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Elvan Levent: Did you decide to make Un Pot Surviellé suddenly, or was it an idea you had been thinking about for a while (particularly in this form)?

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Jamie Ward:This will sound ridiculous, but I’ve been working on it for years. I’ve shot the whole thing multiple times, over the years with different locations and gear. This latest and the final iteration has built upon my prior attempts and knowledge about the different filmmaking disciplines. In a lot of ways, it is a huge idea in my head, and I think the art that no one will ever really see, unless they were talking to me about it, is that it's incredibly short, at least what is left of it is. Projects like this have a tendency to ramble on, so keeping it concise was the true challenge.

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Elvan Levent: The trailer for the film is almost 5 minutes, which is five times longer than the film itself, reads as an irony -or even a mockery -of cinema, particularly of auteur cinema. At the same time, it feels as though it was made with great love for cinema. Do you consider cinema to be an overrated art form?

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It’s important for me to declare at the beginning, I'm completely aware that it could seem like it’s a mocking tone in some ways. I spent years as a stand up comedian, and I love the power of humor. That being said, it is all love of cinema. It’s meant to be about as harsh an indictment of art as teasing your best friend about their bad habit, when you have the same habits. I think the art of cinema is even broader than simply the films themselves. They are the stories behind the scenes, the journeys the artists took to make them, the collaboration and evolution of ideas as creators join the effort or fall off. I view all my projects that way. The way I arrive at my ideas is as much a piece of the project as the viewable videos themselves. A lot of times, these secondary aspects are not shared. This is when I realized that trailers really offer an opportunity to convince someone why they should watch your film, and they’re often overlooked as part of the art. I’m not for a moment trying to equate myself in any great way to my heroes, I will say, I simply pulled a lot of inspiration from old trailers, with Citizen Kane’s being the biggest influence. It’s over three and a half minutes, and isn’t like what we think of as trailers today. It has narration that explains why the movie should be watched. I love those old trailers, and with nothing to lose, I decided to make this film trailer like a modern day version of those old classic film trailers.

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Elvan Levent: Another question that follows from the second one: the French title of the film is almost inseparable from the director’s image in the trailer -that Godard image. Was this your intention, and If so, why?

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Jamie Ward: I almost feel embarrassed to say it, because I think it’s sort of cliche-ish, Godard is my favorite filmmaker, and the French New Wave movement has been incredibly influential in my film journey. I do work primarily in the Acadian region of Louisiana, where there is a deeply ingrained French culture and history. Many of my friends and co-workers trace their lineage to France, and Cajun French being somewhat prevalent in the area, so having a French title is not meant as a cheap gimmick from a non-french person. Given that the area I live is focused on retaining cultural heritage, I feel that there is an inclusion of French influence as acknowledgement not only of the film influences from France, but also the french culture of louisiana and in a literal sense, the audiences in my geographical area who are most likely to see my works.

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Elvan Levent: What is the meaning and reason of the writing on the film's poster: 'A wholesome movie about sex?'

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Jamie Ward: Disclaimer: I really hope I don't start to sound like a piece of shit who thinks highly of himself, I walk a dangerous line of perception where I do possess a level of self awareness that I am the creator creating, but it is all meant in fun, because I'm so grateful that despite all the things I've been through in life I now am blessed with the opportunity to do what I've always dreamed of doing, and often didn't think was really possible. 

Almost everything I do is laiden with what can probably be equated to personal easter eggs. Tiny jokes not mean at the audiences expense, more like a hidden joke in bubble gum wrapper for those that choose to find and enjoy them, and not changing the experience if they're thrown away unacknowledged. 

I love the sort of existential dichotomy of comedy, like big C conceptual comedy. Think me as a ridiculous fool the type referenced in Aristotle's Poetics. One who is obsessed with the irony of sex being one of the major factors pushing a film into non-family friendly territory, while also being the cause of families existing. 

The literal message of my film Un Pot Surveillé actually was meant to have an inspiring message there being no gatekeeper to the human experience and most obstacles are self imposed. It is a totally family friendly film and so in my self-referential attempt to add a humorous element to a poster which I intended to mimic the style of my favorite French New Wave filmmakers. Saying something is wholesome and about sex couldn't be more contradictory to a western film audience. Part of the biggest joking being that French New Wave is permeated with themes of death and existentialism which in reality is far more a taboo subject in the US and yet allowed to be depicted much more pervasively in our media.