L.A. Indies, an independent film magazine, recently interviewed our very own Bessy Adut about her filmmaking career, the making of “Escape Room,” and her next film project.
Here are some excerpts:
L.A. Indies: When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Bessy Adut: When I was really young I wanted to be an actress first. My father was a filmmaker so I was performing in front of the camera all the time. Then I got my first video camera into my hands around 11 years old. I started making up stories and filming with my childhood best friend. We experimented several things together such as fairytales, haunted house stories, interviewing people on the streets, music videos and such. It started as a fun thing to do. Then I tried all kinds of arts as I was growing up, I dipped in and out of 7 arts. Actually I studied painting and drawing in high school. Afterwards, for college I decided Film & Television writing and directing was what I wanted to do. I pursued it since then. When I made my first film, I fell in love with it forever.
L.A. Indies: What inspired you to make The Escape Room?
Bessy Adut: When I was living in South Carolina, I went to a horror maze that was very realistic and scary. I thought of what if a lunatic person actually gets in here with a real chainsaw? I had that idea in my mind for awhile. Then I experienced Escape Room at Escape Hotel in Hollywood. A friend of mine from UCLA Screenwriting program started writing a feature script about the same concept. I talked to her and we decided to partner up.
L.A. Indies: How can cinema change the world and have an impact on society?
Bessy Adut: I believe cinema has the power to spread light to the world and that’s what I intend to do. I would like to inform the audience in spirituality, science as well as environmental issues with my film project “Searching for God(dess) in Antarctica” I am hoping people, mostly young audience, will be inspired to work harder together to save the world as our planet is in danger but I still have hope we can still turn things around and make it better.