We are thrilled to announce that Alexandra Vino’s Green Kola, won the Grand Jury Prize, out of 80 films, for “Best Short Film” at The Paris Independent Film Festival. The festival supports women filmmakers and indie projects and is in the highbrow market of France’s movie crowd.
Green Kola was written and directed by Alexandra, and she acts in the production. Vino teamed up with the stylish Ukrainian videographer Lera Loeb as the producer. She plays a heightened version of herself in the film. Along with renowned fashion photographer and entrepreneur, Antoine Verglas. Verglas serves the role of executive producer and plays a heightened version of himself in the film as well.
The rest of the ensemble cast is iconic:
The stunning supermodel, and comedian, Eugenia Kuzmina. The celebrity chef, and restaurateur Todd English. The amazing Katherine Wallach, from Goodfellas and Gangs of New York.
Green Kola is the second award-winning short film written, directed, co-produced, and acted in on film from Ms. Vino.
The Paris Independent Shorts Festival jury selection described Green Kola as “an amazing project which captivated our jury with its uniqueness, humor, and originality of its portrayal.”
Green Kola conveys the inner workings of the opportunistic players in the film industry that revolve around a Hollywood Starlet, Nina Finch. The story of the film is set in New York City and follows Antoine Verglas, France’s top photographer who has been selected to shoot for this year’s most anticipated fashion campaign. Green Kola gained much deserved attention through its debut at the event. The mockumentary comedy is meant to convey through humor that the ‘glamorous’ lives led by many Hollywood film professionals are a façade. The film delves into the metaphor by analyzing America’s Sweetheart, Nina Finch, and the underlying elements of her seemingly perfect lifestyle as a Hollywood star.
We asked the team a few questions:
Where/how did you pull together such a dynamic cast?
This film was inspired by my experience working with Antoine and Lera. I feel the energy of Antoine’s Photo Studio has a life of its own, and it motivated me to write Green Kola. The cast came out of my personal rolodex. I called my long-time friends and offered them the roles. Nobody auditioned. Most of the cast I had worked with before, besides the cast that was brand new!
Where did the name Green Kola originate?
This title is meant to raise a few questions.
What is Green Kola?
Well, it’s a drink made to mock the health food industry, where most of the time these trendy diet foods fall into the category of inedible. It’s the best! The Healthiest! Let’s put America’s Sweetheart on there and people will believe it’s worth buying. The satirical humor surrounding the Green Kola product campaign runs the whole show.
What inspires you as a filmmaker?
My favorite part of filmmaking is collaborating with other artists. My inspiration comes from a large range of places: from life, art, the state of the world. Deepening myself as a person has always reflected in the evolution of my work. I worked on over 30 movies as an actor and I watched some terrific directors bring out the best in their films. I love the joy of working with actors and non-actors to create realism. The truth makes the comedy funnier! Antoine Verglas, Lera Loeb, Alexandra Vino are teaming up again to make a full length feature that parodies the film industry…
Green Kola Trailer 2022 from Alexandra Vino on Vimeo.
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