DIVA sat down with Reservation Dogs star to find out more about their new film
BY JASMINE SMITH, IMAGE BY RYAN PFLUGER
Backspot shines a spotlight on the gruelling athleticism of cheerleading whilst exploring Riley’s crippling anxiety, her connections with those around her and redefining her relationship with the sport she loves.
Devery Jacobs has done it all: actor, writer, director, and now a feature film producer. The Reservation Dogs star is no stranger to advocating for representation on-screen, and their collaboration as both actor and producer with D.W. Waterson’s Backspot is a must-see at BFI Flare 2024.
Backspot is rooted in a gritty, intense depiction of cheerleading and the physical and mental toll it can take. How did you prepare for the role and how was the experience of cheerleading?
Preparing for the role physically was a really different experience from other roles. I used to be a competitive gymnast and was the provincial champion. We were a low-budget project and only had seventeen days to shoot so it was fast and relentless in many ways. I was going to personal training, physiotherapy, open cheerleading and stretching every day – I didn’t want to get injured because then the whole production would go down. I did all my own stunts except one so the pressure was on!
There was a lot of work that the director D.W. Waterson and I did. I developed Backspot as a producer for six years and so eventually needed to put my actor’s hat on. For me, it’s about doing the work beforehand so on set you’re free and the backstory is intrinsically part of the character.
I also worked closely with Kudakwashe Rutendo (Amanda) – this was her breakout role, and she was incredible. We wanted to make sure you could feel the history and trust like these young athletes belong to each other and have this safety and freedom from the world. For Riley, that’s from the pressures of cheer but for Amanda, it’s the freedom from responsibility in her family.
Did you have an idea of how you wanted to approach Riley and Amanda’s relationship before you started filming, and did that change at all throughout?
We were clear about boundaries so we could feel that freedom but knew where each other were at. I was acutely aware I was in a power position – I didn’t want to be like “Hey I’m the lead and the producer now you gotta make out with me”. I wanted to ensure Kuda had a third-party producer she could talk to. We were very aware of consent, safety, and trust both ways.
With cheerleaders, there’s such team comradery and comfortability, especially with Amanda. I think these are two best friends who have fallen in love and are a safe haven for each other so when that relationship is rocked, it rocks both of their whole beings and throws them into disarray. That was definitely intentional.
We did save the vulnerable things like building the fort until the end of filming, and I think we found some beautiful moments. Now we’re all so close and it’s formed a beautiful friendship with Kuda out of it.
How was the experience of working alongside such an inclusive group of people such as Elliot Page and your collaborator and director, D.W. Waterson?
It was incredible. D.W. and I have been working together for years, we have a production company called Night Is Y but it’s been a minute since working together as director and actor. They’re such an actor’s director and it was incredible working with D.W. from a directorial standpoint – they had such a clear vision.
We were obviously really enthusiastic to be working with Page Boy Productions. I did not expect them to be involved every step of the way, they have been so hands-on. I don’t think we would’ve been able to make this film without the support of Elliot and his team. They’ve given us a lot of freedom to be able to tell the story that we want.
There is a noticeable gap when it comes to LGBTQIA representation in sports films, and Backspot is one of very few. Why do you think this type of representation is so important?
This is a challenging time in history for queer and trans people in sports. Conversations around locker rooms and bathrooms are charged and society deciding who can play sports is something that’s unacceptable in my opinion.
We have seen so many queer coming-of-age films with stories about coming out and how hard that is, and your family’s not going to accept you, or your sport will toss you out. It’s fraught, and I think there’s already plenty of conflict and pressure within the sport. We didn’t want to add to that, we didn’t want to make the conflict exist within the queerness.
We wanted to have Amanda and Riley together at the end because with so many queer projects if it’s not Bury Your Gays then it’s killing the masc-presenting person, or they can’t be together and it’s so tragic. We wanted a happy ending and also wanted to unpack different relationships that aren’t romantic.
Throughout the film, we see a complex relationship dynamic between Riley and queer coach Eileen, as well as Devon (assistant coach). What was the intention behind showing these cross-generational relationships and how they manifested in different ways?
I think when cis-hetero society looks at queer spaces they think of queerness as only sexual, like who you’re attracted to. Really, our experiences as queer people are an embodiment of our whole being.
We wanted to unpack intergenerational trauma, and obviously, our queer elders have done incredible work, and we need to respect and pay homage to them. But I think there can sometimes be a bitterness from older generations in how free and open we can be, and both D.W and myself have had older queer mentors where that was felt.
That’s something we explored with Eileen – even though Riley idolises her and is happy to learn that her coach is queer, there’s some tough love and expectations. Eileen’s almost harder on Riley being who she is than the other athletes. So, exploring that dynamic whilst bridging that generational gap between Riley and Devon showed there can be positive, healthy relationships between an older and younger queer person.
As a young queer person, I would have greatly benefitted from somebody like Devon who would have not only kicked my ass sometimes but let me know that it’ll all be okay.
Your work as a producer, director, actor, and writer has contributed to important conversations in the industry regarding casting roles. What steps do you think other directors and producers should be taking to encourage more authentic casting in terms of both queerness and indigeneity?
There’s an incredible resource from imagineNATIVE Film Festival called Pathways to Protocols Programme on how to implement proper indigenous storytelling and casting, which has been an incredible roadmap. There has been such little proper representation of indigenous folk in all of history.
For us with Backspot, it was really important for us to cast authentically. I think with young people it’s a tougher conversation – we can’t pressure young people to come out and so there’s a fine balance to be had. With adult roles, we wanted to ensure there were as many queer people in queer roles as possible.
Evan Rachel Wood was our first choice for Eileen, and I can’t believe we managed to get all our first choices! We had a very narrow list of actors from a specific generation who are out. We wanted somebody who wasn’t playing their idea of what queerness was but had that lived experience and can bring that sense of authenticity. When it comes to projects I’m a part of, that’s incredibly important to me. This is a queer film for queer people.
What do you hope the lasting impression or message is on the audience after watching this film?
One of the main messages is for Riley to find a healthier relationship with the sport that she loves. She can still be impassioned but her value and self-worth don’t have to be wrapped up in her performance. A sub-takeaway I would say is finding that sense of community with queer people and realising we have so many different relationships with each other outside of just romantic.
How do you feel about the film being screened at BFI Flare as an LGBTQIA festival?
It feels so right! This definitely feels like a homecoming in its own right when you’re coming to a queer film festival. There’s an exhalation that happens and a sense of ease. There’s also a sense of celebration of getting to see other queer cinema and uplift queer filmmakers. It feels really special.
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