Here is the short interview I conducted with Greene Dreams co-directors Quinn Turon and Nadia Boyea:
Nigrin: Your mysterious film Greene Dreams is about a young small-town girl, searching for answers to a suspicious occurrence. Please tell us more about your film and you wanted to make it?
Turon and Boyea:We wanted to include people who we knew would be interested in being part of a production like this and being home for the summer led to the small-town influence from Greenville.
Nigrin: Why did you decide to shoot your film in Black and White?
Turon and Boyea: We both agreed that shooting in black and white would stand out, and it was an aesthetic decision that we both thought would be visually appealing.
Nigrin: Where did you shoot this film? Is this your home town? You made it seem pretty spooky and mysterious.
Turon and Boyea:The film was shot throughout our hometown, anywhere seen in the film were near the businesses in the middle of town or near our houses. We were lucky to have just the right weather at the right time in order to get a couple scenes with a misty and foggy atmosphere. This film also used whatever our immediate surroundings were, for the most part we didn’t ask to shoot anywhere, we just went and got what we needed and left.
Nigrin: I see some Maya Deren influences in your film. Is that accurate and are there any other films and filmmakers that influenced your film?
Turon and Boyea: American Beauty was a slight influence in the aspect of having a recurring shot that comes back to the viewer repeatedly (this was with our dream sequence with the covered figure sitting in the path in the woods). Also Maya Deren was absolutely an inspiration, especially in the dream sequence with the mysterious ghostly figure. We only covered the face because we couldn’t actually find a mirror for the face, but I think it worked out better and is more original to our film.
Nigrin: Are there any memorable stories while you made this film or any other info about your film you would like to relay to our readers?
Turon and Boyea: It was a really great time creating the film from start to finish. Lots of laughs between the serious moments of the film, this was the first time for most of us for working on anything of this scale (film length and cast size wise) so it was all a learning process but definitely want to continue to do this type of creating in the future.
Still from Daughter
Greene Dreams is part of the New Jersey Film Festival Super Shorts 1 Program. Here is more information on this screening:
Time Trance – Benjamin Ridgeway (San Francisco, California) A fittingly brief, animated meditation on the perception of time and the ever-changing state of reality. 2019; 2 min.
His Eyes Behind Mine –Qin Ziwei (San Marino, California) An emotional journey through love, sex, obsession, and violence, based on a true story. 2019; 6 min.
Two – Vasilios Papaioannu (Syracuse, New York) Two is structured as a conversation—between sound and image, seasons come and gone, natural and altered landscapes, and an unseen man and woman. It begins as a duet between a video diary and a field recording, and ends as an archive of the possibilities hibernating within each moment. 2019; 8 min. Q+A Session with Director Vasilios Papaioannu!
Mixed Movie – Vasco Diogo (Covilhã, Portugal) This short film was entirely made using a mobile phone and several apps. Inspired by a surrealistic aesthetic, in which creativity, randomness, and the imagination play important roles, it reflects on the possibilities of contemporary social media short videos, neither as an absolute celebration nor as a technophobic critique. 2019; 10 min.
Smoke -n- Suds – George Nicholas (Mamaroneck, New York) Two punks meet at a laundromat in the late 80's, in New York’s Hell's Kitchen, in this animated film. 2019; 13 min. Q+A Session with Director George Nicholas!
Daughter – Daria Kashcheeva (Prague, Czech Republic) This animated film from the Czech Republic asks many questions. Should you hide your pain? Close yourself inside your inner world, full of longing for your father’s love? Or should you understand and forgive before it is too late? 2019; 15 min.
Greene Dreams – Quinn Turon and Nadia Boyea (Greenville, New York) A young small-town girl, searching for answers to a suspicious occurrence, realizes that a high school friend, who might have been involved, must be the subject of her investigation. 2019; 24 min. Q+A Session with Directors Quinn Turon and Nadia Boyea!
Co-sponsored by the Rutgers University Cinema Studies Program!
Friday, January 31, 2020 at 7:00 PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey
$14= Advance; $12=General; $10=Students+Seniors
Information: (848) 932-8482; www.njfilmfest.com
