Interview: Writer/Director Maria Pulera

Director/Writer, Maria Pulera (“Falsely Accused”) took time to speak with Horrornews.net about her new film, “Between Worlds” starring Nicolas Cage, Franka Potente and Penelope Mitchell.

Maria- Hi Janel, How are you? I am in cold Wisconsin.

Oh, I am in PA so I understand the cold.

Maria- What is there? About 20 or 30 degrees?

It randomly snowed about eight inches the other day and it was sort of chaos for some reason. But, now it is just cold again. Blah!

Maria- We have about the same. How are you?

I am doing good. Thank you!

Now, tell me about “Between Worlds?” Why did you decide to write and direct this film? It is an excellent film. You did an incredible job.

Maria- Well, Thank you for the compliment, that is very kind and I am glad you enjoyed it. We tried really hard to get the film going for a good period of time. It started with a script and I am fascinated with the supernatural and love the whole idea. It is the ultimate fantasy to be able to go over and bring someone back that you’ve lost. So, you know we kind of had the script and being from rural Wisconsin so the script has a lot of rural routes. We ended up shooting in Alabama.

Did you face any challenges while shooting? Some of the scenes in the film are pretty intense?
Maria- We have a very short production period. We had about twenty-five days. We had to go very quickly which was challenging and we didn’t have a lot of room for doing a lot of re-takes. One or maybe two takes on a more intense scene. We had incredible actors. Penelope was great, Franka was great. Obviously, Nic Cage was great. We were really lucky to have great actors. They had good energy and impulsive as well. They would get the characters in their own energies. Sometimes things would come out of them which was a lot of fun. That was challenging to work very quickly. We were very fortunate.

What was it like working with this cast? It is such a great cast of actors. Each person seemed to be truly into the characters.

Maria- Yes, they definitely did. The actors were amazing. I am very open to what’s on the page is one thing but I definitely enjoyed what the actors bring to the story and this cast specifically. Especially, Mr. Cage gave a lot of his own creativity. Penelope Mitchell is phenomenal.

Maria, what are you working on next?

Maria- We have a movie called, “El Matador” and we are in casting now and we want to shoot it in Spain where I’ve spent the last fifteen years of my life living in Spain so for me it’s a very personal journey to make the movie. It should be a fun movie.

Oh, I would love to visit Spain one day.

Maria- Absolutely, we are down in the southern part so it is warmer.

That is good to know. I imagine it is beautiful.

Maria- Yes, we are going to shoot a lot of it very traditional looking little European narrow streets.
What do you want the audiences who will be watching “Between Worlds” to know?

Maria- I think it is good to step outside your comfort zone and just go with your feeling. Don’t question it, go and enjoy it.

Thank you so much Maria. You rock, you are amazing! I loved the film, it was INCREDIBLE. I cannot wait to see more of your work.

Maria- Thank you very much. I love you for that! Thank you for the interview. Thank you for your time.

Thank you and please keep making films and writing!

Maria- That is a huge compliment. You’re the best. Thank you.

Thank you.

EVERYONE GO SEE: “Between Worlds”

IMDB