Love and Pasta...it’s not that easy.

Interview with Writer/Director Carrie Finklea

Watch Spaghetti Romance here:

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I was studying abroad in Italy last summer in a film program called Cinemadamare. I wanted to tell a story that was both personal and also showcased the beautiful city and culture of southern Italy - especially Erice, Sicily.

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

The unique aspect of this film is that it takes serious subject matter and places it in a comedic context. I like this contrast that you often see in Luis Bunuel’s films or early Kurosawa. I also worked very hard to showcase a homosexual relationship between two women as real as possible - a relationship you rarely see and was very much inspired by the lesbian couple portrayed in the film “What’s Cooking” by Gurinder Chadha.

Behind the Scenes - Attempting to check frames without a monitor was probably the most frustrating aspect of the entire experience. It was very difficult to know if I had the right framing I wanted the entire time.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

There are two themes working in tangent: The ubiquitous feeling of isolation when one is plopped into an environment that is out of their element and the struggles that people must overcome in order to connect with others from different worlds. The underlying message is about how our social differences/identities often inhibit our ability to connect to others and finding our “humanness” similarities. We are different and we are the same - a concept very difficult for western society to understand given its deeply embedded binary system.

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

The story engendered before I traveled to Italy, but it changed a lot based on available resources and inspirations found in the environment of various situations. For one, when I found out our program was taking us to Erice, Sicily for a week, I knew the Sicilian identity would be something incredible to explore. Two, I knew I wanted the movie in Italian and so I had the actors turn my very “American” voices for the characters into their own Sicilian style for authenticity.

Behind the Scenes - My amazing all-female, international cast.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The LGBT community and Italian filmmakers as well as the people of Erice have been beyond supportive of the film. I am really honored and pleased they connect to the film. Having the support of the Cannes film festival has also been an amazing experience and a game changer for my upcoming projects.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Not really. The beauty of this film is that it is very straight forward and accessible. There is not very much room left for interpretation.

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

I hope to be able to connect to more female filmmakers as well as the LGBT community. The female identity is something that has become a recurring theme in most of my stories.

Cannes RedCarpet: Aurora Deiana and Carrie Finklea attending the Cannes Film Festival of 2017 - AMPAV Emerging Filmmakers Competition.

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

Film Festival directors as well as journalists would be the main goal for me with a short film.

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

The reception I already have received I am quite happy with. My only request is that it continues.

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

How are homosexual relationships (Particularly women) portrayed in film?

Behind the Scenes - Filming a scene about using canned tomatoes in lieu of real tomatoes to fix the spaghetti sauce the main character Abby screwed up. This scene ended up on the chopping block in post after realizing cutting the ‘sauce’ bit completely played into the comedy more.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I am currently in development of a short film that I will most likely shoot in Italy again. This one deals with a woman finding her sexuality through a relationship with an inanimate object.

I also freelance produce with Salvastian Pictures and Elizabeth Films. Between the two, I have two series in development (one based on a blog series and the other a historical drama) as well as three features.

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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SPAGHETTI ROMANCE

Love and Pasta...it’s not that easy.

Length: 10Min. 43Sec.

Director: Carrie Finklea

Producer: Carrie Finklea and Aurora Deiana

Writer: Carrie Finklea

About the writer, director and producer:

Carrie Finklea works as a producer in Los Angeles. This is Carrie’s second short film and she looks forward to continuing her work as a director.

Aurora Deiana is an Italian actress from Calabria now living in Rome. Aurora and Carrie met in the film program Cinemadamare and have plans for future collaborations with support of several Italian film commissions.

Key cast: Aurora Deiana, Ronja Jansz, and Vincenza Zichichi

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Film Festival Directors, Journalists, and ProducersOther:www.vimeo.com/carriefinklea

Funders: Self-funding

Made in association with: Cinemadamare, Santa Monica Film Program, and Associated

Students of SMC

Where can I see it in the next month? It is still doing film festivals for the next year.