It is a familiar trope in pop culture to pit women against each other. On screen or off, “catfights” have long been reduced to easy gossip fodder across audiences. However, only a few works manage to capture the nuanced emotional complexity that shapes female friendship. Tori Lancaster is one such filmmaker, whose vision in Mother Future Self cuts through that familiar tension with rawness and depth, tracing two estranged friends as they confront the lingering discomfort of their shared past after years of distance. 

In an exclusive interview with Netflix Junkie, Lancaster unpacked her filmography and the creative vision behind the project, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. 

Hriddhi Maitra: I’ll start with the title. It does leave a lot of room for interpretation. What does it mean to you personally? And how does that title anchor the character's internal journey as they move toward the breaking point that comes towards the end?

Tori Lancaster: Yeah, I think the idea of Mother Future Self as the concept is definitely the most expressed directly in the poem that's read during the end credits, which I'm not sure if you stuck around through the end credits and got it. And I kind of like leaving it there, where it's like, if you stick around, you get it, or maybe you don't. But obviously it's, you know, abstract. It's poetic. But for me, I think the Mother Future Self is like Sophie in particular.

You know, she has an idea of wanting to be able to move through wherever she is right now and just be like a better, more clear version of herself. And so I think, like, as Jordan comes back into her realm, it's like there's this thing of, like, oh, this progress I've made as a person. I'm now regressing to this version of myself that I don't really like. And if I could only tap into the knowledge of my future self and kind of with it being a mother, the idea of we're constantly rebirthing ourselves. So that's kind of the idea. And it's something that's fine for me if people walk away with that or don't and also project onto it whatever they feel like it speaks to them.

Hriddhi Maitra: The film is also set against a very majestic and sort of an isolated backdrop. It's also, it also has a bit of a rural setting, which almost acts as a character itself. Now, although, you know, shooting on a location like that, from, you know, away from major production, it is very special, specific to the energy on a set. But it also kind of, you know, it also means that the cast and the crew are going to live in the same bubble as the character. So what was the actual production experience like in that setting? What was it for you?

Tori Lancaster: Well, so we did film part of the film in 2021 at the actual camp in Maine. And it was very much—we went in with that idea of, like, being this insular bubble, everybody living there in the cabins, which was very fun. But we ended up actually having to pause production because of a COVID outbreak. So we had to pause. And then in 2023, we ended up filming the rest of it in and around New York City, trying to somehow make it look like it's rural Maine. So that part of the filmmaking was totally different. And, you know, nobody—we weren't staying together. We were just finding these little areas, like, you know, warehouses in Brooklyn.

So it was very different. But the 2021 part of the shoot was very fun for that. And I wanted that experience of, like, what it up at this camp and be all in with, you know, the people that you're in the workshop with. And we even had nights of, like, having the cast and crew, you know, when we weren't filming, participating in some of the workshop exercises, because I really wanted everybody to get to just have an embodied experience of the work that's in the film.

Hriddhi Maitra: Now, lately, we also talk a lot about our bodies and, you know, how it holds trauma and baggage, like how when you're in stress, you tighten your shoulder and stuff like that, those things. And through this movie, you have tried to convey throwing these characters into such an experimental setting like that dance camp. You're basically forcing them to be physically—you know, they should be able to confront everything that they have been suppressing so far. So for these characters, did you see that setting, that whole dance camp, as a tool for sort of healing? Like, how do you think our bodies exactly react or, you know, betray us when we are desperate to pretend everything is fine?

Tori Lancaster: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's a big part of why—the setting was so important for this is I think it's like there aren't necessarily clear answers. It's like the further you go into embodied work like that, you're like, oh, I'm healing one thing, but then I'm also, like, confronting an ambiguity or a discomfort somewhere else. So I really wanted to see these characters having to, like, both on a very, very internal level, confront these different things, but then also, you know, reflect their dynamic and that it's not very black and white. And I think that is part of—in general, with, like, this type of work, there's just different ways of thinking about the different things.

Like, one of the things is, like, boundaries is a big part of what we're exploring in the work. Like, even in the scene where KJ is drawing the cells and talking about the interstitial fluid that moves in and out of the cell, it's like, oh, breaking out of a boundary can be both freeing, but it can also be scary. And you, like, lose a sense of self of who am I if I lose a boundary? So that's a really kind of all over the place way of just confirming that yeah, there's so much nuance in that type of work that I think is reflective of the nuance and the grayscale of just life as a person. Life as a person in relation to other people. So it's just ripe for investigation.

Hriddhi Maitra: Also, with an ensemble piece that feels this naturalistic, there’s always a balance between, you know, a tightly written script and also at the same time letting the actors breathe and live in that space. So how much of the film's overall dialogue and body language was deliberately and meticulously blocked, and how much did you discover through improvisation on the location itself?

Tori Lancaster: Yeah, so I—when I was, like, envisioning the film and writing, I was very clear of, like, I wanted some scenes that were very tightly written and, like, the coverage and blocking very, very precise. But I wanted to balance that with these scenes that had way more organic blocking, but with those scenes in particular—so a lot of the workshop exercises, I've taken this exact workshop multiple times. So I know the flow of it. And so there are scenes that I looked at as I'm making this scene as a container for—I know what the parameters are gonna be, but when we go to film it, I want to just let go and see what happens.

And so that was something that was like an experiment. And then when we were in the edit, I was like, oh yes, these things—it does feel like they work together. But that was kind of a hypothesis from the beginning, that I was like, oh, I think the tightly scripted and the improvisation can come together. And it was really a matter of just finding the balance and kind of planning which one would be which.

Hriddhi Maitra: Yeah, right. And since you're also the editor, like you have worn multiple hats in this film, I wanted to ask—the film has a very patient and observant rhythm. Like, how did you manage that pacing while you were editing this film? And, you know, just kind of how did you ensure that the slow burn visual style did not sap the energy out of the narrative's climax?

Tori Lancaster: Yeah, definitely. At the beginning, like, our first assembly cut was like three hours. And I was like, oh my God, this is so—I mean, obviously assembly cuts way longer. But I think it was like I saw like what the most excruciating long version of the film could be, and I was like, this is horrible. I cannot subject anyone to this. I felt very strongly for myself, I was like, I think we can find a way of preserving that slow pace, but in a condensed thing. I really didn't want the film to be even an hour 40. I wanted to keep it short.

And I think part of it is, yeah, that the kind of slowness and meandering pace is written into the script and is a little bit by virtue of, like, we're with them over the course of, you know, one week. So rather than being like, here's a hot—here's a big thing—here's a big thing—it’s like, what are the small moments that, you know, a day passes through. And just really being pretty aggressive in the cut too—there’s so many scenes that I loved that had to get cut, and finding the line between, like, oh, this scene feels like it's breathing but not overstaying its welcome.

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And I also had a co-editor for a few weeks who was amazingly helpful, Kali Khan. And yeah, so she was really great at helping make sure that I wasn't just getting lost in the slowness and being like, okay, it's time to start hacking.

Hriddhi Maitra: Also, Victoria, pop culture loves to depict, you know, female friendship fallouts. Like, you know, they just portray us having cat fights, or either that or we are just ghosting and being cold with each other. But the reality is very different. Like, friendship breakups can be equally, if not more devastating than a romantic breakup. What did you want to explore about that specific anatomy of a friendship breakup through this film? Like, why do you think it's so hard for Sophie and Jordan to just find a clean slate after all these years?

Tori Lancaster: Yeah, I mean, I think part of what I was wrestling with just going into it as well, it was exactly what you're saying, where I was like—I was very aware of like, oh, when you have a romantic relationship and it ends, it's very clear. It's like we're no longer together. And how often there's just this ambiguous disintegration that happens where you're like, wait, what are we to each other? And yeah, so that was just something I was personally grappling with and was wanting to explore in the characters. And it was really during my time of taking these types of workshops and separately also thinking about these things that I was just really impacted with how much the micro aspects of this particular type of movement exercises and teachings were reflecting those broader themes.

So it felt really ripe for that. And also was like, oh, what would that be like if I was stuck in this environment with somebody else and just kind of let that be the jumping-off point. And yeah, in general, I really like—you know, relationships are like we have categories that we put relationships into, but inevitably they're reductive. And so yeah, it just felt like a kind of playground to dive into the contradictions.

And that was something else too where I wanted it to feel like we're not just necessarily on a clear track with them, like they like each other, then they hate each other, they hate each other, and then they like each other. I wanted it to be a little bit of micro whiplash for the audience and seeing their dynamic, because I think we've all been there where it's like one second you're like best friends, then all of a sudden that moment's gone and you're treating each other like shit.

Hriddhi Maitra: Yeah. And it also does not, you know, provide a clear picture of who was right or who was wrong. It does not really try to do that, which a lot of films about such personal reckonings focus on. But this film, Mother Future Self, it kind of feels like it's aiming for something a bit more complex and nuanced. Like, same people can experience the exact same friendship and still have the exact same fallout and yet walk away with completely different perspectives and experiences and versions of their own reality.

So as a writer and director, what kind of conversation are you hoping to spark through this film? Like about perspectives? Are you pushing the audience to take a side between Sophie and Jordan? Like is that your message, or is it that people should just accept sometimes that closure is impossible?

Tori Lancaster: Yeah, definitely not pushing in one direction or the other. And this is something I was kind of—to me, I'm like, if somebody's watching the film and is identifying with one of them really strongly, I hope by the end they feel confused and they're like, wait, which one am I rooting for? And that, like in general, one of the things I was like, at what point is it like, does the act of self-preservation turn into an act of violence?

You know, it's a big way of phrasing it, but even that manifests in small ways. So I was interested in that, of not giving people a clear walk away. And that hopefully one way that I've looked at it is some of the traits of each of them are—I've embodied both of those traits, for better or worse, and I think we all have. So definitely more interested in people having to look at that and not necessarily have a clear answer of good guy, bad guy. Yeah, and I think that's in general what I like in films as well.

Hriddhi Maitra: Work like that also sort of—sorry to cut you. This is going to be my last question, actually. You have also really serious and heavy themes in this film alongside a setting that is now being described as a wonderfully weird adult theme park. So what does that blend of absurdity and heavy drama at the same time say about human condition, according to you? Like, are you suggesting that sometimes our deepest personal crises are often wrapped up in situations that are a bit bizarre and surreal?

Tori Lancaster: Yes, I agree with your take. Yeah, that's—I mean, to me, that's just life. That it's like whatever is the most excruciating thing can also potentially be zoomed out at and be kind of feel laughable or absurd from another perspective or sometimes within it as well. And that was something that I was definitely, especially in the edit, really trying to tread the balance of where I wanted it to be.

Even though it's heavy things, be able to have a lightness and a moment of like we're in the character's world versus we're zoomed out and we're kind of seeing it from another perspective, which is where I think also the ensemble cast, having them as well, having these breaths of fresh air through these other characters helps us just reframe.

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