In a surrealist take on a 1950s commercial, a bored housewife attempts to spice up her marriage by preparing a delicious meatloaf for dinner. What emerges from the kitchen is “The Queen of Meatloaf” incarnate, who proceeds to invade the homes of consumers and wreak havoc on the commercial set.

Interview with Director Dina Fiasconaro

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I made the film because I related to many of the themes present in the original play - gender roles, consumerism, commodification, media.

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

This film is incredibly fun! It's filled with color, rhymes, story layers, innuendo, and absurdity.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Over the course of my career, I have found I consistently gravitate towards and feature stories about women, with some type of psychological component or exploration.

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

The film is based on a one-act play, so the challenge was to take a chronological series of monologues and long stretches of dialogue and make that visual. We ended up playing a lot with layers of reality - on and off the commercial set, in and out of the TV, real life versus fake/media life, as well as disrupting the chronology of the story.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Feedback has been great. Audiences are very attracted to the originality of the script. Someone called me a "comedic David Lynch" and I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

No, but it has encouraged me to press on with festival submissions and new projects. It's so difficult to be objective about your work, and on any given day I can think it's either a masterpiece or a complete piece of crap, with most days falling somewhere in between.

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

Reaching a greater audience and also encouraging other women to tell their stories.

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

I would love to screen at more film festivals, particularly in NYC/LA.

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

One which is entertaining but also makes the audience think about the larger themes embodied by the piece, as mentioned above. I'm also very open to individual interpretations of the ending (or the entire piece in general), which can be slightly elusive.

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

What the heck was that!?

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I'm working on transitioning into narrative features, with a couple of films in various states of development/drafts.

Interview: December 2017

_______________________________________________________________________________

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

_______________________________________________________________________________

Commercial for the Queen of Meatloaf

Length: 10m

Director: Dina Fiasconaro

Producer: Melodie Sisk

Writer: Emilie Feldenzer

About the writer, director and producer:

Em Feldenzer penned the play-version of the film while a student at G.W. Carver Center for Arts and Technology in their Literary Arts Program.

Dina Fiasconaro is a Baltimore-based filmmaker, professor and chapter leader of Baltimore Film Fatales.

Melodie Sisk produced Vacation!, White Reindeer, and Little Sister, named #1 film of 2016 by Richard Brody in the New Yorker.

Key cast: Aya Cash, Jenn Harris, Will Rogers
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):Film Festivals/Distributors

Social media handles:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/queenofmeatloaf

Twitter: @queenofmeatloaf

Instagram: queenofmeatloaf

Funders: Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film and Medial at Johns Hopkins University

Made in association with: Leah Meyerhoff (Film Fatales)

Where will the film screen in the next month?

We have some downtime in January but look forward to picking up with some spring festivals