We here at STARBURST are huge supporters of independent cinema and recently we were privileged to speak to indie film star Ayvianna Snow about her career so far and her latest film Barun Rai and the House on the Cliff.
STARBURST: For those who may not be familiar with your work, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
AYVIANNA SNOW: I’m an actress based in London and I primarily work in independent cinema. I would say I’ve mainly become known for horror although I’ve done other genres as well – I’ve got my first sci-fi film coming out this year in fact – but my first love was horror.
Has Horror always been your favourite genre?
I have a two-pronged answer. Firstly, as I work primarily in the indies, horror is something that filmmakers with a limited budget tend to aim for because it’s the easiest to sell – a lot of directors and actors first credits on their CV are in horror so that definitely appealed to me. Secondly, I do genuinely enjoy the genre as well. I like a well-written horror piece – a psychological horror especially more than a slasher. I like it when it builds up that tension and unease.
Obviously, the last two years have been very strange and difficult for creatives. How has it been for you to have to adapt to new ways of working? For example, you worked with director Howard Ford on “The Lockdown Hauntings” and other projects.
That’s right. I met Howard a few years ago when I auditioned for a commercial. A few weeks into the first lockdown he called me and said that he wanted to make a film – and I said “Howard, we are lockdown, how can we do that?” So we set up a bubble together and he came to my house – in terms of the shooting process, it was difficult in the fact that it was just the two of us doing everything from camera work to lighting and beyond. It forced us to be quite resourceful, to be honest. There were moments where I was speaking to another actor but obviously, the other actor wasn’t there – poor Howard was having to read in lines as well as everything else. So that was difficult because as an actor, it’s always best to have other people to bounce off of. It was proper DIY filmmaking. It definitely strecthed me as an actor because I had to create that reality essentially on my own – I’m 100% a better actor for it.
Your latest film “Barun Rai and the House on the Cliff” recently got a theatrical release. How exciting is it to see it on the big screen?
It was fantastic as the previous film that I starred in was a virtual cinema release during a lockdown so it was great to finally see Barun Rai get a proper release – there’s something very special and magical about being able to have a group of people together to watch a film in the cinema – and that’s something I think we are losing as a society not just because of the pandemic, but we’ve all for used to streaming.
Can you tell us about your upcoming sci-fi film Lola?
Yes! I’m really excited about this project – it’s being produced by the fantastic Alan Maher from Dublin who I met in Berlin a few years ago. He called me earlier last year and told me about Lola. And so they drafted me in to star alongside Emma Appleton – she was so lovely and incredible to work with, she’s going to be a superstar in the future. The director was great to work with too – brilliant vision. Without spoiling it’s a female-lead story, very emotional and features time travel.
Finally, who inspired you to become an actor?
That’s a big question! (laughs) I spent a lot of time as a kid hanging out in the library and I studied really hard to achieve top grades. After coming top in my drama A-Level, I thought “What am I trying to prove and to whom?”. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to do something for myself and I spent hours watching Kenneth Branagh and being inspired – I thought even if I don’t make it big and just act in small films, that’s more fulfilling and rewarding for me than working in an office forever.
