Logline: A little girl travels to an imaginary world in order to escape from the nightmares at home.

Length: 14m 53s

Director: Shobi Sen

Producer: Annamaria Pupart

Writer: Shobi Sen

About the writer, director and producer: Shobi Sen is a Writer/Director from Colombo, Sri Lanka who started making movies in Melbourne Australia where she obtained her Bachelor in Media and Communication. She later moved to Los Angeles California to gain a Masters in Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy.

Annamaria Pupart is an Estonian Creative Producer who moved to Los Angeles in 2015 to get her Masters in Producing at the New York Film Academy. Although her background is in Television Producing, Annamaria always had a passion for Film and has now transitioned into becoming a full time Film producer.

Key cast: Cassidey Fralin, Sarah Ann Vail, Taaryn Cooper, Nicole Santiago, Jimilee Allen, Chris Reese.

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Child abuse and child welfare is a topic that I hold really close to my heart. Knowing that this was my first attempt at directing a film, I wanted the message to be something deeply personal because I had no idea if the movie would fail or succeed. Filmmaking is a responsibility and I wanted to use the opportunity to talk about something that matters.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Although the film deals with a heavy subject matter, I didn’t want it to feel extremely dark and depressing. I wanted there to be a sense of hope, to tell people that there is always light amongst darkness. People should watch this film because maybe it might inspire them in someway.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

The themes of the movie are its very core. Each scene and frame was carefully constructed with the message in mind. It was very important to me that the film would be layered with details about abuse, fear, but also finding a way out.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

The evolution of the film from concept to reality has been great. I remember the moment the idea first dawned on me and how it changed when I wrote the script. Once the idea was out there, it was no longer mine. I was constantly getting feedback from people I trusted on how I could make this better, and more effective. The product I have now is not what it was when it began. It’s better than I could have imagined it.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Everyone who’s seen it has told me that the message is powerful. Which means so much to me. The film is still under wraps because it’s being submitted to festivals, but I show it to people who I think can give me constructive feedback and the response has left me feeling quite overwhelmed.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Both. Feedback is always going to surprise you, unless you are someone who is so completely confident in there work. I’m not one of those people. I’m always going “this could have been better.” Some of the early feedback really challenged me to push the film to places I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t heard those comments.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I’m hoping that the film can get some awareness and eventually find an audience, no matter how small.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

As I’ve said before I think now the only thing missing for this film, is an audience! I think it’s ready to be seen!

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope that this film will bring awareness to the issues of Child Abuse, and that people will be more attentive to the children in their lives. I also hope that people’s thoughts will be provoked and they would be able to walk away with something.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Can you talk about the gravity of something like Child Abuse in less that 15 minutes?

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

We’ve all been working on our next projects. I’ve been working on a feature and a short that I hope to sell soon and Annamaria has continued producing movies.

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If you enjoyed reading about 'Her Paradise' please check out our platform: www.wearemovingstories.com We embrace new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you are a filmmaker - we'd love you to contribute. More info: Carmela (cbaranowska@protonmail.com)