“Band Aid” writer, director and star Zoe Lister-Jones described the experience of working with an all-female crew as a “joyous” one in an interview with TheWrap at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
Lister-Jones, who first found success collaborating with her partner Daryl Wein on indies like “Breaking Upwards” and “Lola Versus,” said that this was a move to “step out on my own” and direct a project on her own terms.
“It makes it a hundred million times better,” joked Lister-Jones’ co-star Adam Pally of the majority woman work environment. “Men are terrible. If I could, I would only work with female crews for the rest of my career.”
Lister-Jones, who is currently seen on CBS’ “Life in Pieces,” said that this film marked a return to her indie roots after getting a peak into the big-budget Hollywood studio system.
“The creative process kind of took on a new light for me where it lost some of its joy and its purity,” she said. “And so this film, for me, is something that I just wanted to have fun making.”
“Band Aid” follows an unhappily married couple who turn to music to work through their issues, forming a band with their kooky neighbor (played by Fred Armisen).
“It’s a little something I like to call Thera-oke,” Lister-Jones said. “It’s about finding ways to channel all the historical grievances you have with your partner through music. Music is therapeutic.”
Lister-Jones said the film was at least partially inspired by her relationship with Wein and the challenges they’ve faced as a couple who blurs the line between romantic and professional.
“I do think that being in a romantic relationship with someone you’re creating art with is a very specific experience,” she said. “And that was something that I wanted to mine in this.”
And even though Wein and Lister-Jones haven’t turned to music to work through their personal drama yet, Lister-Jones says, “Never say never.”