To continue the recent new mother’s theme, I recently had the pleasure of reuniting with the super talented Leena Pendharkar, in her short film Mother At Work for So Natural TV. I first worked with Leena 3 years ago, when I accidentally applied to a casting looking for twins. When I told Leena I was mistaken, and unfortuntatley could provide no clone of myself, she decided to keep me for the project anyways! The resulting film, Teen Queens!, was simply fabulous, and remains near and dear to my heart.
Filming Mother At Work was a blast. Leena is big fan of improv, so I basically got to create my own fashion designer businesswoman character, droning on mercilessly about the color magenta for an hour. In fact, I think I formulated a pretty solid thesis involving the need for absolute color definitions, as differing palette perceptions may generate consumer mistrust. (What if your rose is my magenta?) Furthermore, the film, while comedic, is actually an astute commentary on the difficulties many women face with “pumping” in the work situation. (The fact that I feel the need to say “I’m being serious,” further highlights that this is a modern issue in need of consideration.)
I’m so incredibly inspired by Leena’s work. Rather than subscribing to cliches and stereotypes, she constantly creates satirical comedic films with perceptive views of various female issues, all with an articulate and quirky style. Her films typically feature pastel colors, intuitive camera angles, and witty but refreshingly “real” dialogue. The kind that often makes you laugh a few seconds later, as the layered dark comedy sinks in. She’s an amazing, talented director, and one of my role models. Leena is a visiting assistant professor at Loyola Marymount University, teaching film production. And as a super random sidenote, Leena’s critically acclaimed feature, Raspberry Magic, features Randall Batinkoff, who my sister and I are kind of obsessed with from our Christy TV series watching days. Small world!
