Interview with Filmmaker Julia Campanelli (116)

 116 played to rave reviews at the February 2018 ROMANCE FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto on Valentine’s Day.
 
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Julia Campanelli: I made my film, “116”, because of the dearth of interesting roles on screen for women over the age of 45 years. As an actress, generally the roles available to me are “grannie” roles. “116’ is not your grannie film. It features a powerful, sexually vibrant woman in a complicated relationship with a younger man. I see the reverse of this dynamic, an older man and a younger woman, all the time in film, the male gaze. As a filmmaker I am doing my part to change the narrative and represent complex female protagonists and intersectionality in my productions.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

A very…