Joe Lia is a queer homeless kid named India in FAQs

Writer/director/auteur Everett Lewis’ films Luster and Skin and Bone explore the sexy side of L.A. life, and his latest effort, FAQs is no exception. The story of a queer homeless kid named India (Joe Lia) meeting his Destiny (Allan Louis), a drag queen savior, this nudity-filled tale of finding a family and battling homophobia is great fun. Lewis recently spoke with The San Francisco Bay Times and answered some FAQs himself.

(The San Francisco Bay Times:) OK, Everett where do you find the cute guys in your films, and how do you get them to take their clothes off?

(Everett Lewis:) Goodness! I cast in traditional ways, and I ask people if they know people to do this. I try to scare them by telling them that there is more nudity and pornography than there is, so when they do it, there’s actually less than they thought. Joe, the lead, I knew. Though sometimes it’s hard—like casting the Spencer character. [Getting naked] is just business. They can’t eat fat, so they can be skinny and attractive. [Actors] like it when they get going at it. It’s just the first time is a bit unnerving.

What is your fascination with the sex/porn industry?

Skin and Bone is where it started. The nature of movies is [watching and] identifying with characters who are sometimes undressed. Movies don’t have enough naked men. I am alluding to this by exploiting flesh and asking people to look at it

Your film tackles issue of abuse and homelessness and being ostracized. Why are these topics you want to discuss?

 In Luster I wanted to show that people shouldn’t judge what other people like. [It that film, one character enjoys getting beaten]. He finds someone who likes to do that. In FAQs, I [present] a lot of bad experiences. This is the first movie that is not as preconceived as heavily as my others. It was intuitively written. That speech of Spencer’s [about being beaten] happened to me.

How did you create the characters in FAQs?

As abstract as it might seem, the [characters] are all people I know or have met. It’s very intuitive and direct. I wanted to show characters that didn’t buy into straight society and were very powerful in their reactions to straight society.

What about Destiny? Did you know Allan Louis beforehand?

I had been a heavy clubgoer for several years before I made the film. I used to see Allan perform elaborate shows with Alexis Arquette. I started looking for him when I wrote it, and he said he’d read it and said he’d be in it. He was excited about creating a layered character—someone with dignity and who gets a boyfriend.

Your politics are very prominent in this film. Do you find making a film with political overtones difficult than doing your previous work? Is this a new direction for you and your films?

It felt intuitively right. As a film viewer, I’ve not been interested in films with overt political content. But as a filmmaker…it’s a lot of work to make one of these movies. If the gay community realized how hard they were to make, they’d support them more. I am extremely angry at how gay people are treated. We are a political tool for people to get votes.

Your film clearly examines the difference between queers and straights. Why did this thread become so important in this film?

One thing I really like about being gay is something most people don’t like—that once you accept it and get into it, you can redefine what you are doing. The only boundaries you accept are the ones you pick. The characters here defend who they are very strongly. I tried to create a gay world I’d be interested in inhabiting.

Why did you choose the title FAQs?

The question I ask over and over is what is the problem with “straight” people? Why do they hate us? But that was a little too formal to ask: Why do straight people beat us up? I personally really liked the byplay with FAQ and FAG. I really that there are not many questions asked in the film, but “Why do they hate us” is asked repeatedly throughout.