Director, writer and actor Jenn Harris joins us on Close-Up Culture to talk about her new short film, She’s Clean. The film follows a resilient woman who tries to marry her desires for sexual freedom with emotional intimacy by showering with all her dates.
Hi Jenn, welcome to Close-Up Culture. What inspired you to write She’s Clean? Did it come from your own dating experiences?
Thank you for having me. I decided to write She’s Clean during the pandemic. I knew I wanted to make another film and all these stories I had written down from me and friends’ dating experiences was the thing I couldn’t shake, so I got into Sundance COLLAB and wrote it through that program. It came partly from my experiences and partly from the experiences of my friends.
What did you want to explore in the film?
Intimacy. The connections or lack thereof between men and women after intimacy has happened and how to capture connections that don’t lie on the spectrum of falling in love or being in danger or exploitive felt needed to me. I wanted to make something hopefully more nuanced than I’ve seen in film.
I also wanted to challenge myself and shoot 14 short scenes in one location and attempt to keep the visuals interesting.
Obviously, much of the film takes part in the shower. What was your experience look shooting this film and playing the lead role?
It felt natural to me to be honest. I can say that because of all the preparation we did in pre-production to have me in a place where I was set up to succeed. Our logistics were tight, we had options if we needed them, all questions were asked and answered in advance and I had the best crew and cast of anything I’ve ever worked on. Every single person was a master at what they do, I’m not being a blow hard here, they really are! There’s something that clicks on inside me when I ask incredible people to work on something with me and they say “yes” – I get to step up to them.
What are your hopes for the film and the discussions it prompts from audiences?
I really hope it can reach its audience. I don’t mind being not for everyone, and I don’t make work that’s trying to teach you anything or lay something on you. I hope some people can relate and feel seen or get to laugh via recognition. And if anything I’d love for women to feel a little freer if they want or as much as they want searching for intimacy and not stop that search till they feel satisfied.
You recently had a role in the film, American Fiction. How do you reflect on that experience?
I actually can’t believe how fast that film took off and rightfully so. It was such a unique and incredible script and I had so much space and liberty on set with the director Cord Jefferson. He and the producers were fantastic. You never have any clue what an indie film is going to do. I expected it would do well because of the cast and script but win an Oscar? What a gift. I feel very fortunate to have been invited to play.
What’s next for you?
I gratefully have some acting gigs lined up: an indie film, a play at the Old Globe this summer, and I’m really excited to play the lead in the world premiere of a new Anna Ziegler play called THE JANIEAD. I’ve also just finished the Ryan Murphy Half Initiative program for directing and directing television is my ultimate goal at the moment.
Title image by StephanSchacher