DREA
an interview with film maker AN
Andrea Pabon discussing her latest film: in between
Andrea Pabon is a fresh faced Puerto Rican woman setting out to make Chicago her creative haven. Her ambition, drive and vitality for life are infectious. She draws people in with her positive attitude despite the cut-throat industries she works in – film directing and fashion photography. She also moonlights as a freelance stylist. Yet, it is her love for film, cinematography and photography that takes center stage in her creative endeavors.
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She trained as a director at Columbia College Chicago and recently put her skills and experience to the test undertaking the production and release of her first independent film: In Between. Andrea’s ability to communicate her ideas through strong visuals and beautiful story telling helps to create a relationship between her audience and her characters. Viewers can feel the raw emotion and sense the unseen in her work. Producing and directing a film is a huge undertaking, but Andrea is driven and as is the case with most millennials - she doesn’t wait for things to happen, she makes them happen.
Andrea comes from the new age of makers. Rather than waiting for funding, she went out to find it. Utilizing social media and the crowd sourcing site: gofundme. com – Andrea was able to come up with the funds necessary to get her project off the ground. She credits her amazing team for the beautiful final product. Andrea took some time out of her busy schedule recently to speak with the Halfstack team about her project: In Between and the journey of directing an independent film in the city of Chicago. Read on for the interview: Can you tell us about your current project - concept behind the film and what inspired you to create it? In between is a short film which explorers how people deal with traumatic experiences, in this case domestic abuse. One of the main sources of inspiration came from my little brother. He came home one day after being bullied by some kids in his class and told me that he didn’t belong in this world. My little brother’s comment then stemmed a story based around a mother being
abused by her ex husband while her teenage son tries to deal with the situation to find his own voice. What are the underlying themes that you are exploring within the film and what are you hoping to express? The message that I’m trying to send to anyone who watches in between is that it’s never too late to get out of a bad situation. Whether it be abuse or not, there’s always a way out and somewhere within yourself a strong enough person to do something about it. Everyone is capable of change. How did you develop and recruit the team for this specific project? I’ve been extremely fortunate to have found a group of people from my experience at Columbia College Chicago that I work extremely well with and have continued to work with. Most of my heads of department I’m lucky enough to also call my friends. It took me a bit to find the right producer but when I found Yana Kirichkova, I knew she was the right one for the job. The first person I usually have on board for my films is my talented editor, Alexis Corrigan. Alexis has been my partner in crime for so long now. I can’t tell you how many times she’s saved my ass.