Films That Are Out of This World: Meet Caroline Iaffaldano
Eclectic. Inspiring. Colorful. Just a few of the many ways you could describe filmmaker Caroline Iaffaldano and her artistic style. Not knowing that she would take the path of director/filmmaker, Iaffalano originally intended on pursuing a career in art or fashion. I had the wonderful opportunity to interview her with Unpublished, as we stepped into her creative world...
When she began applying for college in 2014, Iaffaldano said she, “knew [she] wanted to do something creative and at the time [she] had thought it was art or fashion.” Realizing that she didn’t want to attend art school, she registered at NYU for an array of different courses: printmaking, editing, writing, fashion, and human rights classes.
“Through this process, I learned a lot about what I actually enjoyed doing,” Iffaldano said. “And film was something that was really interesting to me.”
After realizing that the Big Apple wasn’t the place for her, she applied for USC to major in film as a way to escape New York.
“I didn’t really even know that I wanted to direct or be a filmmaker when I was applying for film school,” she said. “It was more of a way for me to get out of the city.”
After taking this leap, she was right where she needed to be. After three years of film school, she realized “I luckily loved it so much and really felt aligned with my life path.” She said, “it was a happy accident and it worked out for the best, but definitely was not planned.”
Iaffaldano accepted uncertainty in her career. “It was funny because on the first day of classes everyone was saying how they knew they wanted to be filmmakers at the age of two, but on my first day of film school, I really wasn’t even sure film was what I wanted to pursue.” She said. “I didn’ even know that I wanted to direct or be a filmmaker when I was applying for film school. It was more of a way for me to get out of the city.” Her fearlessness in life shows.
Psychedelic hues of color and auras, Iaffaldano has an artistic style like none other. When a piece has her signature on it, audiences know. The first short film I saw by Caroline was, “Girls in Space,” where “Three girls travel time and space in hopes of escaping a deadly plague that is destroying Earth.” Being the first film she ever directed, she says it was probably her favorite because of the visuals she created for it. Inffaldano finds inspiration for her unique and eclectic style through things like clothing items, pieces of furniture or random objects.
“With my work being so visual and stylized, I usually start the creative process by finding an object that I am attracted to,” she said. “And then I start centering a whole story around that one kernel of inspiration… It’s funny to say, ‘Oh this story about girls who go to space was inspired by a chair I own,’ but that’s really how things come to me.”
In her creative process, Iaffadano begins by envisioning the visual components of the film, then she starts writing. This way of working backwards, in a sense, helps her fit the pieces of a puzzle together.
“If I like something I will figure out how to put it into a story,” she said. “Even if it has nothing to do with the actual story I am telling and is just a decoration in the background.”
This idea shows how there is a world of art in the smallest things and if we just tap into that world, we end up creating something beautiful.
Writer’s block is always a challenge for any creative, but how does Iaffaldano counteract it?
“Rather than only writing when you have a stroke of genius and are inspired, you should write when you have nothing to put on the page,” she said. “When you make creating a habit, it no longer comes in flashes and you are able to access it much more easily.”
Incorporating a creative outlet into your everyday routine, whether it be writing, painting, or filmmaking, builds that skill.
“I think writing can be very creative and freeing but is also very formulaic in many ways,” Iaffaldano said. “And so when I get stuck on a creative element I always go back to the outline and structure I need to follow and ask myself, ‘What needs to get done on this page and how can I do it?’”
Finally, Iaffaldano left some advice for up and coming creatives; “Don’t compare yourself, your path, or your work to anyone else’s because there is really no one way to go about being a filmmaker and there is enough room for all of us.” In regard to directing, she noted, it “is so much about reading the room, knowing what personalities you’re working with and how to approach each person to get what you’re looking for, so you have to know what you want first and foremost.”
Whatever creative outlet you choose to pursue, Caroline Iaffaldano reminds people to keep doing what they love to do, regardless of what others may think.
“Just try to create something you like and ultimately trust your intuition!”
Make sure to check out Caroline Iaffaldano and all of her films here.