The pandemic, masturbation, cybersex, some elements that our lives are filled with right now. These are three things writer-director Karen Maine and I discuss while talking about her debut feature, YES, GOD, YES.

It’s challenging to have your script to get made into a movie. It’s challenging to write a screenplay based on your own life that you get to direct and it is a success (a movie that is good regardless of box office is a success to me). Film Festival darling, Karen Maine, pulled both of these off. She wrote the short for OBVIOUS CHILD, which went on to be a movie with the same director and star, Gillian Robespierre and Jenny Slate, respectively. Now available virtual cinemas and drive-ins theaters near you and on digital and VOD on the 28th, Maine’s directorial debut — which she wrote — is an autobiographical story about hormones versus the Catholic church called YES, GOD YES.

I have seen YES, GOD, YES, and if you want to know if it’s worth your time, well, YES, [YOUR NAME], YES. Maine is a natural at capturing the coming-of-age experience (or, for this movie’s case, cumming-of-age), so I wanted to talk to her about the film and gush over my love for it.

Chase Whale: Hi, Karen. How are you?

Karen Maine: Good. How are you? So nice to connect.

Yeah, yeah. Thank you for being patient with me. I've had a very weird couple of days, so I really appreciate it a lot.

I hope everything is okay.

Yeah, yeah. Everything's good. The world's on fire, but we'll be okay. Have you had any awkward interviews yet? The question is supposed to be parallel to the movie's plot, but I'm curious if you've had any awkward questions or interviews yet. Or if this is it.

[Laughs] No, actually. Yeah, this one[ is the awkward interview]. No. Definitely not, I don't think. I can't think of ... no. Everybody, I feel like, who's decided to interview me has seen the film and liked it.

Oh, for sure.

So I haven't had any awkward ... and I don't really get awkward anymore. I definitely did in high school, but I don't embarrass very easily.

You do or you don't?

I don't, I don't.

Oh, that's good. I was like, she just made this movie about masturbation. Of course, she can't be that awkward in real life, right?

Yeah, I have to talk about it. My parents came to the South by Southwest [2019] premiere. So I had to talk about it in front of them.

I'm glad you brought that up. So what's it like? You've had stuff play at Sundance, South by Southwest. What's it like having your movie, your baby that you wrote or and/or directed, play at such a major film festival?

It's incredibly nerve-wracking. I think that's the hardest part when the film's playing, you don't have to go, but you want to be there. You want to see and hear the reaction, but it's such a passive experience and as someone who likes to engage with people and discuss things and make sure ... I guess it's the crux of filmmaking is you do all you can and you put it out there and you're not always going to be able to explain it. You just have to trust that people are going to find something that they connect to and take that away from it. Hopefully, it's positive.

Oh, for sure.

But yeah, I love doing the Q&As, but I get nervous right before them. But as soon as I start talking, I'm fine. But it's more like when you're watching the film with other people, you're just sitting there. You're never talking, you're just sitting there, and it's really excruciating.

I just couldn't do it. I'd to stand outside of the theater and just tell someone, "Please lie to me and tell me that they all loved it, even if they hated it. Just lie to me."

[Laughs] Well, I have to say, it's probably worth it, once you hear a first big laugh. A festival like South by or Sundance, obviously these are festivals with people who are going to want to champion indie films. I guess I've been really lucky that both times they played really well, but I do think festivals are a little insular and bubble-like. So it's not necessarily a stand-in for the wider demographic, a wider audience.

Oh, for sure. So I was thinking of how do I turn this into a question? But it's more of a statement thing. It's releasing or it just released, right?

It's releasing tomorrow or tonight at midnight.

Okay. Well, I will make sure to be super loud online. So the dream for filmmakers is to have your movie play in movie theaters, and unfortunately, the pandemic has made that not possible for a lot of filmmakers. One thing you can take comfort in is that I see, because I've been doing film festivals since 2007, and for a lot of filmmakers, I think it's really cool because even if I'm this going to VOD because of what's going on, the festivals are the theatrical experience. It's the right audience. It's the audience that they're there because they want to see this, and they're interested, this and that. So that's cool.

Yeah. It's definitely a shame we're not getting those theatrical releases, but at the same time, even if theaters were open, and I think some of them might still be, clearly, it's not the time. I don't want anyone getting sick or hurting themselves to see my movie. But also because so many technical and studio films have been delayed, there's more space for indie films to get attention. That's a positive thing.

Oh, yeah. That's why this is the time [filmmakers and studios] can use [quarantine] to your advantage. It's an unfortunate situation, but at least-

Oh, of course. Strictly speaking being about indie film, not ... It's not positive in any other way.

Yeah. It's just so great that a lot of indie films are [grabbing the attention of film lovers] because it always breaks my heart when I see a movie that's just so amazing and it never gets the chance to find its audience. Even if I'm known to be really loud online when I like a movie, and it just breaks my heart whenever it doesn't find its audience because it gets buried under Avengers 15 or something like that.

[Laughs] Yeah.

So you've written and you directed, and you've done both for Yes, God, Yes. What personally, for you, has been different from writing and watching someone else direct your work, versus writing and directing your own work?

Well, with Obvious Child, which is the only thing I've written that I didn't direct.

Yes!

It was co-written with some really good friends of mine. Gillian [Robespierre], the director, is a very close friend of mine.

Oh, that's great.

So it was ... Yeah, yeah. So I knew it was in good hands.

Good.

But for this, at first, I was like, "I'm not going to direct this." It was only because I wasn't a director. I didn't go to film school. I worked in publishing for 10 years. It just wasn't something I thought I could do. Thankfully, I had another female filmmaker friend, who, when I asked her to direct it, she was like, "You direct it. This is your movie. This is your story."

That's great.

That was really the first time it occurred to me. Thankfully, my producers are wonderful and supportive and onboard. So, yeah, I can't imagine anybody else having directed this because it was just so personal.

Ah, that's beautiful. I'm glad you said that because I was actually going to talk about it, the story. One thing that I loved so much that you captured what I really haven't seen in many movies that take place during that time period [the late 90s, early aughts], is you really, you zapped me back to that time period. I remember being on the computer and getting the A/S/L message and chatting with people on there before you even see a photo of who they are. The atmosphere of the film took me back to that time period. It felt I was back there. I was going to ask you about that on how much of that was your life. You just answered that. [Laughs]

Oh, yeah, that whole ... I didn't start, how do I say this gently? I didn't start touching myself because of that experience. But I literally, other than that, the AOL chat that’s in the film, that's pretty much exactly what happened to me.

Wow.

I didn't use a friend's photo, but I used a model photo from ... I think it was The Babysitter's Club film that came out around then with Rachael Leigh Cook. I used one of their pictures for my picture and yeah, literally was just playing a word scramble game, and all of a sudden had gotten partially nude photos emailed to me. Everyone back then knows once you try having cybersex or fall into that, you have your friends over and you can do it with them. Cybersex was a group activity.

I remember, though, feeling really bad too, about it, like the guilt was profound. I remember my parents were like, "It's dinner time." I went upstairs, and I couldn't eat because I felt so guilty for what I'd done.

Wow.

But, yeah, a lot of it is from my life.

Yeah. I think I've always said any movie a writer/director does, something in there is a part of them. I just think it's really cool that it is autobiographical and you put yourself out there because that takes a lot of guts, especially for this pseudo-taboo topic.

Well, it wasn’t, too, focused on my family, which I think helps. I think if you're going to make your family really big characters, that's incredibly difficult.

Oh, for sure.

The character of Alice [Natalia Dyer, Stranger Things] is partially ... has bits of me in her, but I think she really became her own character as we worked with Natalia. So it's me, but it's not necessarily ... or my experiences rather, as a teen, but not necessarily me. You know?

Yeah. It's so good. So bravo on directing it and please thank your filmmaker friend who recommended you to make it for me. I'm glad she did because now hopefully you'll continue to make feature films because you've got the talent for it. So don't stop.

Yeah, I definitely hope and want to.

You come up with the coolest titles for your films. Does this come naturally as you’re writing, or do you think of it before? I make these dumb little short films and I’m always thinking of titles while making them.

First of all, thank you. For Obvious Child, I think we just all loved Paul Simon's Rhythm of the Saints album and that song. I listened to it a lot in high school with my friends and we'd just dance so hard to the drums. We had a lot of other titles for that movie at one point. All of them were very bad. For YGY, it used to be called "Live the Fourth", which is one of the retreat's mottos. But I felt that didn't really capture the humor of the film at all. I think yes god yes just came to me at one point later on and my producers loved it so it stuck. It's much more fun than Live the Fourth.

Okay, I have time for one more question. Let me think of the best question I have in my notes.

No pressure. [Laughs]

No pressure. Okay. We only have one minute. Is there anything about the movie you have not been asked about, but you would like to talk about it? Anything in the movie, about the movie, anything at all?

Not really, but just because not because I haven't been asked it but because if I don't get asked it, I just say it anyway. The thing, something that only occurred to me, doing this press, is that with a lot of talk around white saviors and movies about people of color, I realized that I have a queer savior in my movie who helps this straight girl. I think that's pretty cool. Now I sound like an asshole. I just sound like, "Look at me. I'm so cool.” I don't know how to phrase that in a better way.

Well, I think you're cool and so is that answer.

I really loved that scene and I love that character. I think Susan Blackwell, who plays that woman, is amazing and a lot of people seem to really connect with that scene.

Yeah. It's a beautiful scene. I definitely connected to it and I'm a guy and, and so well done.

Thanks.

Congratulations. Continue to make movies and actually, I'm sending out your shirt today, so you should get it soon.

Yay.

Have fun on your press day and answering more of the exact same questions.

[Laughs] Oh, this is great.

It's just something you're going to have to get used to.

Yeah, I guess.

That's a good thing! It means people want to talk to you about your work.

Well, thank you so much.

Have a great day.

Yeah, you, too. Good to talk.

Great to talk. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.