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Meet the Filmmaker: Rebekah Fieschi, “The Unvisited”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?

RF: I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love movies. Books, movies, imagination and storytelling were always a big part of my life. At 9 years old Titanic made a huge impression on me and a friend and I wrote a (terrible, two page, dialogue-only) sequel (we called it Titanic 2, even though the boat wasn’t in it, and, yes, Jack came back to life). Then, at eleven I saw Edward Scissorhands and something clicked in my brain telling me that movies don’t just pop into existence, that they’re made by people who first have to imagine them. Since I was always very visual and imaginative and I struggled in school because of dyslexia, understanding that it was possible to capture these visual thoughts and communicate them to other people through film blew my mind. I decided then and there that that’s what I wanted to do, even though I had no clue how.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?

RF: The Unvisited is visually inspired by the Hammer movies and the Addams Family. It’s a fantasy/comedy about an old couple in a spooky mansion that enjoys sharing the twilight of their lives but yearns to be visited by their neglectful daughter before it’s too late. There’s such an emphasis on our differences lately that it’s easy to forget that we are more alike than not. I wanted to make a simple, silly and relatable film everyone could enjoy. In a lighthearted way, the film explores themes of growing older, the fear of dying alone and the desire to be reunited with one’s family.
It has screened in a few festivals in France, it just screened at the Queens World Film Festival in New York, it won the Best Fantasy Short award at Sick Chick Flicks and it will be screening at one of Hollyshorts’ monthly screenings. After that, I will be looking to distribute it on a platform which will allow the most eyes on it as possible.

Q: What else are you working on?

RF: I am working on a few works of prose (because the downsides of dyslexia can be overcome). I’m also working on a short film about a six-year-old kid who misunderstands a conversation she overhears and becomes convinced that her half-sister lives in the sea and she becomes determined to find her. And, I am developing my first feature film which is a psychological horror/thriller.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?

RF: I can’t think of anything that’s not weird about me or my movies.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?

RF: My website: www.horromance.com (where ways to watch my previous films can be found)
Instagram: @horromance or @rjffieschi
Twitter: @horromance or @theheadlessbeki

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?

RF: I think it’s awesome to give local filmmakers the opportunity to screen their film. I’ve screened at the Bug before and know it’s a great place to watch movies, have your film be seen by an actual audience and exchange with other filmmakers. I actually met Kathi Baerns, the co-lead in The Unvisited, at the Bug during the Colorado Independent Women of Film Festival.

The Unvisited will screen during The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, July 15th, 2021 at The Bug Theatre.