A teenage girl goes out for a night with the "cool" kids.

Interview with Writer/Director Violet Paley

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I'm very open about my past struggles with mental illness and addiction, so, I wanted to make a piece of art that depicted what entices a young person to make "bad" decisions and juxtapose it with the reality of the situation.

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

Because it's important! I know that sounds pretentious... but I believe it's vital for the world, specifically this country, to end the stigma surrounding rape, drug use, and depression. I think it's important to understand anyone can be an addict. Anyone can shoot up heroin. Anyone can have something awful happen to them, no matter how sheltered someone is. And we need to learn how to be more progressive in the way we handle the struggles in teenage-hood.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Well, it's obviously a story deep to my heart because I relate to two of the characters but it's fictional because I didn't experience the exact story in real life, but I wanted to portray what it felt like I was going through in a film. The universal themes are the same as the personal ones, could a life be saved if someone did something differently? It's a question very prevalent in TV shows now.

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

I entered a contest through Adolescent Content and got recognition, and now, what was going to be a short film is now actually the pilot of our future web series. So each character is now developing and evolving more and more, becoming more complex.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Mostly positive, it really leaves an impact with fellow recovering addicts, we've won a couple awards and screened at IFS Film Festival. A lot of the more critical feedback I received have been questions about why the lead character went out with them and did the things she did, and my answer to that is when you're a teenager you'll do a lot of shit you later regret, to fit in, feel important, and do what you think you need to to not be miserable.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Yeah, it's opened my eyes to how half the audience thinks the protagonist was raped and the other half didn't think anything happened. There will be more talk of that as we make more episodes.

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

To reach more people interested and passionate about drug abuse, and to inspire other young women to create art.

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

Definitely someone with money... just kidding (I'm not kidding, at all).

But besides that, I think we need more journalists taking interest, I'd love to talk more about the future of this project and where I see it going. And once it's a web series, we'll see about distributors.

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

I hope there is a shock and a newfound awareness surrounding how easily someone's life can be ruined due to addiction. I hope to create help the cause of ending the stigma of addiction.

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

How do you portray the struggles of teenage hood and addiction appropriately without over glamorizing it?

Would you like to add anything else?

I'm really into a Norwegian show called "Skam", I also love "Skins", and those two shows are heavily influencing me and my writing partner Carlotta's vision for the show.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Ian Lipton, Carlotta Harlan, and I are working on creating the next episodes for Adolescent Content. We're all also working on other projects. I don't know which of theirs specifically, but I just directed two episodes of a new web series based off a book "Spent Saints", and I'm starring in Jessica Janos' feature "The Electra Complex", which I'm very excited to be a part of.

Interview: May 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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Chipped

A teenage girl goes out for a night with the "cool" kids.

Length: 13 minutes

Director: Violet Paley

Producer: Conswella Joyce, Ian Lipton

Writer: Violet Paley

About the writer, director and producer:

Key cast: Harper Cullen, Violet Paley, Oona Oglesby, Julian Robinson

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

Social media handles: https://www.adolescent.net/a/chipped

https://adolescentcontent.com/violet-paley/bio/