Q&A with Filmmaker Camila Grimaldi
Camila Grimaldi
Camila Grimaldi (she/her) is an Argentinean-American filmmaker based in Brooklyn and co-founder of the production company Ser Nocturna with producing partner Arielle Friedman. She has directed music videos for clients including Atlantic Records and Switch Hit Records, and produced projects for Universal Music Group, Verve Music Group, Capitol Records, and Mischief Management. Her award-winning shorts have screened at Sundance, SXSW, Woodstock, and Montclair. As a director, her work has shown at HollyShorts, NY Latino Film Festival, and more. She is a 2023 Film Independent Producing Lab Fellow.
This Q&A is part of the Bushwick Film Fest Filmmaker Q&A series
Breadwinner (2025)
What was your favorite part of making your film? Memories from the process?
I loved every part of making Breadwinner. We were able to band together all of our most frequent collaborators and give them a chance to play with a whacky script about a blood-thirsty sourdough starter. One of my favorite moments on set came at the end of the second day — We were crunched for time and tackling a complicated practical FX shot where we had to make the sourdough starter monster crawl across a kitchen counter and “hold” onto one of our actor’s hands. It was all hands on deck trying to make that moment work on camera, and thanks to an ingenious use of a latex glove and two lines of fishing wire pulled by our PD Jaclyn and our writer Nicole (who was also art assisting and wearing many other hats), we pulled it off and wrapped on time.
Tell us an anecdote about casting or working with your actors
In classic short film fashion, one of our leads got sick just before the shoot and had to drop out. We were scrambling trying to think of who to cast less than a week before production, but luckily, Arielle and I had both worked with Taylor before, and he signed on within the hour and saved our film. He and Arielle already shared so much trust as scene partners that it made the rest of the process so smooth; We were able to rehearse the whole film and spend a lot of time on the climactic kitchen scene, pinning down the specifics of their relationship. I really can’t imagine it any other way now — Taylor strikes the perfect chord as the well-meaning but misguided boyfriend and the foil to Laila’s intense ambition.
Were there any films or directors that influenced your approach to this project?
It was always going to be tricky to strike a balance between all the elements we were juggling; We were making a monster-horror with a couple dynamic at its core and a cherry-on-top fantasy sequence. We drew inspiration from everything from classic monster movies like The Blob and Little Shop of Horrors to the Vogue 73 questions videos and Architectural Digest celebrity house tours (there is a special lime reference in the fantasy sequence for the eagle eyed). We also watched a lot at genre films and TV shows that hinge their story on the complexity of their characters, particularly their women, and there were always mentions of Pearl, Teeth, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer at our development sessions — They’re all in the DNA of the short.
Can you talk about the festival experience? How does it feel to have your film selected?
The festival submission process is brutal. It feels so vulnerable to put your work out there to be judged by others, especially when it sometimes feels like our entire career hinges on getting a yes from institutions that may have never heard of us. I’m so honored to have been selected to screen at Bushwick Film Festival, especially since Breadwinner was brought to life entirely in Brooklyn. I am so excited to watch the film with most of my cast and crew and honor all the time and work we put into it, and equally excited to watch the short films made by other filmmakers in my block. Making a film is so hard and sometimes you need to be reminded to slow down and celebrate the fact that you made it through to the finish line!
What’s the last film you watched?
I just watched Twinless! It’s so inspiring to see an independent movie like that carve a space for itself in theaters and prove that audiences are looking for fresh stories that can make you laugh one moment and move you to tears the next. James Sweeney is such a creative force and I can’t wait to see what else he makes.
This Q&A is part of the Bushwick Film Fest Filmmaker Q&A series