on film, but at the same time, I need to make sure I’m keeping with sweetness and humor,”?

JS: As I’m learning and doing more films, that’s one of my strengths. Boxed is much the same way. There’s a very deep issue that (the film) addresses; meanwhile people are laughing and afterwards realize, “Oh wow, that was deep.”

What I do is underplay the comedy as much as possible and really don’t go for the dumb jokes. I don’t go for the blatant jokes. I really try to make everything as plausible as possible. The script was great to begin with, and the signature that I think I put on it was to tone down some of the humor.  I kept it high on performance and brought in more of the themes. I knew what my theme was the whole time, and it was just keeping the humor subtle.

SM: What did you learn throughout the whole process of trying to break down [the stereotypes presented on film]?

JS: People want to see this. I can’t tell you how many black men have come up to me and been like, “Hey, that’s me. That’s me,” including our art director Phillip, who’s a black artist and illustrator…All the comics and drawings are just what Phillip took from his bedroom. I always hoped that it would be like this, and I found that I was right. First of all, there are a lot of people that don’t fit into stereotypes that love to see other people who don’t fit into stereotypes. It was so refreshing to have so many people come up and say, “Hey, that’s me, or hey, that was so great to see that. I can’t dance either. I don’t play basketball either.”

Also, what I found, which is great, is that it makes white people relate to these characters just as much. A lot of the black comedies are mainly for black audiences, and while white people can enjoy them, they’re not really relating to the characters. What we’ve ended up doing is having these universal characters that whites and blacks relate to as well as people who’ve been outside of boxes their whole lives.

SM: Beyond that, you’re outside the box. You’re in the minority of women directors. What is that like—to be at the forefront as a woman film director?

JS: It’s really exciting, and I’m really hoping that I get a lot more opportunities to keep going in the direction I’m going. I’m good at this, and I know that this is what I want to do. I’m really lucky to have something that I love and that I am good at. I have a really strong vision. I’m really passionate about telling my stories. So, it’s exciting, and I know it’s a great time.

The hard thing is that I’m looking for another project, and I hope that another good script comes up. But, then am I going to be considered for that job being a black woman director? How much harder am I going to have to work to get the job? But, I’m also excited because I know that once I get up there I can completely carry my own.

SM: Where does your vision come from? Moving from theater to film, how did you know that this was the right thing for you to be doing?

JS: I always had a really good eye in my acting class for acting and actors. I always felt like I was drawn to the other side…My first short film Waiting I wrote for me to have a part. I’m also bi-racial, and I got sick of the black roles that were offered to me. It was either Halley Berry or hoochie ghetto mama, neither of which I am. I was like, “I’m never going to work as an actress unless I start writing my own stuff.” So I wrote my first short film, realized that I really liked the script, couldn’t find anyone to direct it and was always thinking about doing it myself. As soon as I got behind the camera, I knew that that’s where I belonged. I love so much more going to set as a director. You have so much more control over what you do than you do as an actor. I like being in control. I like being able to guide things. I’m really, really comfortable, really comfortable behind the camera, and so I just knew it. As an actor, I was always nervous and never knew how good I was, so this is great. And, I love coming to the set in sweatpants as opposed to having fasted for two days and having my hair and make-up done.

SM: So many directors get harried and see filmmaking as a monstrous undertaking, but it’s more calming for you?

JS: It really is. This was my first feature, and so it was like, “Okay, we’ll see how this goes.” But, I’m really solid in my pre-production, really solid. I know every shot. I write every shot. I storyboard every shot myself, and then I go through every shot the night before we shot it. Then I go through it that morning we shoot it with my (Assistant Director.) I go through it all with Jacob (Pinger), the (Director of Photography.) I’m so organized, and I know so much what I want that even I was surprised that as soon as I got on the set I didn’t have anything to do. So, I was like, “Everyone knows what I want. Everything’s written here, drawn and available for everybody, so now we just wait for the shot to be set up." So, it was great, and on the set, just about every day was so lax and calm. I was so over-prepared that I just had time to wander around and of course talk to the actors. Then what I’d do is just hang out a lot with the actors, make sure that they were in the right headspace and make sure that they had everything they needed. The whole climate on the set was really calm, and everybody had a really good time.

SM: What was the experience like for you seeing the film on the big screen for the first time?

JS: Honestly, it’s hard because I’ve been part of it from the beginning, and I actually did a great deal of the editing. Even all through post, I was there, and I know every moment in the film. I cut a whole lot of the moments in the film myself, so I’m just starting to get to the point where I can watch it. I still see the cuts, the edits, things I wanted to do a bit smoother, things that could be a bit better. So, it’s kind of hard for me to watch it honestly.

I love hearing the reaction, and the audience seems to love it. That’s really great. I’ve yet to be able to sit, watch it, relax and totally enjoy it. With all films that are low-budget, there gets to be a point where it’s like, “Money’s out. Let’s just finish it.” I would have loved to spend two more weeks to polish it, so it’s hard for me to watch.

SM: I did jump the gun a bit. I know (Producer Lia Johnson) had said that you guys had brought on an editor after primary production itself was done. So, what was the editing process like?

JS: We didn’t have a whole lot of money for post-production. We used an editor for a while to get the original string out. I sat with him, gave him my notes, and we put together a first cut with him. Then we basically ran out of money and couldn’t pay him anymore. From that point on, I took the film, finished cutting it, did all the refining, cleaned the scenes and gave it a lot of the timing and pacing. I had about six months to work on that at my own speed. So, in the end, the editing process was good because I got to cut it just how I wanted and make sure that the breaths were right, although I would have loved to work with a full-time editor who has their own ideas as well. I would have been happy to not be the one to do it, but money, money…

SM: A few last big questions for you. What is one question as a film director that you’ve never been asked but always wanted to be asked?

JS: I’d like to be asked what I thought I did well. What are some things that you are specifically proud of that know you specifically brought to the film?

SM: That’s a great one. Actually, I’ll let you answer it yourself.

JS (laughing): That being said, I can’t answer it now…I stayed really calm. I was really prepared, and I made it a great environment for everybody. Everybody felt comfortable, and everybody felt like they were contributing. I brought the subtlety to the humor, which kept it real. Actually, I think the reason why it’s so accessible to so many different people, so many different ages of people, is that me, coming from my background of being bi-racial, I really took a lot of care in addressing that topic. That’s something that I brought to the film that I wonder if somebody else would have brought.

There were a lot of ways that the script could have gone. It was really funny to begin with, and I think someone else could have made it even funnier. I think somebody could have made it more mainstream funny, and that still would have been good. I took down some of the humor, and I also brought up a little more of the theme and the issues. It was a very intelligent script to begin with, but I tried to bring out the intelligence a bit more. Another director might just have seen how funny it was, how great it was written humorously and brought up more of the humor without being as careful about the issues of being outside your race or your stereotype. That’s something I was very sensitive to because it’s something I’ve dealt with my whole life.

SM: On the subtlety of the humor, one of my favorite jokes is the book title [for Jay's love interest in the film, the quirky author Catherine], The Inevitable Was Bound To Happen. The first time it came up, I didn’t hear it for some reason, but the second time you hear it, it’s like, “That’s hysterical.” It’s so subtle, Jay saying, “That’s the worst book title ever.”

JS: The look on his face actually kills me too, but that’s something you pick up the third or fourth time [you see the film.] That’s also the thing about romantic comedies, is that the inevitable is bound to happen. It’s very formulaic, and at the end you know they get back together. They end in weddings most of the time. That was my (idea) when I read that, “Oh, exactly. That’s funny. The inevitable is bound to happen, and inevitably we all know what’s going to happen in this movie." But, how do we escape that? How do we still make this interesting?”

SM: Now, where do you hope to see the film go from here?

JS: I would love it to go into the movie theaters. I don’t know if this is what’s going to happen. I would love it to go to indie houses. I’d like it to be marketed more as an independent film through word-of-mouth, and I think that could really happen. It’s been talked about, marketing it as an urban movie, whatever gets it in the theaters I guess at this point, but I don’t really see it as an urban movie. I see it as something that more people can relate to. I would love it to go to indie houses, by word-of-mouth get bigger with more distribution and end up in movie theaters all around the country. But, wouldn’t we all like that?

For more information visit www.turnsoul.com.

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