I am thrilled to be interviewing artist, filmmaker and supporter of “No Alternative,” Angelica Zollo this week. Angelica recently graduated from NYU’s Gallatin School and will be directing her first feature film, the fascinating “Trauma is a Time Machine,” this fall in New York. I have no doubt she is going to be a filmmaker to watch!
WD: First of all, Angelica, thank you so much for supporting “No Alternative.” How did you find out about the campaign?
AZ: My boyfriend, a fellow filmmaker passed on an article that featured your campaign. I read about your film and watched your campaign video. I was immediately struck by the personal and moving story that you are telling. As someone with mental difference and as someone very interested in telling real stories about using art to express and heal both from living with a mental difference and grieving a loved one. I really connected to the story. I wanted to help in any way I could. It is so important to tell stories about these things, these real experiences that so many are frightened to talk about.
WD: It is extremely important, and I’m glad to see that you want to tell these types of stories as well. I also see that you’re an artist who wears many hats — writing, photography, singing, and of course, filmmaking — do you prefer one medium over the others? If so, which medium and why?
AZ: I love all of these mediums. I have always loved writing ever since I was little in many different forms. Film has been with me my whole life as I grew up in a family of storytellers. Photography is something I have always done and I constantly get inspiration from photographers’ work. Music also is a big part of my life. I admire so many different artists across many genres. Singing is a healing place for me. It is so important to have a safe place to work through regardless of the medium. There is catharsis in making things and then sharing them, in letting them go, and then hopefully whoever connects with it will feel something and have some kind of response or healing of their own.
WD: You mention catharsis as something artists experience upon the completion of their work. I couldn’t agree more. Do you also think catharsis is something necessary for the experiencer of the artist’s work to undergo as well?
AZ: Definitely, I think it is an experience that hopefully is shared between the viewer and the creator. Regardless of the feeling experienced, hopefully the viewer can relate to something or think they have felt that or know what something is like, or maybe it is just an imagined feeling that now they can see be played out on screen.
WD: Who are some of your artistic inspirations and role models? And why?
AZ: There are so many! My parents are both film and theatre producers and my grandparents also were in film, writing and acting. I am constantly in awe of their hard work and passion for telling stories. I am inspired by artists who aren’t afraid to use their own voice to speak about things that are not necessarily talked about or are difficult. There are also so many incredible female storytellers that have important stories to tell. Not enough of them are heard.
I am constantly watching, reading and listening. I watch loads of old films, and try to watch as much as I can. To name a few new and old: Agnes Varda, Billy Wilder, David Lean, Mike Nichols, William Wyler, George Cukor, Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson, Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Susane Bier, Andrea Arnold, Howard Hawkes, Spike Jonze, Derek Cianfrance, Hal Ashby, Frank Capra, Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen, Luis Bunuel, John Cassavetes, Chantal Ackerman, Spike Lee, Xavier Dolan, the list goes on and on. I know I have forgotten so many!
WD: I’m thrilled to hear that you’re about to make your first feature film. You describe the film, which is called “Trauma is a Time Machine,” as exploring the manifestations and experience and healing of trauma through the eyes of a young woman named Helen. This sounds like a very character-driven, emotional film. Why do you want to make it? Why this story?
AZ: Trauma and healing from or working through trauma is something that I really wanted to tackle on screen. So many of us experience trauma in many different forms. Something that I know from experience and from talking to others is that trauma is fragmented, it is in pieces. Our entire nervous system changes in trauma. We go into survival mode and have to face it in some way, there are so many different stages. Trauma isn’t linear. I’m interested in trying to give trauma a narrative and a timeline on screen in a realistic way. I also knew this was a story I wanted to tell and with my close friend Daisy Bevan as the lead. She is a fantastic actress and artist and I knew I could trust her with this story. She is fearless and genuine and incredibly intelligent. I have always wanted to create with her.
WD: Stylistically speaking, you state “The film will be a deep look into the mindset of Helen, an artistic, fragmented, realistic, but also at sometimes dreamlike view at what it feels like to experience and heal from trauma, a way to structure trauma on screen.” How are you visualizing this concept? Will this venture into surrealism? Have you thought about the camera work; the point of view of the film?
AZ: This will be a challenge, showing the manifestations and healings of trauma on screen, but also an exciting one. It will definitely venture into the dreamlike and the surrealist. It will be from her point of view. We will be following Helen’s journey in its fragmented nature. As she picks up the pieces, the viewers will as well.
WD: Following that: is their a sci-fi aspect to the film? I mention it because of the phrase “Time Machine” in your title.
AZ: It does sound a bit sci-fi! The story behind the title is that I really believe that trauma brings someone on a kind of journey into time travel. One can be anywhere, anytime, and the feelings of trauma can flood back at anytime and anywhere.
WD: I noticed that we share a number of filmmakers whom we admire, including Luis Bunuel. Since your film delves into surrealism, I’m curious, what’s your favorite movie of his, and is there a movie of his that has inspired any of your stylistic choices for your film?
AZ: I am not sure what my favorite is, but I love “L’Age d’Or” and “Un Chien Andalou.” The surrealism and dreamworlds created, the editing, the art and references to photography, the bizarre and the romantic.
WD: You’re from London, but currently living in the States. Do you feel like the U.S. is a better environment to make movies in? There has been an overwhelming, and rather disconcerting, trend of Hollywood films eclipsing the world of indie filmmaking; a world in which it seems “Trauma is a Time Machine” belongs. Are you worried about the viability of such an emotional and personal film in the current state of blockbuster movie fare?
AZ: I love London and will always feel like a Londoner. There are so many great London filmmakers and films being made there. There is a lovely sense of community in the film world there. There is also a bit of an indie renaissance happening at the moment. I think it always was, but more voices are being heard. All I can worry about at the moment is making the best film as I can and having as many people see it as I can. I think truth and trust in the story is all you can really focus on.
WD: Have you heard of “The Fifth Wall?” It seems your film may be classified within this new
movement of independent film. What are your thoughts on such a movement and where your film fits, if at all, into it?
AZ: I read up a bit on this. It is definitely an interesting type of filmmaking. I guess my film could fit in it, but I am not too conscious of what it could fit into or not fit in to. I am just focused on the story and bringing together a team of people who I trust and connect to the story to bring it to life.
WD: When do you plan to begin production on “Trauma is a Time Machine?”
AZ: We begin shooting at the end of August in New York City.
WD: What are your plans for the film after you make it?
AZ: I would just love as many people as possible to see it. We will be submitting to festivals.
WD: What do you see yourself working on in the future? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
AZ: I will continue writing in many different forms and hopefully produce films and theatre. There are a couple things in the works development wise at the moment. I also would love to continue singing in some way or another. I will have some of my music in my film.
WD: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten from another artist or filmmaker? In turn, what’s the best piece of advice that you’d like to give to aspiring artists?
AZ: Create as much as you can. Make decisions even if they turn out to be the wrong ones, film is collaborative and everyone learns from each other. Believe in your story and trust your intuition. Listen to each other. A genius editor once told me: “It is not what you leave in, but what you take out.”
WD: I love the quote: “It is not what you leave in, but what you take out.” This can be applied to much more than editing!
AZ: It was said by the brilliant editor Stuart Baird.
WD: Where else can we find you online and learn more about what you’re up to?
AZ: I have a photography website: angelicazollo.com and a sound cloud page with some recordings www.soundcloud.com/atozmachine.
I’d like to extend a huge thanks to Angelica Zollo for the interview and encourage everyone to check out her photography and music, and to keep an eye out for her debut feature film “Trauma is a Time Machine.” The above photos were taken by Angelica Zollo and are featured on her website.
