Nevada Women's Film Festival 2020 – Pool Party
Nika, an introverted high schooler, lives every day feeling like an outcast. Marked with a significant scar on her stomach, she prefers to remain unnoticed, until a pool party invitation pushes her to confront all her insecurities.
Interview with Director, Writer, Producer Polina Buchak
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you so much for this opportunity! It has been a roller coaster making this short from the first draft to the first cast and crew screening.
Pool Party holds a special place in my heart as writing this film has made me reflect on how I see my own scar - not as a burden but a source of inner strength. As a teenage girl already fighting insecurities and being afraid of what others think of me, my scar made me stand out. No other girl in the locker room had one - so I saw myself as broken and imperfect.
It is a story about self-acceptance told in a very personal and intimate way. I chose to tell this story visually through reflections - the way we see our selves when we are left alone. As Nika goes through the journey, the audience begins to see her as she is, not through mirrors but as her true self. My hope is that Pool Party will resonate with others in showing that we all need to be kinder to ourselves.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Nika's struggle to accept herself just the way that she is is something that everyone who has gone through or is going through High School can empathy with. My goal with Pool Party was to create a space for my viewers to be vulnerable and reflect on how they see themselves. I hope for this story to be that little push that we all need to love ourselves, especially young children/teenagers who are just learning about themselves.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script went through a lot of changes as Camila and I were peeling the story to get to the most crucial parts. With a short, you don't have the time or space to dwell on additional scenes, so we really focused on making the story what it needed to be.
Most crucial development of the script was the argument between Nika and her mom. This scene is really important to Nika's character and it actually came from a story my mother told while we were writing the script. Every time I cried over the fact that my scar will never disappear, my mom reminded me that the surgery was important for my survival. Therefore she called it my battle scar - making me a warrior. This is something that other people have to realize about themselves, so I wrote it into the story.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been incredibly positive! I'm touched when people would come up to me and tell their story about their battle with different types of insecurities. When I hear that this 9-minute film touched someone, that's when I know the story is doing what I hoped it would.
I'm also proud that our team was predominantly women, especially the crew behind the camera. It's important to me as a filmmaker to collaborate and see more women as heads of departments - in our case, this wasn't planned, we just brought on board some of our talented friends!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Being part of We Are Moving Stories platform is an incredible opportunity to be heard and seen by other talented filmmakers and future collaborators. I would love for Pool Party to reach a wide and diverse audience to spread its message and create important conversations. Currently, the short is in its festival run around the world.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Currently, I am looking for film festival directors, journalists, and distributors to help amplify the film and spread the message.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
After it's film circuit, I would love to connect with different schools (middle/high school) to do programing/screenings followed by discussions with students to hear how they resonate with the film and what are their stories with the goal to empower them.
I've always been inspired by a photographer names Sophie Mayanne who created an Instagram page @behindthescars_ where she photographs people with their scars and tells a bit about their story. I have photographed a couple of my friends who have scars for various reasons with a similar goal. I would love to grow this gallery and talk to more people about their experiences.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How can we turn our insecurities from being a burden to a source of inner strength? What does self-acceptance look like for you?
Would you like to add anything else?
I'm really proud and thankful to everyone who has made this film a possibility and to every festival that helps us spread the message of the story. Pool Party won Best Women Short, Best Original Story, and Best First Time Director at Independent Shorts Awards and was nominated for Best First Time Director at Indie Short Fest.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
As unfortunate as it is that our world is currently on pause, it did give me a lot of time to continue developing more projects. I'm currently writing my next short that is dedicated to every Ukrainian that has lost their loved one due to the unrest in our country - a story inspired by my close friend who is currently in the army. I'm also in development for my first feature that centers around the topic of surrogacy.
Interview: July 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
Pool Party
Nika, an introverted high schooler, lives every day feeling like an outcast. Marked with a significant scar on her stomach, she prefers to remain unnoticed, until a pool party invitation pushes her to confront all her insecurities.
Length: 9:00
Director: Polina Buchak
Producer: Polina Buchak and Camila Grimaldi
Writer: Polina Buchak and Camila Grimaldi
About the writer, director and producer:
POLINA BUCHAK is a Ukrainian filmmaker currently based in New York. Nigeria became her second home after moving with her family when she was 10 years old. Pool Party was inspired by her personal experience and fear of pool parties that would expose her scar to others.
POLINA BUCHAK and CAMILA GRIMALDI both studied Film&TV at NYU Tisch and were roommates in their homey NYC apartment while writing this short. Both come from an international background and are drawn to stories that can empower others.
Key cast: Rain Friedman (Nika), Gabriela Anglada (Jenna), Margaret Lepera (Mom)
Looking for: journalists, distributors, film festival directors
Facebook: Polina Buchak
Instagram: @ms_buchak
Hashtags used: #PoolPartFilm #IAmAWarrior
Website: www.polinabuchak.com/latest
Other: IMDb
Funders: The film was fundraised on Indiegogo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Nevada Women's Film Festival (online) - June 22-28; Recently officially selected by NewFilmmakers NY (date TBD).