“Pruning” premieres at the Palm Springs International Shortfest on June 24, filmmaker Lola Blanc will be in attendance, learn more.
Cinema Femme had the opportunity to speak with Lola Blanc about her horror short “Pruning.” They discussed how the horror lens can change the way we think about serious issues and the way we discuss them, in this case gun violence.
Rebecca Martin Fagerholm, Managing Editor, shares with Lola her thoughts about the film and about her admiration for Lola as a horror director joining a renaissance group of powerhouse female and non-binary filmmakers in the genre (Laura Moss, Jennifer Reeder, Mary Harron, Natalie Erika James, and Mercedes Bryce Morgan).
They also touched on how Lola’s past growing up in a cult environment influences the projects she tackles, and Rebecca observed the similar trajectory she shares with Guinevere Turner (screenwriter and actor), who also had a cult environment upbringing.
PRUNING
Sami (Madeline Brewer) is controversial. It’s how she makes her living, it’s her bread and butter–and her exploding internet fanbase is eating it up. So when she discovers that a recent mass shooting was inspired by her rhetoric, she ignores it. After all, crazy people have nothing to do with her. Right? That’s what she tells herself, even as the physical manifestation of her conscience grows harder and harder to ignore, forcing her to decide whether to get rid of it altogether.
“Pruning” is a film exploring what it means to benefit from the human capacity for division and hate. It’s a character study about a woman who gets what she wants at the worst imaginable cost, and how she deals with that cognitive dissonance. The film tackles themes of gun violence, the need to be right in a culture of fanatical certainty, and the real-life consequences of extreme rhetoric.
About Lola!
Lola Blanc is an incredibly talented multi-hyphenate as a filmmaker, popular podcaster, musical artist and actor who thrives in all of her mediums.
Lola Blanc’s film directorial work has been spotlighted by Pitchfork, Fangoria, and prestigious short film channel Omeleto, and has been selected by film festivals including Fantastic Fest, Hollyshorts, Brooklyn Horror, Newport Beach Film Festival and Nantucket Film Festival.
Much of Blanc’s work is inspired by her childhood experience believing in a self-proclaimed prophet. Her podcast about cults and extreme belief, Trust Me, has been featured by the New York Times and Harper’s Bazaar.
As a musical artist, Blanc’s music has garnered tens of millions of streams and has been featured by Billboard, Paper, V Magazine, and more; her song Angry Too has over 40 million streams on Spotify and she has also written songs for other artists, including Britney Spears and K-pop superstars Itzy.
Blanc’s acting credits include “Under the Silver Lake” and “American Horror Story;” she has over 200,000 followers across social media.
