Interview with the Cast and Crew of Occupy Cannes

The following is part of our coverage of this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest content, click here.

I recently had a chance to speak with the cast and crew of Occupy Cannes, including Lloyd Kaufman (producer and Troma Entertainment co-founder), Lily Hayes Kaufman (director), Lisbeth Kaufman (co-producer), and Catherine Corcoran (actress). In our interview, we discuss their time filming the new documentary, what it means for Lloyd to receive a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, and what fans can expect from Troma’s new film, The Toxic Avenger.

Congratulations Lloyd on your Indie Maverick Award! What is it like receiving this award at a festival that has very graciously presented a lot of Troma’s work over the years?

Lloyd Kaufman: Fantasia discovered James Gunn and I. We talked a lot and we both agreed that Mitch Davis, the best curator, loves cinema and Fantasia really is the best festival, the best fans, cinephiles, critics. It’s a warm, loving and artistic environment. If I could just take two weeks, I would come and watch every film. But unfortunately, the duties of Tromaville beckon. Even though I’m 79 years old, Lisbeth wants to be involved in environmental things, Lily Hayes has got commitments, and my beautiful wife is a film commissioner. But someday, I would like to come here to just be a fan and watch. We were only here for two days, but I got to see Sham by Takashi Miike. We’re going to see Sugar Rot. We can’t wait to see some of the other movies. In terms of the award, I’ve never gotten any award like that. So to get the award from Fantasia is a big deal.

You all obviously had a very hectic experience trying to promote your movie and this movement at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. I wanted to start off on a positive note. I was wondering if you had a positive moment you were able to take away from the festival that stuck with you, whether it be seeing a movie, a fan interaction, exploring the city or the festival itself.

Catherine Corcoran: I know that we had our ups and downs, but, for the most part, it was very positive for me. I enjoyed what we were doing. I loved being there. I felt so privileged. I was 18 years old when I made Return to Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1, so to be that young and to be at Cannes I thought was the coolest thing in the entire world. I didn’t care in what capacity we were there. I got to meet some incredible people who I still count as dear friends, including Lisbeth and Lily Hayes.

Lisbeth Kaufman: I think the best experience was the intensity of all of us, how we were so earnest. We really believed in what we were doing to get the word out. Also, the hilarious conditions that we were in, where most of the people who had flown from all over the world were sleeping on the floor. My sister and I shared a little fold-out cot that’s too small for one person. Those conditions, I think, bonded us together. Going through conditions like that and believing in something so intensely with all those people really makes us all become family. It was very moving to be with all these people and have this extended family that we still have today, 10 years later.

Catherine: We’re all still in touch. There were also all those volunteers who either worked on some Troma productions or believed in the cause, and wanted to be part of it. They came from Italy, Iceland, the UK, France, and Japan.

Lloyd: In the movie, when we arrive at Cannes, we’re known there and the people in the streets love Troma. The police, the minute we arrived, were like “Troma!”. They love Troma. Then trouble began and you saw what happened in the movie.

Lily Hayes Kaufman: Generally, just the incredible passion of the filmmakers and artists that are there with Troma, who are just so focused on staying true to the cause. There was a movie that came out in 2002 called All The Love You Cannes! that followed a different generation of the Troma team. They were just crazy. It was a very entertaining movie. You see that first and see this previous time when Troma went really over the line and got in a lot of trouble. In 2013, this group was very responsible, who were there to sell the film, to spread the word, and to fight for independent filmmakers. I think it’s really inspiring to see how this team came together and were very organized. Every morning they had a planning meeting. They were very well-behaved. They were very responsible with the apartment and with the people that they encountered throughout the time. It was really inspiring to see this balance of craziness and anarchy that is in the performance art but holding that line as well.

For you, Catherine, being one of the stars of the film, what was it like for you being on the front lines to help promote the film and push the movement forward?

Catherine: I don’t think I realized at the time how rare it is to be able to screen your film at the Cannes Film Festival at all. I think that is something that’s really important to acknowledge is that Troma was still part of the festival and was still screening as part of the festival at one of the theaters. We were not on the giant red-carpeted stairs that you see, but were still very much part of the festival. I don’t think it really hit me until years later what a privilege that is to be able to experience something like that. That was my first festival experience… period. It was just kind of a crash course in what that looked like, and I think it made me a more informed and educated filmmaker. I was able to go and actually work for some festivals later on. I was able to help with festival strategy because I had this understanding that I didn’t have prior. It was definitely a little nerve-racking for sure, as I’m sure Lisbeth could also talk about it, because there were fears of getting arrested and things like that. But I don’t think I was ever really that frightened about that. I always felt very safe with everyone that I was working with, and I didn’t feel out of my depth at all, which I think can be very easy in a festival like Cannes.

Being 12 years removed from the subject of your documentary, was it something that you knew you wanted to make into a documentary right away? What was the drive to wanting to put the story out there on the screen after seeing all the footage?

Lily Hayes: I wish that Charlotte Kaufman, the third sister, was here with us. This is really a Troma team project. Many of us made this film together. When Charlotte was the cinematographer, she really started this project. She got everyone together, and she was the main camera person on this project. It was filmed on at least 5 cameras, probably between 5 and 10. She and Nico [Prez] had serious high-tech cameras. Then it was a real true multimedia film down to flip phones and flip cameras. When they set out to go to Cannes, Charlotte was filming with the idea of gathering all this footage to make some type of film. The idea was always there. When we came back and had all the footage, the structure of Occupy Cannes changed dramatically over the years. As we started to look at the footage, we went back and filmed sit-down interviews where we could really ask questions. We really got into the weeds of editing, putting the story together, and building out character in 2020. Already many years had passed since the trip. We brought in an animator, Mike Shapiro, and he filled in some places where we didn’t have the footage for something that we wanted to tell in the story. Mike was able to put in some animated scenes, like where Zac [Amico] was punched.

Lloyd: The people who worked for us 13 years ago slept on the floor and they came back to help Lily Hayes and Mike Shapiro. Sean McGrath, who was in Poultrygeist and Citizen Toxic, and Brian McNulty, who was the co-editor, they all helped us out.

Lily Hayes: It is really incredible, the Troma team who came back to be a part of this project. We are also so grateful to Julie and Roger Corman, who are executive producers, and who have had such an incredible relationship with Troma and my father over the years. I am so grateful that they could be a part of this project as well.

Lisbeth: I actually wanted to reflect on you [Lily Hayes] as a director because I think you are such an interesting director for this film. I’m so impressed with your clear-eyed approach to the subject matter. What I felt in the film is that you came in with a great curiosity, a great respect, but also not shying away from asking hard questions about your own father. It’s a very interesting and great approach that you took as a director.

Catherine: I think Lily Hayes straddled a beautiful line between criticism and celebration. She also protected the participants in a beautiful way, because obviously everyone was struggling in their own journeys at that time, being so young and so idealistic. There was no one better than Lily Hayes to be the director and champion to piece together this story because she could look at it with such a beautiful, clear motherly lens. It’s such a beautiful film. I’m so excited for people to see it.

Lloyd: There were people sitting in front of me that were weeping during the screening.

Catherine: I think everybody on the staff said that they watched it and they cried. You’re holding rarefied air when you can create something that brings people to tears like that.

At the time of the festival, you’ve repeatedly said this might be your last festival. With 12 years passed, do you think that you would go back to Cannes?

Lily Hayes: I can’t help but admit that you’ll get different answers. For me, in my heart, I can’t help but really hope that, one day, Cannes will acknowledge, recognize, and give respect to my dad and Troma that I think he deserves for his films. He has been such a staple of Cannes in so many ways and has been so legendary. His presence has been so legendary at Cannes for nearly 50 years. I really hope that Troma gets back and that he gets the recognition that I believe he deserves from the official festival.

Lloyd: With the cost of taking our cast and our team to Cannes, we could probably make 2 or 3 movies. So why go there? Why use that money to go to a festival where they don’t want us? The citizens of Cannes, if we ever came back, they would love it. But, we’re going to go back to Troma Dance, which is a free festival that we did in Park City during Sundance. We had a theater, we would have a bar on Main Street, we had two venues and all new filmmakers at no cost. You didn’t have to pay to submit your film, and you can see the movies for free which is great. But Sundance is going to be in Boulder, and we have already lined up three really good venues owned by fans for 2027.

Lily Hayes: However, it is such an honor to be here at Fantasia. This is really our home and this is the ideal place for our film and for Troma. They are such true lovers of independent film here and of Troma. There’s no better feeling than being here yesterday when we premiered, seeing all the people here that are so happy to celebrate Lloyd and Troma, and to welcome Occupy Cannes. This is what gives us hope for independent film for the future.

At the end of the month, the reimagining of The Toxic Avenger is finally hitting theaters. What can you tease fans about what to expect with the new movie?

Lloyd: The new [The] Toxic Avenger is a very good film. It’s better than the original. Bravo, the guts to hire Macon Blair, who is a huge Troma fan, who has seen a lot of our films. He has drilled down way deep in the Troma library. You’ll see lots of Troma callbacks. It is totally different from our original film, but it has lots of callbacks. It takes place in Tromaville. The fans who saw it at Fantastic Fest loved it. The focus groups did very well for Troma and non-Troma fans. I think it’ll do very well. It’s not a cartoon like the original. [Peter] Dinklage is great. The cast is great. They all love Troma. Lily Hayes’ new documentary is going to involve the cast. She already shot a lot of it with the cast of the new film. They were so nice and the distributor, Cineverse, let Lily Hayes and her two camera people come to film everything.

Special thanks to the Occupy Cannes and Troma team for the opportunity to speak with the cast and crew.

image credit: Joshua Lai/Fantasia

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Costa Christoulas

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