DIRECTED BY Fiorella Pomarino
produced by Joaquin Jeri
The Room is a fashion film that talks about how a woman feels about being trapped in different relationships. The whole story happens in her room creating a tense atmosphere for her and the viewer.
ABOUT THE FILM
The Room is a fashion film that started as a photography project for a fashion editorial in 2019. It’s been featured in Beyond the Short, Curation Hour, and Latex Magazine.
ABOUT THE FILMmaker
Fiorella is a multidisciplinary artist based in Lima. Her work is characterized by its great aesthetic care, the constant testing of different formats and the emphasis on the visual aspect to create new narratives. Pomarino’s personal work explores social and cultural issues related to identity of women and Latin America through films and photography.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH Fiorella
Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I grew up in Lima, Peru. I am Latin and was raised in a patriarchal society. I feel this two things have shaped the way I see the world or in what my attention is focus on. I started working in the film industry when I was 25 years old. I did a little bit of production and art. You could find me helping in the make up department or looking for some random prop the product designer needed. At the age of 28 I started doing art direction for photography and film. Although I love doing art Direcion or production design for feature films, short films, music videos and advertising I can’t deny I adore to direct my own projects.
I direct mostly fashion films and video art. These two moves me a lot. It is the only way I know how to express myself through film. Perhaps it is because I think first through images instead of words. I usually visualise and draw what I want to tell rather than write the script first. For me, it is really important to put into images the emotions I am feeling. None of my films have voice over, that’s why music and rhythm in the film are very important for me.
Currently, I work as an art director/production designer in advertising but I direct my own projects.
Tell us about the genesis of The Room? How did the project come about?
The Room is a fashion film that started as a fashion editorial in 2019. I was used to make fashion stories for magazines, so while I was planning “The Room” as a photography project it came to me that I could film it. I started with a photo board and from there everything started to grow. Some friends joined me in this adventure. It was the first time directing a short film with no notion of it. One night we sat down and started to break down all the scenes. It was a very nice process that I never had before. Just some friends making films. It was very enriching.
I think the moment I more struggled with was when I needed to say what I wanted to say with the film. I wanted to talk about some toxic experiences of women in really bad relationships. The use of only one main set, the bedroom, was a very important decision as for the wallpaper we used. I really wanted the viewer to feel trapped. It was my aim to visualise this story in a surrealistic, immersive, emotional and cinematic experience.
What obstacles did you overcome while in the making of this film?
The fear. It was my first time directing and being the person who leads a whole crew. I have seen it done before but being there and making all the decisions it was actually pretty hard. At the end of the day I saw my self directing and making my first short film. It was amazing.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
This film in particular was the first one I made but not the first one I showed. It took me three years to put it out. It was showed in some fashion film festivals and in some short film platforms but to be honest because it was my first film I didn’t have a plan for its diffusion. Now I know I need a distribution plan since day one.
Words of wisdom. What advice would you give to other filmmakers?
Have a distribution plan since day one. Don’t be afraid of doing something wrong. There is nothing wrong with your ideas or the way you film. Experiment as much as you can. Try new film genres. Listen to yourself, you know exactly what you want to say through your films. Film even though you don’t have the perfect camera or lenses. Some great films have been made with cellphones.
What are you working on now?
At the moment I am working on a film based project about the innocence of girls after facing a traumatic childhood. I am questioning if the innocence is lost after the childhood traumas or if it stays and how these women express it.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
The color of Pomegranates - Sayat Nova
La montana sagrada - Alejandro Jodorowsky
Mustang - Deniz Gamze