After a decade in the business and a versatile body of work behind her, including films like Kick Ass, If I Stay, and Carrie, Chloë Grace Moretz was taking a break from acting. She wanted to take time to reflect on her film choices; to ensure the projects she was taking on had real-world meaning outside of box office numbers and filmography filler.
Then, she heard about The Miseducation of Cameron Post: a queer indie film with a budget of less than a million dollars, but plenty of heart to make up for it.
Directed and co-written by Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior, The Slope), the wry independent drama follows a teenager into an isolated conversion therapy center after she’s discovered making out with her friend on prom night in 1993. For Moretz, whose brothers are gay, signing on to play Post was a no-brainer.
It’s been a no-brainer for cinephiles, too. Since its completion, The Miseducation of Cameron Post has taken home Sundance’s coveted Grand Jury Prize in Drama, screened at a number of festivals including Tribeca and Outfest, and is poised to enter theatrical release August 3. In preparation for the film, Moretz and her co-stars Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck spoke with survivors of conversion therapy, including Mathew Shurka. Together, they’ve continued to campaign to end the practice through the #BornPerfect initiative.
We spoke with Moretz about who gets to tell queer stories, political cinema, and what she’s working on next.
Trump’s election occurred during the filming of Cameron Post. What was the environment on set like?
It was harrowing. It was really hard to process. The sadness and mourning that we felt over losing, potentially, our rights. It was really Desiree who, especially on that day, really stood up and said, ‘Yes, cry. Yes, mourn. Let’s be together. But at the same time, let’s put one step forward and remember that we’re here on this set. The most important thing we can do is make this movie for people to learn what conversion therapy is; to use art as a form of rebellion against this administration.’
While on the subject of art, I wanted to ask you about the art of humor. Cameron Post is set in the all-too-real world of reparative therapy, but is also very intent on using humor to expose the absurdity and hypocrisy of these programs.
