Palm Springs International Shortfest Film Market - The Princess and The Pea
The Princess and the Pea is about a woman struggling with motherhood, grappling with whether to reveal the painful truth to her imaginative daughter, or to play along with her daughter's fairy tale version of reality.
Interview with Writer/Director Danielle Boyd
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I’d say the primary purpose was to apply the skills I had developed in film school to create a final piece for my film school career and hopefully debut my work. Aside from that the piece arose from my interest in how we often impose our ideas of how to live onto others, specifically children and that our way doesn’t necessarily mean the “right way”.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I’d say you should watch this film if it’s something that speaks to you, I personally enjoy things that give me new perspectives or challenge the way I see things. My intent for this film was to challenge what we’d naturally think makes sense.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I’d say that the theme of suspended fantasy is a personal undertone in the film as when I was younger I also believed in fairies and fairy tales. I was allowed to have an imagination and as much imagination as I wanted which I really appreciated because it helped me see a lot of possibilities that some people’s imagination would limit them from seeing. Additionally, sometimes a bit too much imagination takes you too far from reality and can make it hard to accept it. It’s kind of a double fold which is how for me a lot of life situations can be. For me universally, we all have different opinions on how to best live based on our own experiences and none are the same.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script went through several drafts and changes that were not too drastic. The story and concept remained throughout the draft and I was pretty confident about what I wanted to accomplish. When shooting the film there were some parts of some scenes I ended up cutting out or cutting shorter because I felt the point was made through certain portions of the script already. When I brought the actresses in that’s when the piece evolved into something so much more complex than I imagined because they each had their own ideas that I listened to and together we really added some dynamic layers to each character.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I’ve received some positive feedback, I’m glad that everyone seems to understand the story on different levels and that’s honestly all I can ask for.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not really, if anything it’s definitely enhanced my perspective about how people see it for themselves, I love getting challenged and hearing different opinions, it just reinforces my belief that there’s no one way to view anything and we are all beautifully different.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m looking for exposure. I really want to grow as a filmmaker and to me that happens from learning what I could do better. I encourage people to send me emails of their thoughts and comments about the film.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
For me, I’d love to have film festival directors help guide me in the process of deciding which markets make sense for my film. I’d also say producers because I’m currently looking for producers I could develop relationships with in the future. If this film catches interest and the subjects are something they are interested in it could be a great potential collaboration in the future.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’d love people to meditate on the idea of reserving judgment and not imposing their ways of living onto others. I’d like them to remember that everyone has a reason for what he or she does or what the believe. We should all respect each other. I’d also like them to remember a little magic for some, goes a long way.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is it better to reveal the painful truth or sustain a painful lie?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for creating this platform, I am a huge advocate for movements that are actively helping improve the industry for women and young voices in general. I worked with Free the Bid for awhile and I appreciate wearemovingstories for its contribution to this change.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I just began development on a new short idea that I hope to shoot by the end of the year. It focuses in on the unfortunate violence going on today and how it's affecting the youth.
Interview: May 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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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The Princess and The Pea
The Princess and the Pea is about a woman struggling with motherhood, grappling with whether to reveal the painful truth to her imaginative daughter, or to play along with her daughter's fairy tale version of reality.
Length: 14:19
Director: Danielle Boyd
Producer: Francesco Zenati
Writer: Danielle Boyd
About the writer, director and producer:
Danielle Boyd (Writer and Director): Danielle Morgan Boyd is a writer/director based in LA. She is a graduate of NYU Tisch majoring in Film and Television minoring in Business Entertainment. Inspired at an early age by the expressive presence of the likes of Maya Angelou, Danielle felt the importance of sharing her perspective and experiences through films, poems and books.
Producer: Francesco Zenati obtained his Bachelor of Arts from New York University in December 2016. His major was in aesthetic philosophy with a minor in film production. His studies have made him a keen critic of film content which has served his interests in feature film development and distribution.
Key cast: Sharlee Taylor, Susan Spain, Anissa Prainito, and Elaine Davis.
Looking for Producers, Distributors, Sales Agents, and Film Festival Directors
Social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.boyd.39589
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellemboyd/ (daniellemboyd)
Other:
Funders: NYU, Todd Martin, Black Women Film Network, Joyce Clark, Friends & Family
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
You can watch it on my Vimeo page or at the Palm Springs International Shortfest in the Film Market.