As I was leaving the premiere of my collaboration with Paulo Coelho and other international filmmakers, The Experimental Witch, in Rome I was stopped by a young woman. She asked me if she could interview me for her university dissertation. I said yes and gave her my card. I heard from her this week and below is what she wanted to know. I had to blog about it because I have done interviews for the past four years of my life and even when I was a "beauty queen" back home in Texas but have never faced a set of questions like this. It took me in another direction and allowed me to see how much I've grown in ways you sometimes can't see when you're just going going going. She made me think and pick up my dictionary. I am glad to be reminded that I don't know it all and can continue living and growing! Thank you Silvia for this amazing gift and for being a teacher to me through your questions. I hope you get the grade you deserve! With immense gratitude for our paths crossing! Adriana
Questions from Silvia Narratone
1)Why have you decided to participate in the competition and why have you chosen to adapt Samira’s point of view?
For me it was a following of the signs as Paulo writes about in his books and the fact that it was for something related to Paulo Coelho was an even bigger sign that this was exactly what I was supposed to be doing. My boyfriend had broken up with me two days before Valentines in 2008 telling me I was too humanitarian and that my beliefs about Life and God worried him. I went home to Austin and at the last minute took The Witch of Portobello from my nightstand. It had been sitting there waiting to be read and as they say timing is everything. I read it on the flight, while in Austin and upon my return to Los Angeles. The day after I had finished reading it and telling my mom I would be emailing Paulo to ask that they could read me for Athena if they ever turned it into a film since I had found tremendous solace in her because in a lot of ways I was her, I found out about the film competition. I signed up quickly, grabbed the book and choose the Samira chapters. Although as I shot the film I realized the chapters had chosen me.
2)To what extent are you a fan of Paulo Coelho?
I admire people's work and not the person unless I know them personally. One of my favorite quotes ever is "reward the mission not the man" from Eliizabeth the Golden Age. The only people I admire are people close to me whose character I know first hand. I try to apply this to every situation in which I am faced with admiring someone's work because everyone is human and I think it is dangerous territory to think otherwise, to idolize them. My experience in the entertainment industry for the past fourteen years has allowed me the privilege of learning this first hand, which allows me to be a complete fan of his writing. He truly is a talented writer who inspires people to be individuals and follow their dreams and because that is what I believe in life of course I am a fan of work that makes me feel connected and less alone. I have been reading his books since I was 21 and my ex boyfriend Sergio, who is still my friend, recommended The Alchemist. So in a way I have Sergio to thank for all this.
3)Do you know if P. Coelho has structured his novel in that particular way (with many well-separated points of view) because he wanted to develop the Experimental Witch later?
I don't believe so but that question can only be answered by the man himself. ;-)
4)Who worked on the script of the adaptation?
Myself and a cast member from my play The Art of Being, Kris Pustina Haldane. I had cast her in my play and knew of her talent for writing so I called her up, explained the project and told her we had a deadline. You see when I found out about the competition it was late in the game and I had three months to adapt, produce and become Athena. She agreed to join me on the journey which quite honestly was easy from the angle that the work we had to adapt had to stay as true as possible to the novel after all it was his original work that people were longing to see because of its ability to inspire. While we did make minor changes I did want it to be clear I wanted to stay as close as possible to what was already written. The changes I talk about happened because of where we were shooting and logistics. Adapting for me was where I grew tremendously as an artist for I had never done it before and I found it to be an amazing teacher of my capabilities.
5)What troubles have you coped with during the shooting?
Overall it was a great set! Everyone knew how important this shoot was to me because of the way it had come to be. I made it clear from the beginning that if I pushed hard for a particular vision it was because of how important this was to me. It was not just simply making a movie for the point of making a movie or getting noticed. I had national exposure with my play and it taught me that if you receive any notoriety or attention it is best used to open more doors to be able to continue to live your dream and help other live theirs by providing them with jobs.
Attention for the sake of attention has never made sense to me. So everyone was aware that this was a dream of mine coming true beyond what I ever expected and they respected that. I surrounded myself with people who love what they do and that made it easy too. My DP Neil Lisk is the kindest hardest working talented DP I've ever worked with and led the crew very well. The director and I at some points had different visions but again he respected where I was coming from and I respected his talent in an area of which I am not experienced in, film directing, so a compromise was always reached.
In the end I was fighting for a vision that allowed people to find comfort in their "flaws" and feel seen. My ex boyfriend saw what I consider to be my attributes as flaws and I know a lot of creative people feel pressure from people to be something else so this was a tribute to a woman, Athena, who refused to dishonor her true being by becoming what others wanted her to be. In the end my fight to capture that may have made it difficult to work with me but I certainly hope not. I am however aware that I am stubborn when it comes to trusting my gut. I listen to that before I listen to anyone else and if it happens to go line with what they suggest then it simply does and if it doesn't, it doesn't but again its about being authentic and true to my vision and work and knowing when to let go.
6)How many people did they work in your crew? Is it possible to know how much money you have invested (approximately)?
I spent a total of $7500 in filming and $2500 in post production and getting packages to Italy where the production is based. My crew consisted of 11 crew and 5 actors. I was unable to secure sponsorships so I out of pocketed the expenses. Dreams do come at a price and I always think it's important for people to know about the journey and not just see the destination, which in this case is the Rome Film Festival.
7)Does the fact that your adaptation is destined to be integrated into a mash-up movie influence the concept of your work itself?
Not at all. I honestly am not a person whose work is done with a certain set of rules affiliated with a film school or any format. I simply follow my heart and what feels right to me. This makes it a little hard for people who are very set in a way of doing things to work with me and visa versa but I always want to do that which I am passionate about and my gut tells me to.
8)To what extent do new technologies (and among those cinema digitalisation) allow you to experiment artistically? How do they make shooting easier?
This would honestly be a question for my DP as he handled all the equipment etc. Post Production, which I did handle, did not include any new technologies because of our budget. It was done in a very simple way and with the tools we were presented with.
9)You saw the final cut. Are you satisfied with the final version of the film destined to theatres?
I am! I feel like you can't really judge other people's work although I am in an industry that is all about judging. When I view people's work I am allowed a view into their mind and creativity. Sometimes I may not understand it but I always respect it because creativity expressed in any way is a person's own individual taste being exposed to the world. Had I done the final cut all you would have seen would be my version of the book. I felt that Elisabetta the producer did the book justice as best as she could with what she was given. Remember she had to take many people's visions put them together and have them represent the work of a well renowned author whose following expects a lot. It was very courageous of both Paulo and his production team and us the filmmakers to go there. I think we did a great job while exploring new territory and I hope our journey inspires more productions and collaborations like this one.
10) Do you think that Coelho’s audience will love the product? How will it understand it?
I can not speak for other people. I can only speak for myself. I have no idea what their taste is like but again I am in a very critical judgemental industry and I believe that if people knew more of what truly goes on behind the scenes, like my personal story to make the film happen, they may open their minds more and see with different eyes. However they are only seeing the final presentation and well like I said I can't speak for them. I do know first hand that all the filmmakers have amazing stories as to how their film came to be and their journey as they filmed and eventually won. So my only hope is that they see our work through the eyes of love and take what they'd like. As the old saying goes, "you can't judge someone until you've walked in their shoes", which if we took to heart it'd be easier to release judgement. ;-)
11)Do you think that the final mash-up film could be difficult to comprehend?
Absolutely if you aren't a fan of Paulo Coelho or read the book The Witch of Portobello. But would art really be art if it was always understood and if everything held an explanation how would we grow? We'd have nothing to question and be in awe of. So even if it's not undertstood it's making people's minds function and opening them up to thinking for themselves and opening their views on life. I strongly believe that is what his work does. I feel like he was destined to write in a way that just resonates so strongly with anyone inclined to follow THEIR heart and struggling with that concept.
12)What is your opinion on the increasing presence of artistic products on the Internet made both by users and local and international artists? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this condition? To what extent does the Internet help you to convey your works?
I used to not be a fan of technology like the internet at all because I used to think it was seperating us and making our communication dependant on texting, emails, etc. and I was so sad that I could get answers from people a lot easier by those formats than by actual personal contact or phone conversations. Lets not mention letters, which I still write and seal with wax. I could definitely forget snail mail it was becoming a thing of the past.
My opinion changed drastically in 2007 when I set out to do the tour of my play. I was dependent on the internet for everything from research to publicity. Let's not forget that my work won the Toyota Moving Forward Award from GLAMOUR magazine because of the internet so that was my first opening of the mind of how powerful the internet truly is. Of course all this was followed by finding out about Paulo's film competition through a newsletter from www.goodreads.com futher opening me up to how amazing technology truly is and when used with caution and respect it can create amazing scenarios. I hope Paulo's example of how filmmaking can be made is followed by others because it grants opportunities to people who don't live Hollywood or an industry town to have a dream come true.
For me overall as an independent producer who funds my productions through sponsorships I am very much in need of the internet. I have to research everything imaginable from who runs the sponsor or fund programs at companies, to directors, actors, music for the film/play, locations, permits, everything. I work pretty much on my own until it gets close to filming and everyone hired starts to work so let's just say the internet makes it a lot easier for me to live my dream. I hope more people realize the possibilities it holds. Even sites like Facebook and myspace expose me to artists which allows me to collaborate with them even if they are in another country as was the case with Birte Nordahl and some of the people who worked on The Experimental Witch were hired through Craigslist. Technology truly is amazing!
13)What socio-cultural visibility have indie productions got in your country?
This is a tough one to answer as I am just venturing into the realm of film as I had prior to this only done work producing theater or as a hired actor. This is one I am learning about right now. I honestly can say that in my experience I had never witnessed anything like what Paulo did with this competition. However I am certain there is a lot going on here that I am about to get involved in as I venture into producing my first feature film and become exposed to it.
14)Does The Experimental Witch foster your public image? To what extent?
It has most definitely opened doors for me but a lot of it has to do with awareness and my willingness to seize the opportunities, which I learned from my prior work and the opportunities it brought. I think if we get out of our own way when the universe steps in to guide us to dreams that exceed our expectations we truly have the opportunity to foster our work. For me it's about learning to decipher the difference between what I want and what the universe wants and has in store me. Most of all trusting in the wisdom of what I believe in, God and the universe.
Once I did that I was sent into a realm of endless possibilities where my life constantly teaches me in many scenarios what I am capable of so when the opportunity to produce my first film came I took on the challenge and ended up in Rome, being interviewed by Latin Star Magazine while being named by them the Latin Star to watch and now doing an interview with you because I stopped to talk to you at the premiere instead of rushing to the after party. If I am present in the moment I am open to its gifts. I also received a request from Fringe Report for an interview after Rome because they found me online. Most recently a film festival in the Netherlands found my work on the internet and requested it after learning about it from the Rome Film Festival.
So with awareness I am able to see more and more everyday that when you follow your passion doors open that you never even dreamt of and it keeps happening to me. I don't take it lightly and I work had with the opportunities granted to me to be able to give my work a voice in a saturated industry.
I am very grateful to Paulo for creating an idea that led me on an amazing journey and continues to do so. It most definitely continues to foster my career/work and that of others as I am about to produce my first feature film based on a story by Austin based writer John Rincon. All this is a trickle effect and when you work with others you foster your career and theirs and in my world only great things can come of that even on a challenging road to the destination but for me it's all about the journey.
15)What do you think about P. Coelho’s use of Twitter, MySpace and his blog? Do you think that for an artist it is best a peer-to-peer communication with his fans or to conceal himself in order to build a mistery aura which enhance curiosity?
I absolutely love it! I am a big believer that humanity is equality and like I said earlier, "reward the mission not the man" so to see people who have a high profile in the arts/entertainment reaching out to the people that put them there makes me very happy. After all this is what made the Experimental Witch possible and led to this interview. I see other artist like singer Jason Mraz do it as well and I can only hope that more people follow Paulo and Jason. For me inspiration to be creative comes from life and all it entails to be human so without a connection to your fellow beings it would be hard to see your ideas come to fruition because you can't draw inspiration out of thin air. Inspiration comes from LIVING life and its challenges. In the end we need eachother and reaching out in these types of formats facilitates art/entertainment. I commend Paulo, Jason, and anyone else doing it for leading the way.
16)How do you think the relationship between cinematic apparatus and new media will evolve?
Silvia as I am on your last question I have to commend you for truly making me think and giving me an opportunity to have a voice. Your questions are truly those of someone who put a lot of thought into it so thank you for being a great teacher to me today as I do this.
I hope that they grow and continue to expand working with eachother for the benefit of art/entertainment. Technology in filmmaking continues to grow tremendously because of people like James Cameron willing to follow their heart and go out a limb risking tremendous failure only to find himself revolutionizing cinema which had a lot to do with technology. A technology that now is being highly discussed in the media and can open up all of us in the industry to what is truly possible and to the idea that if we combine all our tools together we can create amazing things. Just like we need eachother to make things possible so does the current cinematic apparatus need from the new media to give exposure to the growth of our field. I am very happy to be alive in a day and age when people are truly working hard to make use of all we have been given from spiritual to technological to media because in my view of the world in the end they all go hand in hand and create endless possibilities that reach and touch people all over the world.
THE END! ;-) You can see the film I was talking about in this interview below. It is broken down into three parts and in case you didn't catch on it won Paulo Coelho's International Film Competition and is based on his novel The Witch of Portobello.
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