Today we’d like to introduce you to Izzy Shill.
Hi Izzy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in the UK and started out dancing. I loved to choreograph contemporary dances and was obsessed with movement through space. But being is a dancer is equivalent to being an athlete, and pushing my body to its limit is not something that felt natural to me.
So, I began to explore acting. This kind of performance felt like home. I loved how acting required scientific precision and wild abandon simultaneously. After several years exclusively pursuing performance, I allowed myself to put pen to paper and write my first short film. That short film went to SXSW, and from that momentum, I was able to raise a micro-budget for my first feature. The feature came out last year. I’m now in the process of packaging several other projects.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. It’s been extremely convoluted and bumpy.
Auditioning for all of my 20s led me to being incredibly unhappy, and it was very clear that I needed to make a change. Writing became a refuge for me. My first big break was supposed to be SXSW 2020, but the pandemic hit, and it felt like all opportunities evaporated into thin air.
Several times, I’ve had to look at the wreckage of my career, pick up the pieces, and begin again.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a writer, director, and actor. The narratives in my work usually center around women. The stories are often funny and sometimes sexy.
I’m passionate about history, and several of my projects are set in different periods, ranging from Ancient Rome to the Swinging Sixties. Working within the confines of rules of bygone years is really exciting to me. I love to play with what’s considered ‘acceptable’ behavior, especially of women.
I find myself questioning sexuality in almost all of my work. I am curious about who wields power in an intimate relationship and how that translates to one’s public life. In much of my work, I want to explore truthful social rules that women were compelled to abide by as an exercise to reflect on our contemporary world.
While I’m curious about somber subjects, including women separated from their children, adoption, isolation, and fertility, I approach my stories through a humorous lens. I don’t wallow or indulge in the grief that permeates my stories. Instead, my characters trudge ahead, forging a better fate.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I have no idea where the industry is going. I’m just along for the ride.
Image Credits
Devon Wycoff
Jim Chapa
Kelsey Tyler
