With a cinematic coming-of-age story aiming straight into the heart of peer pressure, I am Whole reflects on the struggles of growing up too fast. Bianca Poletti, a Los Angeles-based director and photographer, puts together a visually compelling and vivid representation of the complexities of fitting into established social norms. Last year, she unveiled Radical Honesty, another short that touches upon relationships and finding comfort in human interaction. I Am Whole carries an enhanced artistic and ethereal approach in covering with tenderness the anxiety of youth. Catching up with Poletti on her work behind the short film, we divulge the behind-the-scenes, unfold the difficulties in spreading creative works and get an insight into the team synergy.

Niccolò Montanari: Tell us about how you began on your filmmaking journey. Was the transition from photography to filmmaking always there waiting to happen?

Bianca Poletti: It has always been lurking there, and even with photography, I would create worlds for the shoots, curating and building different time capsules. I grew up writing plays, which I missed once I started doing photography full-time. I wanted to explore the side of digging deeper into storytelling, photography, the characters’ psyche and movement. After going to USC for film and then moving to Seattle for four years, where I was a stylist and did a lot of fashion photography, I moved back to LA on a whim and started making short films. The short Fertile has opened the doors to me being signed for advertisement. When the pandemic hit, and no one was doing anything, I wanted to create. So I collaborated with a writer, my friend Rebecca, and we wrote a simple story about two people who connect virtually, focusing on Zoom’s comedic aspect. We now do it 24/7, but at the beginning of the pandemic it was not something that anyone was used to. From there on, I found more confidence in creating films, exploring things and sharing.

NM: How did you embark on commercial projects? And as producing films already requires commitment and hard work, once it is ready for the public, how do you draw visibility?

BP: When I moved back from Seattle, my first job was at MJZ; I knew nothing about advertising. I just saw that Spike Jones and Mike Mills were on the roster, and I am a film nerd. After being a sales rep for a short period and then doing treatments for different directors, I learned where to share my work to get it to the public. I submitted it to Shoot and Shots, and they posted and shared it, which set the ball rolling with advertising people. Yet, I did not submit it to far-reaching film festivals like SXSW or Sundance, because it was a simple story. It is nice to be like: “I am going to make this either for myself or with the intention of hopefully getting into this home or this place.” At first, I barely had any commercial work, so it took a while. But within the first year, I did ten commercials, which is quite a lot for a beginner director. So with the patience of waiting a couple of months, the more commercials I did, the stronger I felt as a filmmaker. It is an amazing way to collaborate with many people, DPs, stylists, and different storytellers and use the gear you cannot as an indie filmmaker.

NM: What was the inspiration behind I am Whole? And how did you make it happen?

BP: I had been playing around with the idea for four years, on and off. Now with social media, filters, and attention spans: what does the idea of losing your virginity mean for girls and women? So, I reached out to my friend Nikki Lorenzo, an amazing singer, songwriter and poet. We went through it and I said: “This is the outline, a theme, and this is what I want to happen in the story”, but I never saw it as a film. I have two sides of interest – dark comedy and coming-of-age visual and emotional stories. And I wanted to explore the visual and emotional side and not be stuck in more of a dialogue-centric world. The visuals are heavily influenced by Xavier Dolan’s Mommy; these warm tones and all of those moments were inspired by the words.  Originally, I had my friend Grace Van Dien, who came off of Stranger Things, to play the lead but didn’t have time. She introduced me to her friend Reina Hardesty, and once I met her, it just clicked, she was so beyond perfect for the role, it seamlessly worked out. After speaking with my reps in Paris + Germany, Frenzy and Zauberberg, who were very supportive and also helped fund the film, I brought together all of my favourite people including my friend Abbey Hendrix, who music supervises all of my work, who got Emile Mosseri to create a soundtrack for it.

NM: Take us through setting up the production from a practical point of view.

BP: It was a stressful one-shoot day – 12 hours and three locations in LA where nothing is close to one another. Krystina Archer, a director and photographer, bought this 1970s gem house recently, and with my friend, Sarah Fern, the production designer, we built the world using many wood elements. We rushed everything, shot it, getting rid of all the other artsy things planned for the outdoor location. Luckily it worked, and also Kayla Hoff (the DP) is amazing at improvising shots. I always use the same producer, Shayna Gianelli, who brings the best people together and makes it work for no money, and it looks great.

NM: Who did you work with on the editing, and did you have moments of spontaneity during the shootings?

BP: There weren’t a lot of extra shots, but there are many things we did not use. I sent Dustin Zimmerman at Cabin Edit the material, and we talked through everything. We went back and forth for a long time; the main thing was the music that took forever. I wanted this track by Emile Mosseri – Infinite Love, from Miranda July’s film Kajillionaire, which was always in my head when we worked with Nikki. Then, Abbey talked to Emile and asked for something more original, coming from him and not from the movie, so he created Slumber. Then Mikey Rossiter did the colouring, and Nikki did the voiceover – it was nice to have her read her poem. We were shooting one of the girls who had the flashlight on by accident and I thought it looked beautiful to use. Another scene with the lipstick marks shows how many other women you know he has been with. And that she was adding her place, one little spot left for her on his face. Also, what would happen if you reverse time? What would happen if you did not do this and explored a million different routes of reality? What if you said yes to one thing but no to another? Then your world would be different; so rewinding and starting from scratch. It is what I had in mind there.

NM: How have your style and directing skills developed or evolved over the past two years?

BP: I have always had a voice, but it has been a little all over the place because of many interests and themes. Yet, coming-of-age stories, fashion and architecture have always been a thing for me, and all combined are things I am utilising more and honing in. I grew up with immigrant parents from Argentina and I feel very close to Europeans and Italians, so that’s coming out more. Also, when I scout for advertising or shorts, I look for interesting textures around me (on buildings, for example). Same with fashion and photography, which I then use as inspiration for cinematography and moving images.

NM: What are you working on next?

BP: A couple of things: Allison and I have a show that we are working on. We just finished the Bible for it and we are currently pitching it around. It is a mystery about a girl that goes missing in this kind of UFO-themed town in the middle of nowhere. We have also just finished shooting another short together called ULTRA LOW, a dark comedy more in the world of Radical Honesty, but it is a little bit more intense. And there is another short that I am working on. It is a more coming-of-age story playing with greaser culture from the 60s and 70s in the UK about an immigrant girl finding her voice.