John Lithgow, Olivia Colman and Aud Mason-Hyde, the daughter of the director Sophie Hyde (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande; 52 Tuesdays; Animals) star in the new feature Jimpa. The drama about queerness, parenthood and imperfect intergenerational relationships celebrated its Dutch premiere during the 55th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on Sunday.
The movie tells the story of Lithgow’s charming contrarian character Jim, who calls himself “Jimpa” to escape the word “grandpa.” Jim, a character inspired by Hyde’s gay activist father, left his family “to pursue a free, gay life in Amsterdam,” reads a synopsis. The film sees Jim’s daughter Hannah (Colman), her non-binary teenager Frances (Mason-Hyde) and her husband (Daniel Henshall) pay Jimpa a visit. Jimpa encourages Frances to enjoy queer Amsterdam, where she meets people portrayed by the likes of Romana Vrede, Hans Kesting and Zoë Love Smith.
After Sunday’s Rotterdam screening, Lithgow and Dutch cast members discussed the film in a session entitled “Big Talk: A Queer Family Affair,” moderated by Dutch actress Hanna van Vliet, who highlighted early on that queer rights are under attack around the world.
During an introduction, producer Marleen Slot emphasized: “This film is all about connection.” And Hyde said, “My father was a very eccentric gay man” who was later diagnosed with HIV. “My dad died when Aud was only 12,” so she always wished her kid and her dad had had chances to sit together and discuss their experiences and identities.
Lithgow, who also addressed the debate around J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans stance that has led to some people criticizing his accepting the role of Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming HBO Max Harry Potter series, lauded the hospitality of the Dutch people and Australian crew on the Jimpa shoot, sharing: “All of us shared the same excitement. … The entire experience was such a party.”
Lithgow also lauded Colman as “such an amazing actress,” saying: “She has such access to her emotional life.”
And he expressed his hope for the impact that the film could have. “You’re very grateful for those opportunities to be in a film like this, which you just feel has the possibility of expanding people’s consciousness, tolerance, acceptance of certain realities – empathetic films,” Lithgow said. “I’ve had a long career, and I’ve done a lot of jobs, and there have only been five or six that were everything I had hoped for, just in terms of [me being] so proud to be in this film.”
The star then made a reference to the conflict-ridden state of the world. “Especially in this kind of hothouse moment where there’s such cruelty in the world and such misuse of power over people, it’s just wonderful that there’s a film that is all about empathy and kindness,” he said. Jimpa himself is a character who can be unwittingly cruel and thoughtless, but at heart, he’s such a dear man.”
Other cast members echoed the sentiment of joy that pervaded the Jimpa shoot. “There was so much love from the beginning,” highlighted Kesting, lauding Hyde for focusing on building a real “connection” between cast members.
Smith said she was excited to get cast in her first major international role and really wanted the role after feeling an “immediate warmth and connection” during the audition.
With a big smile and a laugh, Vrede shared her joy about being able to talk about having been “on set with John and Olivia.” And she lauded the international stars for bringing their excitement to the production. “They were just humble and grateful about working with us,” she shared.
Smith received a rare question for any actor: What was it like to shoot an intimate scene with the director’s own child right in front of the director? “At first, the idea of it was a little bit awkward,” Smith acknowledged. “I think what helped the most was that the moment Sophie and Aud were on set, they really were on set, and you didn’t really feel like they were mother and child. They were like colleagues working together and really being in this thing together. So it didn’t feel that awkward anymore to actually do [the scene].”
Concluded Smith: “And we rehearsed it a lot of times. Although it looks very intimate and very cute and romantic, it’s still a very technical thing that you work through.”
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