Q&A: Ella Greenwood “Faulty Roots"
☆ By JAMIE IMPERIAL ☆
WITH THE CONFIDENCE OF A SEASONED PROFESSIONAL — 19-year-old actor and filmmaker Ella Greenwood, born and raised in London, seems as though she has been in the industry for decades. A passionate mental health advocate, Greenwood began acting at a young age, acquiring an agent and starring in films growing up. After spending a few years acting, she wanted to see what it would be like on the other side of the camera.
At 18, Greenwood wrote, directed, produced, and starred in her first short film, “Faulty Roots,” a story about “friendship, dreams, and depression.” Unsatisfied with the way mental illness has been portrayed in the media — particularly with teens — Greenwood wanted her film to add to the conversation with nuanced characters whose mental and physical illnesses did not define them. Frank and starkly honest, “Faulty Roots” received critical acclaim when it was released in 2019, and is now being developed into a full-length feature film.
Greenwood has laid the groundwork for writing young characters that aren’t defined by their mental illnesses. She has also released an animated short, “Dreary Days,” about a girl who is “very different from her family.” Her upcoming projects, “Self-Charm” and “Smudged Smile” are both films that examine different aspects of mental health: one such being ways to recognize early warning signs and receive help.
When she’s not filming, Greenwood is an ambassador for the teen mental health charity stem4, which promotes positive mental health in teens through education and early intervention. Read below to learn more about the UK-based filmmaker and her creative process.
LUNA: Before we get started, tell us a little bit about your background. What got you into the film industry?
GREENWOOD: I’ve always loved film growing up! I feel like I spent most of my time in the cinema when I was younger, but I didn’t know so much about the behind the scenes part of it. I love acting, I love performing — so at a young age I signed up for classes and got an agent and spent years auditioning. When I turned 18, I was still acting and still had an agent, but I wanted to have a bit more control over the process and was interested in writing and making my own work. That’s why I decided to start filmmaking.
LUNA: Your directorial debut, “Faulty Roots,” is a nuanced exploration of depression in teens from the perspective of an actual teen. What was it like to direct and produce your first film?
GREENWOOD: With my first short, I took on so many roles because I had to, which put some pressure on me. But I loved it — I absolutely loved it. I loved producing and getting to be involved in the project from the very start to the very end, seeing it through and having control over a range of aspects. Directing is fun! You get to bring this story to life and I loved putting all the pieces together.
LUNA: “Faulty Roots” is now being adapted into a feature film. Congratulations! How do you feel now that you can flesh out your short film into a full-length feature?
GREENWOOD: Well, making short films is really hard because how do you tell a story and introduce these characters and establish the setting and end it within 10 or 20 minutes? Making a feature is hard too, but I feel like it flowed a bit more easily because I could spend more time introducing the characters. I could show them more in their everyday life and build up their relationships with each other.
Something that was really important to me was showing the small things that affect people with depression. Maybe it’s hard getting out of bed, maybe it’s the way they react differently to something. With a feature you’re able to spend more time on that and not have to be stressed about how much time it would take in a short film. I’ve loved being able to build on the characters more and explore who they are. I’ve found it really fun.
LUNA: Most of the film focuses on a conversation between two characters: Lola, played by you, and Zack, played by Sani Thabo. What inspired the characters of Lola and Zack? How did the idea of centering the film around a conversation between those two characters come about?
GREENWOOD: When I was writing the short and coming up with the concept, I really wanted to have a character such as Lola, who seemingly had everything she wanted — like a great life and a nice house — but was sad because she has depression, and she can’t help it. And then I wanted to create a character like Zach who has a genetic illness, someone who was in a lot of pain — sometimes physically rather than mentally — and who doesn’t seem as if he has many reasons to be happy, but was able to be happy because he doesn’t have depression. I wanted to show the contrast between someone who was sad even though you’d expect her to be happy, and someone who was happy even though you’d expect him to be sad.
LUNA: When teens are depicted as having depression in movies or TV shows, it often tends to be the character’s defining feature. You’ve mentioned that it was important to you that Lola’s depression is a part of her, but not her entire identity. How do you think the media portrayal of the mental health challenges teens face could be improved today?
GREENWOOD: It’s interesting, because in the media, mental illness and mental health is so underrepresented. But when it is represented it’s often misrepresented, and I think a major issue is the way it’s overdramatized. It focuses so much on one moment or a major scene where everything is going wrong and they’re really struggling, and obviously that’s important to show. But it’s also important to show the slight changes and the small signs, because unfortunately a lot of the time when people are really struggling, those around them don’t realize, and I think that’s so important to represent in the media. It’s important to portray those smaller things that people experience and also the ways in which they could get help.
The way it’s portrayed in the media — there’s very few options. Maybe they have a romantic interest in the film and then suddenly the character being with that love interest cures their depression. Or it’s them being put on pills, and all of a sudden they’re instantly fine. It’s so complex, and people get better in various ways and it takes a long time for them to get better or they get worse. I think that’s what needs to be shown too — not just sudden fixes.
LUNA: You’re clearly passionate about the mental health field. What motivated you to start producing your own film on the topic?
GREENWOOD: So I struggled with my mental health when I was a young teen. The media has an impact on everyone’s lives, but I knew for a fact that it made my mental illness worse because I was surrounded by it and saw things that negatively affected my mental health. I think that needs to change a lot. When I decided to make a short film, I wanted it to be on something important, so I decided to make it about mental health. Making the film was cathartic and it helped me a lot to write about it, and everything followed from there.
LUNA: You’re a young female creative in a very competitive industry. What kinds of challenges did you face when you got started?
GREENWOOD: I’ve had a great experience so far working in film! I’ve loved every project I’ve worked on and the people I’ve worked with, so I feel very lucky. There’s definitely such an inequality in the industry in terms of underrepresented groups, but a lot of progress is definitely being made. You see directors like Patty Jenkins directing the new Star Wars and Wonder Woman, which is great, but at the same time, that’s one person. It’s definitely changing, but there’s still so much work we have to do.
In terms of being younger, I feel like it’s been quite nice! If people don’t want to take me seriously, then that’s fine, but my work is my work. It’s about finding confidence in who you are and what you can bring, no matter where you’re starting out or if you’ve been in the industry for a while.
LUNA: What’s next on the horizon for you? What other types of projects would you like to work on?
GREENWOOD: A range of projects! I’m currently working on the short film “Smudge Smile” and we’re supposed to be shooting that in February, so hopefully things will still be all good to shoot. “Smudge Smile” is about the character Zoe, who’s very bubbly and excited for her sixteenth birthday, but struggles with her mental health.
I’m also still working on “Faulty Roots” the feature.
I’d also love to do feature animations, and I’d love to do horrors. I still want to focus on mental health, but I think it’s important to have films that aren’t about mental health, but still have characters with mental illnesses, because it’s a part of real life.
LUNA: What advice do you have for young creatives looking to break into the film industry?
GREENWOOD: My main piece of advice would be to just go and do it. I don’t think you necessarily have to think of it as breaking into the industry. There are some fantastic opportunities to gain mentors or do labs, and those are all amazing, and if you can get on board with those, that’s great! At the same time, if you just create work that you’re passionate about and tell stories that are important to you, and you go out and do it, then you’re building your career just by doing that. Just go out and do it and eventually your hard work will pay off!
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