Free Range Film Festival - The Itching
In this handmade collaboration, a shy wolf tries to befriend a group of hip, party-loving bunnies but finds her body is in revolt.
Interview with Writer/Director Dianne Bellino
Watch The Itching here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to make a film with animator/artist Adam Davies. We were new friends and had a similar sense of humor and some similar aesthetics and discussed working on an animated film together casually... then the plan grew!
In terms of the specific intention of the script and direction, I wanted to make a film about vulnerability and anxiety and insecurity. Something where the emotional and psychological experience of the main character- a kind of rawness, vulnerability, and imperfection- was really visible and upfront. I wanted to try to get in touch with that and be true to that.
I have written about anxiety and mental imbalance previously for live action projects, and it was intriguing to think about playing these qualities out in a clay female wolf.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Because you’re gonna crack up seeing tiny bunnies wearing gold lamé dresses and doing freaky dancing!
But also because you’ll feel something that is familiar but also maybe very unfamiliar. And it’s fun to go into the unknown. We have been told it is a very visceral experience.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Thematically, I think The Itching is about friendship, intimacy, the desire for and difficulty of connection, vulnerability, anxiety, isolation, loneliness, paranoia, the mind/body connection, parasites, and a love of beer.
A shy, lonely wolf wants to make friends with a group of hip, social bunnies but finds it nerve-wracking… I think we can all relate to that basic set up.
The movie tracks the wolf’s inner journey on a very detailed level, and asks the audience to empathize with her neurosis and redemption.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
This movie had a very unusual development and production process in that it was a completely DIY process that unfolded with stops and starts over 7 years!
As Adam and I were the only two people who worked on the film during production, it was more akin to an artistic collaboration, than to a regular film production. (Our friends helped us frequently over the years, but 95% of the time it was just Adam and I).
Clay animation is a very slow process. Because of all that time to talk, Adam and I went really deep on our shared understanding of all the characters, their back stories, their psyches... at the same time as we were listening to Wu-Tang Clan and the Knife and talking about basketball. This is a long way of saying that the two of us were really able to get on the same wavelength in a way that is rare for movies just because you don't have enough time to do that normally. So while the final movie is very close to the final script, lots of things also evolved organically.
After production wrapped, I edited the film and collaborated with three very talented people: Dean Parker (music), Eli Cohn (sound design and re-mixing), and Chris Ramey (colorist). These 3 folks really helped me shape the movie and clarify its intentions. Their considerable insights and talents helped move the movie out of the cave and into the daylight.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
At film festivals, we’ve been able to talk to festival audiences and hear their points of view. A lot of people seem to connect with the film both emotionally and physically, and be really moved by it, which is really rewarding. They also interpret the film differently, which is great.
There are also some people that feel they ‘don’t get it’ or‘don’t understand it..’ or think it’s too weird… which is cool too! But I always say, ‘there’s nothing to get’ in the sense that it’s a very open-ended movie- a metaphor that anyone can take to mean anything they’d like- like a song.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I didn’t realize the film was as unsettling/scary as it is to some people!
Maybe from the outside it’s like, ‘dude, of course it’s unsettling and scary!’ But from the inside… I guess when you make something frame-by-frame over 7 years… you lose touch with basic reality.
I really like hearing other people’s interpretations of the film, they are far-ranging.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We’re just psyched to share the film with more people. Having been holed up for so long working on it, it’s really a thrill to be out and about. We’re trying to connect with fellow filmmakers and film lovers of all kinds.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
As The Itching is short, we’re not necessarily looking to sell it… so getting in touch with film festival directors, online distributors, and journalists would be excellent.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Ideally the film connects with a viewer in a way that is beyond words. In trying to lay the wolf's emotions out so transparently, and through the art direction, costumes, music, sound, and photography, the film is hoping to go straight into a viewer’s heart/unconscious and bypass his/her mind. Not that there’s anything wrong with the mind. And not that there aren’t intellectual jokes in the film. But filmmaking can be so cerebral, and we wanted to aim for the veins with this one. If somebody watches the film and wants to make a film (or write a story or a song etc)- that would be the ideal.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How would a rabbit that is a DJ listen to headphones-- how would they fit on his or her ears?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you so much for doing this and for asking us to be a part of it. Thank you for supporting short films and filmmakers.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Dianne Bellino (writer/director) is writing and developing several new projects: a live action short, an animated short, and a live-action feature.
Adam Davies (animator) is developing the characters, aesthetic, and world of his next short animation.
Dean Parker (music) is composing music for the documentary “Roll With me” directed by Lisa France. As composer’s assistant for Carter Burwell, Dean is working on two films - "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” directed by Martin McDonagh and “Wonderstruck” directed by Todd Haynes.
Eli Cohn (sound designer and re-recording mixer) is sound designing several new films, including “Love After Love” directed by Russell Harbaugh and produced by Parts & Labor.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Itching (www.theitching.com)
In this handmade collaboration, a shy wolf tries to befriend a group of hip, party-loving bunnies but finds her body is in revolt.
Length: 15 mins.
Director: Dianne Bellino
Producer: Dianne Bellino and Adam Davies
Writer: Dianne Bellino
Animator: Adam Davies
About the writer, director and producer:
Dianne Bellino is a writer/director of live action and animated films based in New York City.
Adam Davies is an artist and animator based in California.
Key cast: Wolf, Bunny
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): All
Funders: New York State Council on the Arts; Boomerang Fund for the Arts; Pratt Institute; Kickstarter backers; private funders
Made in association with: N/A
Release date: Jan. 2016