“Finding the Perfect Joy:”Nora Zehetner and Maya Albanese on the Making of Freeze
Maya and Nora discuss the making of Freeze, a short film about one character’s descent into chaos after her boyfriend leaves her. Her family, friends, and doctors push her to the edge of madness as the ticking of her biological clock becomes obstructively loud.
Nora best known for her roles in Brick and Madmen plays the lead female role in Freeze, a character who goes by the name of Joy, but becomes the exact opposite by the end.
Nora plays Joy, a sweet, optimistic woman on the verge of turning 35 who slowly loses her grip on reality in the face of ‘baby panic.’ Nora speaks about how she connected to the role on a personal level. Like the character in the film, Nora is not married and does not have kids. Nora is too familiar with the paradox many women face today – we are encouraged to follow our dreams and pursue our careers, yet at the same time, we are pressured to be married with kids at age 30.
The short film format allowed Nora to play a role she may have otherwise not pursued. She discusses how every aspect of the film from hair & make-up, to set design, to working with Maya allowed her to embody a complex emotional landscape.
Maya touches on the cathartic process of writing Freeze, and on casting the lead-role and the supporting actors (Adrien Grenier). It was important for Maya to have a diverse cast, including non-gendered. Maya focuses on the tricky process of evoking tone in a short-film, as it must occur organically but must also be honed in pre and post production.
Both Maya and Nora describe how they connect with the short film format. Most of all, short film format gives them the space to step outside of their comfort zones, to take creative risks, and to share a story that is worth telling.
“The short film format is a playground to test new ideas”
Check out the interview below for some great background on what it takes as a Director and an Actor to create a meaningful work of art.
Watch Freeze Exclusively on ARGO
