Dr. Penelope Film Spotlight

Today’s film spotlight focuses on the short film Dr. Penelope directed by Annika Hylmo.

What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?

PENELOPE – it’s the name of the puppet who inspires Julia to break free from her inhibitions and step into her identity as an intuitive psychologist. After she finishes her dissertation and helps a couple of ghosts figure out how to connect with their living loved ones.

Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.

I started to work on the story while I was working at the American Film Institute. As a writer, I was feeling stuck and inspired by the short films that the fellows were making, and when I was presented by a challenge to write a short by my writers’ group, I couldn’t turn it down.

The story itself draws on many sources of inspiration. I have a PhD and am all too familiar with that seemingly never-ending process of finishing a major project like a dissertation. Fascinated by the supernatural, I have always been torn between my intellectual and creative selves, the same journey that Julia goes on in DR. PENELOPE. I think we all have that curiosity around life and death that she encounters, and a sense of spirituality coming from our connections to people who walked on this earth before us. Family ties and our shared love for each other, living or dead, runs deep. Dr. Penelope came to me because I kept getting images of a marionette (very different from Dr. Penelope!) at Carnevale in Venice, Italy, that I would love to incorporate in a story one day, and a good friend at AFI was a puppeteer who drew me into the world of hand puppets. And so the story came to be.

Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?

Many! DR. PENELOPE is a comedy, but Ingmar Bergman’s SEVENTH INSEAL and the TV-series Charmed were clear inspirations. I was also very fortunate to be working with my dear friends, screenwriters Tom Rickman and Patty Meyer, who both inspired and challenged the film to get made.

What is the goal of the film for you?

It’s a story about a woman who struggles to claim her identity, and who can only do so by making peace with who she really is and not who she and others think she should be.

What has the journey been like getting the film into production?

A lot of starts and stops and not giving up! It took us two rounds of crowdfunding to get everything that we needed in place. The first round helped us get Dr. Penelope made and gave us a good start on preproduction, which in turn helped us get the second round up and running.

I am very grateful to all the people who have been a part of the journey, from giving notes on the script and table reads to contributors and supporters. We had a fantastic cast and crew who worked tirelessly to get the film made. A film is only as strong as the people who are making it, in front of and behind the camera, and we had some of the best.

One note about our cast and crew that I am particularly proud of is how diverse we were. I think we represented most aspects on the diversity spectrum! I was able to draw on both my AFI connections and Women in Media’s CAMERAderie Initiative, where I am one of the core producers, to get incredibly talented people on board. It just goes to show what can happen when you hire for what people can do and let them do their jobs because they are good at it.

One thing you learned from this project?

Patience. Although I think I’m still learning that lesson! It is important, though, because things will change when you least expect it, things out of your control will impact production and the story, and you just have to keep going and have faith that the story will be better for it.

I also learned how incredible it feels when people around the world (literally!) connect with your story and can relate to it in their own way. DR. PENELOPE helps people find their own meaning in the midst of chaos, and that is remarkable to see.

How can folks find you and your film online?

I’m on most social media as @annikahylmo and DR. PENELOPE is @drpenelope, except for Twitter, which is @thedrpenelope. Follow us – there is more to come!

Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?

Never forget about your audience. They are the ones who will help make sure that you get to make more movies.

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