The Aerial Girl
Urban cool teen Taylor's life is uprooted when her father dies and she moves to her grandfather's ranch in Wyoming with her mother. There Taylor meets a ranch hand who turns her life upside down.
Interview with Director Anna Simone Scott
Watch The Aerial Girl on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The Aerial Girl was my directorial debut. I was very fortunate to be asked by Terri Sissman, the writer/producer, to direct the film. We both had plays in a short play program at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood. Terri really liked the way I directed my piece and I thought her play set in Wyoming could be very interesting as a film. It took months to transform it into a screenplay but was clearly worth it.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It’s a very compelling coming of age story set in a seductively bare landscape with two very compelling actors, Joel Stoffer and Sarah (now ‘Cole’) De La Isla. It’s also beautifully shot by Danna Kinsky, our cinematographer. A family secret is unearthed and that’s always fun to watch!
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Well I think the very personal theme of a young girl discovering her true identity is very relatable. In fact male or female, we all make discoveries as we grow up and often they are life changing, as in this film. On a universal level the theme involves lost love, grief over that loss and an unexpected new love and relationship. The cycle of life.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script was a play to begin with so it needed to be expanded into a cinema worthy piece. It’s visual story telling and we really reduced the dialogue a lot. Less is more and so much can be said with a look or a certain shot. Sound as well. I don’t like films to be over scored and in The Aerial Girl there were moments when we used the plane overhead and a dog’s far away bark instead of the score.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been outstanding. Audiences all over America, Europe, the UK, Australia, have been very moved by the film. It has screened at 40 film festivals worldwide, won six awards and many nominations. We won LA Femme Filmmaker Award at La Femme International FF; Best Drama: Women with a Vision Award, AOF Festival; Best Actress, Seattle Shorts; Best Actress Young Artists’s Award; Merit awards in Milan and Rochester and more. It also aired three times on PBS.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Although I thought we had a specialfilm, I’ve been in the business long enough not to expect anything, so yes, I was very pleasantly surprised.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
As far as being more visible by having our film on wearemovingstories.com, I think it’s beneficial to get the film out to even more people. Also I’d like to think that the creative team will be noticed for fine work all round. We are all always open to work offers!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We have had a great run on the festival circuit. It would be great to be picked up by a distribution company who specializes in shorts. There are so many opportunities on cable and also the airlines often screen short films.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’d like this film to have a legacy as a profoundly moving and beautiful coming of age story.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
A key question would be: How do you start, as we did, without even a screenplay and persist in spite of all the obstacles to get the film made?
Would you like to add anything else?
I’d like to add that our amazing producer, Peter Sands, found us the most perfect ranch to shoot most of the film. The extraordinary barn had never before been used for a film shoot. There certainly was an amount of serendipity and coincidence that helped the film to magically come together.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m working on three new projects with my partner, Peter Sands, which will be produced with other entities in conjunction with our company VisionFire Films Inc. We have two feature films in development: ‘Tough 2 Love’ and ‘Art of Deceit’, and another project ‘The Day Before’, we’ll be pitching as a TV series. I also work freelance as an actor-writer-director and can be reached at: anna@visionfirefilms.com. Website: www.annasimonescott.com
Interview: October 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Aerial Girl
Urban cool teen Taylor's life is uprooted when her father dies and she moves to her grandfather's ranch in Wyoming with her mother. There Taylor meets a ranch hand who turns her life upside down.
Length: 12:28
Director: Anna Simone Scott
Producer: Peter Sands
Writer: Terri Sissman
About the writer, director and producer:
TERRI SISSMAN: is a playwright, as well as a screenwriter. Her plays have been staged in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Connecticut. 'The Aerial Girl' was adapted from her 10-minute play, 'Wire'. This is her first produced film.
ANNA SIMONE SCOTT:
An award winning actor, writer and director whose work in film, television and theatre has spanned three continents. Her films have screened at over 70 festivals worldwide and won numerous awards. Including : British Academy of Film & TV Arts for Chasing Chekhov at short film festival; The Aerial Girl awards include: Filmmaker Award at LA Femme Film festival; Best Drama -Women with a Vision Award and others. Next project is the feature film Tough 2 Love.
PETER SANDS: PRODUCER
An award-winning film maker whose film 'Chasing Chekhov' won Best Film Award at the British Academy Los Angeles Short Film Festival. His credits include writing Sy-Fy's 'The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne', and also directing 'The Red Scarf’, ‘Coming Into Money’ and the Academy Award qualifying short ‘Blacktop Afternoon’. His latest work ‘Girl On A Train’ has been on the festival circuit recently. Founding VisionFire Films with partner Anna Simone Scott, the company has numerous exciting projects in the works aimed at both US and European markets.
Key cast: Joel Stoffer and Sarah De La Isla
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): A distributor such as Shorts TV.
Facebook: @theaerialgirl
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/42557783
Funders: Motherhorse Films
Made in association with: VisionFire Films and Motherhorse Films
The film just screened at Glennfest, CA, making it the 40th film festival for the film. We’re often getting requests so will keep you posted!
List of awards for the film: On Vimeo page.