Read our exclusive interview with director Audrey Genevieve Holland, who recently released her new short film ‘The Snow Princess.’ Besides helming the seven-minute stop motion animation movie, which has been featured in over 30 film festivals worldwide and has won numerous awards and critical acclaim, Holland also wrote, produced and edited ‘The Snow Princess.’ Previously, Audrey worked for DreamWorks Animation SKG on several features including “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon”. As well as Laika Entertainment on “Coraline” and “MoonGirl”.
Her short film “The Snow Princess” follows Gwyneira, the Snow Princess, who has longed dreamed of entering the Land of Spring, but once she has finally arrived there, she realizes she must be careful what she wishes for.
Shockya (SY): Your new animation short film ‘The Snow Princess,’ which you both wrote and directed, follows the Snow Princess Gwyneira, who falls into the land of spring after spending an eternity dreaming of living there. Once there, Gwyneira realizes that you have to be careful what you wish for. Why is that message so important for viewers to learn?
Audrey Genevieve Holland (AGH): Because it’s true! And because sometimes it’s better to learn harder life lessons through a seven minute film and a stop-motion puppet, than to have to live through them ourselves.
SY: ‘The Snow Princess’ was inspired by both Tim Burton’s ‘Vincent’ and Dr. Seuss. What is it about their work that you find most appealing?
AGH: {laughs} I could write a whole dissertation on why I love the work of both Tim Burton and Dr. Seuss. The short answer is that I grew up with both of their works around me and I’ve always related to the whimsical tales of the outsider.
SY: After appearing in over 30 film festivals around the world, ‘The Snow Princess’ has won several awards. What was your reaction when you found out the movie was continuously being honored by the film community?
AGH: It’s the highest compliment to be so continuously appreciated. I’m so flattered.
SY: ‘The Snow Princess’ has also received critical praise. Even though the movie is only seven minutes in length, why do you think the movie still resonates with viewers?
AGH: It’s simple and relatable; the themes aren’t overly complex or hard to digest and I think at one point or another, most people have had to face a situation like Gwyneira’s, where the grass looked so much greener on the other side and where they had to find the courage within themselves to take a tumble into the unknown.
SY: Besides ‘The Snow Princess,’ you have worked as a production assistant for several DreamWorks Animation SKG hit movies, including ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ ‘Coraline’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda.’ Why are you so attracted to the animation world?
AGH: I’ve always been a fan of animation. I’ve loved it since I was very little, growing up on Disney and Don Bluth films and Saturday morning cartoons.
I’m attracted to unique stories and these were all projects that I wanted to work on because of that. To me, the medium is there to serve the story, and “The Snow Princess,” like ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ ‘Coraline,’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ works best as an animated film.
SY: DreamWorks is releasing sequels to both ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda.’ Will you be returning to the follow-up of either film?
AGH: While I love the team who worked at Laika on ‘Coraline’ and the teams at DreamWorks Animation SKG that worked on ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and their other projects, I have no current plans to return to work on any of the follow up projects that are in production; but of course, I can’t wait to see them.
SY: How is working on full-length movies different from working on short films?
AGH: Everything is condensed in short filmmaking. The schedule is smushed to so that there’s not really any buffer time to revisit everything you want to. It’s also much more challenging to have a full and engaging character arch in 7 minutes than in 90.
SY: After working on the DreamWorks films, do you have any plans on returning to the directing and writing fields?
AGH: Yes. In fact, we’ve several projects in development now and I can’t wait to share them with you all.
A full version of the film can be watched at IndieFlix.com.
By Karen Benardello
