Chelsea Film Festival 2020 – Little Charlotte's Unannounced Visit
Two women discover their inner children. Literally.
Interview with Writer/Director/Actor Ruya Koman
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I made this film because I wanted to see if I could tell a story in one location and still make it creative and interesting. The story of these two women just came to me. I am quite obsessed with time travel and exploring what would happen if we were able to go back to the past or to the future (Back To The Future was one of my favorite movies when I was growing up). I wrote the script and a few weeks later, we were already shooting, so the pre-production was quick. The film is really about how we as humans are connected to our inner children.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
This short film is definitely an escape from the dark days that we have been going through for the past few weeks. It is a colorful, fun little movie. There are two very talented and gorgeous little stars in this movie: Gia Bustamante and Gabby Bustamante. Kids just create magic on the screen!
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
As humans, we each have a “need” which, as my incredible acting teacher Susan Batson says, is the hidden, insistent, unfulfilled and constantly pulsing force that we carry with us from childhood. Our “need” affects all the decisions we make in life and it is a universal truth at the heart of all people and all characters. The two main characters getting in touch with their little girls are very much in line with how at certain moments in life, our inner kids may be unleashed at unexpected moments. The film is also about friendship and dedicated to many wonderful friends that I have had throughout my life.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I came up with the story and wrote the script. Then, I sent it to my very talented producer/writer/director friend Robin Rose Singer and asked her if she would like to be a part of it. Robin and I had already produced many short films and one pilot before this so we had an established working relationship as well as a wonderful friendship. We both knew this was going to be a relatively small production (compared to some of our previous work, i.e. Interference). She helped me produce it. We brought on board our wonderful cinematographer Derek Means who really created wonders with the resources that they had at hand. Derek and I went on to work on another short film after this movie and I plan to work with them on future projects too. Edward J. Fee, who plays the waiter has been a big supporter of my work over the years; he came on board as the Executive Producer. Finding the location was critical. I found Jennifer Abda who offered us the diner that she used to manage on the Upper East Side. She went above and beyond in terms of supporting this project, so we made her the Co-Producer. Seth Webster, who was my First Assistant Director was also one of the Co-Producers. One of the most important things for this production was the casting of Little Charlotte and Little Jasmin. I cast Gia and Gabriella Bustamante who are sisters in real life. I already knew their mother because I had worked with their brother Nico Bustamante on Gotham. They really shine in this film! We shot the entire film over two nights which actually happened months apart. The shoot was supposed to be completed in one day but we were not able to get all the shots that we had planned on getting during the first day of shooting as our young actresses got tired, so we had to plan a second shoot day to get the pickup shots. Luke Delahanty was the editor and our post-production sound mixer/sound editor and Andrew Markus composed the score. Special thanks to Proverbs Taylor, Marianne Hardart and Andreas Beissel who also worked very hard on this production as production managers.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have screened at two festivals already: at the Chelsea Film Festival and Hell’s Kitchen Films NYC. The audience loved it. It is short, but entertaining and funny, with an unexpected plot twist. I am glad that it made a lot of people laugh.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I honestly didn’t know how people were going to respond to it. I knew that it was probably going to make the audience smile but I definitely got a loud positive response when we screened and that is of course always satisfying.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Just like a lot of other independent filmmakers, we were affected by Covid-19. As most film festivals have been cancelled or postponed, I do not think our film will be able to meet with a live audience anytime soon. In the meantime, I am planning to release it online and we would love to spread the word through your platform and other online publications.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
As I mentioned earlier, we plan to release this film online (most probably through Amazon Prime); however, we are open to screening at future film festivals or screening events once it is safe to do so. I would also love to chat with other publications to get the word out.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Considering that we are going through some tough times right now, I would really love the audience to have a good time and to make them smile.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How much are we as humans in touch with our inner children and how much do our inner children influence what we do in life? What has happened to you as a child that has caused you to have an unfulfilled need which continues to drive you and all the decisions that you make in life?
Would you like to add anything else?
I would love to thank my whole team because without them this film would not have been possible.
Actors: Gia Bustamante, Gabriella Bustamante, Robin Rose Singer and Edward J. Fee
Producer: Robin Rose Singer
Executive Producer: Edward J. Fee
Co-producers: Jennifer Abda and Seth Webster
Production Managers: Andreas Beissel, Proverbs Taylor, Marianne Hardart
First Assistant Director: Seth Webster
Location Manager: Jennifer Abda
Cinematographer: Derek Means
Editor/Sound Designer: Luke Delahanty
Assistant Editor: Kaitlyn Cortes
Composer: Andrew Markus
Production Sound Mixers: Errol Basdeo, Jordy DeLeon
Key Hair/Make-Up Artist: Drishty Empire
Wardrobe Supervisor: Andreas Beissel
Production Assistants: Emilee Bae, Noah Fowler, Jasmine Robles
BTS Video/Photography: Proverbs Taylor
Poster Photography: Seth Webster
Poster Design: Hanna Agar
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am currently writing a feature film (an adaptation) and a pilot. I hope to direct the pilot once I finalize the script and once it is safe to do so. I also produced two short films earlier this year The Reading and Undercurrent; those projects are currently in post-production. I am also going to try to revive my one-woman show Her Kind once things start going back to the “new normal” later this year.
I recently worked with cinematographer Derek Means on a new short The Reading and hope to work with them on other future projects also.
Robin Rose Singer will be directing The Too Late Show, a short digital comedy series, once we are safely able to go back to production. In the meantime, she has been serving on the jury and programming team for the Greenpoint Film Festival, writing several new projects, and being an active ally.
Interview: May 2020
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
Little Charlotte's Unannounced Visit
Two women discover their inner children. Literally.
Length: 6:15
Director: Ruya Koman
Producer: Robin Rose Singer, Edward J. Fee and Ruya Koman
Writer: Ruya Koman
About the writer, director and producer:
RUYA KOMAN co-directed, produced and starred in Interference, which was selected out of more than 3,400 short films as one of the 15 semi-finalists at the 2018 NBC Universal Short Film Festival. Other screenings include the New Voices in Black Cinema Festival at BAM (New York City), March on Washington Film Festival (Washington D.C.), the Harlem International Film Festival (New York City) and Chelsea Film Festival (New York City). In 2016, she made her directorial debut with a short film that she wrote, directed and produced, Reunion, which was an official selection at the 2017 ECU European Independent Film Festival (Paris, France) and the 2017 Chelsea Film Festival (New York City). Other producing credits include Compatibility, Mr. Richardson, Najmia, One Second Changes Everything, Before We Lose, The Poem of A Memory, Convicted and Man-Babies. In 2016, Ruya produced and line produced several short films for director Slick Solvan Naim (The Get Down, Snowfall, The Blacklist, Blindspot, and Power). Ruya appeared on Gotham as the D.C. Comics character Mother and has acted in numerous independent films. She is currently starring as leads in upcoming shorts The Reading and Mourning Meal.
EDWARD J. FEE has executive produced a number of films including Interference, Mourning Meal and Little Charlotte's Unannounced Visit. He recently starred in Angelfish, Undercurrent and Mourning Meal. He is also a writer and had a number of his plays produced at Off-Off Broadway theatres. Robin Rose Singer: Robin Rose Singer is a writer, director, and producer. Recent titles include: Interference (NBC Universal Film Festival/BAM Cinematek); Aphasia (Tribeca Film Festival); Maturity (Winner, IFP Made in NY: Series Competition; Winner, Gold Telly for Music and Bronze Telly for Comedy); The Lions of Mesopotamia (Academy Nicholl Fellowship Top 50; NY Stage and Film Screenwriting Fellow), Home Street Home (Winner Best Short Doc, Harlem Film Festival), Angelfish (TIFF Next Wave, rapper Princess Nokia’s feature film debut) and Danny’s House (VicelandTV created by The Eric Andre Show’s Derrick Beckles starring rapper, Danny Brown).
Key cast: Robin Rose Singer, Ruya Koman, Gia Bustamante, Gabriella Bustamante
Looking for: film festival directors, distributors
Facebook: Little Charlotte's Unannounced Visit
Twitter: @ruyakoman
Instagram: @littlecharlottemovie, @ruyakoman
Hashtags used: #littlecharlottemovie
Website: www.ruyakoman.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? We will release Little Charlotte's Unannounced Visit online over the next few months. For updates, please follow our Instagram page @littlecharlottemovie