Becca Comes To Visit | the deep care and disregard of sibling relationships

Becca Comes To Visit swells with the deep, moving waters of a sibling relationship that gets a little rocky. Written by Quinn Theobald and directed by sister Skya Theobald, it draws on their closeness and thrives in intimacy.

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“We’ve been writing all our lives and sharing our pieces back and forth. And this was a piece that we were really excited about,” Quinn tells D&CFilm.

Conflict

The story is about two siblings, played by Ethan Josh Lee and Junah Jang, and a moment of big conflict and tension between them.

“They’re both really close, but also not good at understanding exactly where the other is at, as tends to happen – at least in my experience with actual siblings,” says Quinn.

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We’re on a cross-Atlantic call with Quinn, Skya, Ethan and Junah.

“Honesty is something that comes through in any sibling relationship,” says Junah. “You can’t hide when you’re feeling even a degree of frustration with someone you’ve known all your life, so those parts felt familiar and exciting.

Interesting tension

“A piece that I really liked about this character was how out of place she is in an environment and relationship that should feel familiar, familial. That’s part of growing up – you’re experimenting with yourself, and the person that’s known you all your life is noticing that experimentation and that difference, and that brings interesting tension.”

Ethan is an older brother.

“I saw a lot of myself and my relationship in the film – we don’t get into fights like that anymore,” he laughs, saying younger siblings can be annoying, “but you also have a protective relationship with them.” And about the story, he says: “There was something there that was universal and shared.”

The closeness of sibling relationships runs deep with Quinn and Skya.

Support

“Quinn and I have always loved working together, and always wanted to work together. This is the project that we got to work most closely together,” she says. “I started writing before I actually knew how to physically write, because I would tell the story to Quinn, and he would write it down in a notebook for me. So we’ve always been a duo who have been supporting each other.”

The pair have had maybe two real fights in their adult life.

“Siblings fight,” she says. “But we still love each other.”

That sense of conflict was cathartic and informative for the actors.

Deep care and disregard

Junah describes how freeing it can be to act as a sibling: “Often when you’re interacting with people who aren’t your ‘family members’, you do have to keep thinking of what it means to be two people who don’t really know each other. But when you’re in that setting with a ‘sibling’ you can let go of a lot of things. It’s fun to play around in that space — simultaneously having deep care and disregard for the person in front of you.”

Ethan will also take something from the role.

Vulnerability

“Maybe it’s just me, but I feel vulnerable getting upset like that, because I don’t do that in front of everyone, but channelling that and workshopping that with people I didn’t know before the starting this movie was an experience where I opened up, and we were able to share in that experience,” he says. “At the end of the project, you leave some things in the character, and you take some things from the character.” That’s the fun part of it.”

Becca Comes To Visit is a slight departure for Skya.

“Most of my films are about feminine friendships, and that is something that really interests me. I treasure family and it was nice getting to bring this piece that Quinn wrote to life.

Complexity

“Sibling relationships are something that are so complex and so important. If you are close, your siblings are really going to be there with you throughout your whole life. Friends will come and go. It was really nice to get to dive into that and look at that complexity.”

Both Skya and Quinn are fascinated by stories that aren’t about romantic relationships.

“It was definitely interesting to see Junah and Ethan working with the characters, and bringing a lot of new aspects to the characters,” says Quinn. “At one point, it hit me that there was actually a specific fight that Sky and I had years ago that had influenced the movie. Seeing them bring the characters to life and take them off the page made me realize how close it was to my own experience.”

With a solid prep of three months, and plenty of online rehearsal, the shoot was completed in three days.

After starting out as an actor herself, Skya’s favourite part of the directing is working with actors.

“It was really fun to do chemistry reads with Ethan and Junah, and I love working with the actors and finding the backstory and where they are bringing something new,” she says.

And although it was all planned, there was one shot of cinematic agility that surprised Quinn. Gimble-clad Director of Photography Bennett Cerf had to move down a narrow corridor and turn very quickly from one character walking away to another walking towards him.

“We actually had to have someone catch him,” says Quinn. “Because the gimble was so heavy, when he turned, he would unbalance himself. It was really cool to work with him and see him come up with the ways to make the shots happen.”

That creativity, connectivity and efficiency fed into a warm set – so much so, that an impromptu post-credit scene developed.

“It was fun that we were able to create something new together with these actors,” says Quinn. “At first, the boom operator couldn’t stop laughing, because the guys were just cracking jokes.”

Ethan says: “It was such a fantastic experience. I had a blast.”

Becca Comes To Visit is at the English Riviera Film Festival on March 15, at the Lyceum Theatre Torquay. Get your tickets