Film Director/Writer, Victoria Innocenzi, sits down and talks with us about the release of her short film "Hideaway"; a loose adaptation of 'Sleeping Beauty'. The short focuses on a young girl (Nicole Walsh) who struggles to re-assimilate back into her life after waking up from a coma. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I'm a day dreamer, a workaholic, an optimist, an artist and maybe some other things. 

Most of your previous work is music videos, how did working on a film compare? 

I feel like my approach to projects is similar, I am always building visuals for a story. With film, the biggest difference was the production process. I felt like there was more time to build my relationships with the team and the story. A huge part of that could also be because I was working as a writer on this as well. With music videos, I am collaborating with another artist to help bring their vision to life, for Hideaway, I was bringing my own to life. 

How important is collaboration to you? 

Collaborating with other creatives is my favorite part about what I do. I love the process of connecting and bouncing ideas off of one another. I believe that each person that comes into our lives opens up a new world within ourselves. Collaborating has allowed me to grow as an artist and gain new perspectives on my work. 

Tell me a little bit more about making Hideaway. 

Even though this wasn't my first released short film, to me- this was the first one I had worked on. I had been writing it before anything else and knew this was the project I wanted to start my exploration of film with. Hideaway came from a distinct visual I had (that you'll see at the beginning of the short) of an apathetic girl, in a princess costume, being moved up and down from little kids in a bounce house. This really embodied the feeling of disconnection and "going through the motions" for me at the time, which I'm sure so many people experience. 

How would you describe your style?

Soft, feminine, dark, but beautiful. My work always focuses on a female-perspective and I love to incorporate those elements, whether it be through fashion, sound, movement or character. 

Hideaway has a very distinct mood to it, how did you go about creating the soundtrack for it? 

I think Hideaway has a very soft melancholy feel to it, but there are some moments that feel a lot more heavy and dark. I work with Kyle Crawford a lot, who was the editor of this and he created some tracks that enhanced those darker moments. The other artist involved with this, August Eve, really embodied the character "Rory" in her music for me. When I watched dailies for the film with one of her songs "Ghost" underneath it, I started to cry. That's when I knew this film wouldn't be the same thing without August as a part of it. We ended up using the song "Ghost" in the film and had her compose a couple tracks for it as well.

What's next for you? 

I definitely want to do another film. But, I'll always be working on fashion photography and music videos simultaneously. If I'm not working on something, I'm not myself. 

CREDITS

Writer & Director: Victoria Innocenzi

Producer: Reiley McGlynn

Cast: Nicole Walsh, Bryce Pyper, JoAnne McGrath, Robin Seymour and Ana Pasti.

Cinematographer: Chrissy Britt

Production Design: Jenny Nguyen

Wardrobe: Sienna Gray

Editor: Kyle Crawford

Color: Victoria Innocenzi

Composer: Kyle Crawford & August Eve

Illustrations: JGV Illustrations

Animation: Navjot Kaur