Focus on AFI Conservatory - Witchin'
A young naive witch will face the dark side of ambition when she visits the world of humans in search of the powerful and notorious Big Dick Energy.
Interview with Writer/Director Christina Diamantara
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Witchin' was completed as my thesis project requirement in order to graduate from my Masters program at the American Film Institute. But through the course of development, the film became more and more of a personal expression necessity.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Because it's a colourful, funny and exuberant satire of modern society through the lens of the fantasy genre.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
On the one hand, the protagonist's journey depicts a naive girl going after her goals and ambitions and learning that there's a price to pay for success. I have personally had such an experience which is probably like any other coming of age story. However I feel that this personal story is also a metaphor for my whole generation who grew up in the reigns of a strong capitalism (reinforced through fairy-tales) only to witness its cracks and darker side with the financial and social crisis we experienced as we grew older.
At the same time, this is a woman's story and again my personal experience and at the same time a universal observation about women who go after their professional goals but are ultimately forced to interact with the previously sole power occupants, men.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
At first, our focus was female friendships and competitiveness, so the role of Linda, Donnie's faux friend was much bigger. As we talked more and more and provided more depth for our characters, we realised that person one who learns the most at the end of the story is Donnie, and that's when we gave all our focus to her individual journey.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Such lovely words and feedback! We always knew that due to the nature of some provoking sexual themes and the use of curse words in the film, we were in a way narrowing down our intended viewers. But when the film meets its audience, there seems to be a great connection and appreciation for the story, the performances and the overall construction.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Unfortunately not very much, even though this would be very welcomed as I consider the exchange of point of views one of the biggest pleasures of filmmaking. I attribute this more than anything else to the fact that our festival run was heavily affected by the pandemic, and therefore we didn't have the chance to attend festivals and speak directly with the people who watched the film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
To continue growing our online presence and to reach more audiences.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Right now we're still submitting to film festivals and soon we will start looking into online platforms that could potentially host the film.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like audiences to be entertained while also engaged in the morality roller coaster that the film takes them through.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do we need to be "bad" to be successful?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for reading and watching!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm developing the TV series version of Witchin', a low budget feature (Red Buffalo) about young women and their relationship with sugar dating and an animated feature (Gorgona) about a woman who is transformed into a kelp plant, and then trapped in the depths of a polluted ocean.
I'm also working on multiple dubs and some commercials in various stages of production.
Interview: July 2021
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
Witchin’
Length:
Short
Writer/Director
CHRISTINA DIAMANTARA is a Greek writer and director based in Los Angeles. Her short film Witchin’ has won dozens of awards and has participated in more than 40 festivals worldwide. An American Film Institute graduate, Christina directs all types of short form content such as narratives, commercials and corporate videos while developing her feature film and TV series projects. She also works as a dubbing director for popular Netflix shows.
Producer
GREGORY M. SCHROEDER graduated from AFI Conservatory where he produced two multi-awarded short films, PROGENY and WITCHIN'. He later produced the short film LIKE FLYING with his company First Light Productions LLC, which screened at Nashville and Palm Springs International Shortfest, and received distribution from Dedza Films and Kino Lorber. Gregory has numerous upcoming film, music video and commercial projects in post-production as a producer, director, and writer, set for completion in 2021.
Key cast:
Madeleine Coghlan (Donnie), Genevieve Kennedy (Linda), Keli Daniels-Landry (Ms Hemroyd)
Looking for:
distributors, film festival directors
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/christina.diamantara
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chrisyxusi/
Hashtags used:
#witches #witchesofinstagram #halloween #afithesisfilm #femalefilmmakers
More info:
https://www.facebook.com/witchinthefilm
Made in association with:
AFI Conservatory