By Karen Benardello<\/p>\n![\"Audrey](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/agh1.jpg\" "\\"Audrey")
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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”. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Shockya (SY): Your new animation short film \u2018The Snow Princess,\u2019 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?<\/p>\n
Audrey Genevieve Holland (AGH): Because it\u2019s true! And because sometimes it\u2019s better to learn harder life lessons through a seven minute film and a stop-motion puppet, than to have to live through them ourselves.<\/p>\n
SY: \u2018The Snow Princess\u2019 was inspired by both Tim Burton\u2019s \u2018Vincent\u2019 and Dr. Seuss. What is it about their work that you find most appealing?<\/p>\n
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\u2019ve always related to the whimsical tales of the outsider.<\/p>\n
SY: After appearing in over 30 film festivals around the world, \u2018The Snow Princess\u2019 has won several awards. What was your reaction when you found out the movie was continuously being honored by the film community?<\/p>\n
AGH: It\u2019s the highest compliment to be so continuously appreciated. I\u2019m so flattered.<\/p>\n
SY: \u2018The Snow Princess\u2019 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?<\/p>\n
AGH: It\u2019s simple and relatable; the themes aren\u2019t overly complex or hard to digest and I think at one point or another, most people have had to face a situation like Gwyneira\u2019s, 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.<\/p>\n
SY: Besides \u2018The Snow Princess,\u2019 you have worked as a production assistant for several DreamWorks Animation SKG hit movies, including \u2018How to Train Your Dragon,\u2019 \u2018Coraline\u2019 and \u2018Kung Fu Panda.\u2019 Why are you so attracted to the animation world?<\/p>\n
AGH: I\u2019ve always been a fan of animation. I\u2019ve loved it since I was very little, growing up on Disney and Don Bluth films and Saturday morning cartoons.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m 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 \u201cThe Snow Princess,\u201d like \u2018How to Train Your Dragon,\u2019 \u2018Coraline,\u2019 and \u2018Kung Fu Panda,\u2019 works best as an animated film.<\/p>\n
SY: DreamWorks is releasing sequels to both \u2018How to Train Your Dragon\u2019 and \u2018Kung Fu Panda.\u2019\u00a0 Will you be returning to the follow-up of either film?<\/p>\n
AGH: While I love the team who worked at Laika on \u2018Coraline\u2019 and the teams at DreamWorks Animation SKG that worked on \u2018Kung Fu Panda\u2019 and \u2018How to Train Your Dragon\u2019 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\u2019t wait to see them.<\/p>\n
SY: How is working on full-length movies different from working on short films?<\/p>\n
AGH: Everything is condensed in short filmmaking. The schedule is smushed to so that there\u2019s not really any buffer time to revisit everything you want to.\u00a0 It\u2019s also much more challenging to have a full and engaging character arch in 7 minutes than in 90.<\/p>\n
SY: After working on the DreamWorks films, do you have any plans on returning to the directing and writing fields?<\/p>\n
AGH: Yes. In fact, we\u2019ve several projects in development now and I can\u2019t wait to share them with you all.<\/p>\n
A full version of the film can be watched at IndieFlix.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n By Karen Benardello<\/p>\n<\/a>