By Anna Geannopoulos
Multi-hyphenated artist Isabella Rossellini encouraged SCAD students to not just be, but also to “do.”
The actress-filmmaker-author-model held an open question-and-answer session May 28 at the Lucas Theatre before her turn as the commencement speaker on Saturday for the graduating seniors at both the Savannah and Atlanta campuses. Because of her varied experiences as a child of cinema as well as her jobs both in front of and behind the camera lens, Rossellini offered advice that bridged multiple disciplines.
Rossellini’s honeydew voice enveloped the ornate theater as she talked about her career and childhood. The daughter of Hollywood legend Ingrid Bergman (“Casablanca”) and neorealist Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, the talented progeny was introduced first to American audiences as the face of Lancôme—a position she held for 14 years and that paved the way for more mature models in the industry.
Of her father, she said, “There was a very big debate about what was the core of cinema and if there was any responsibility for directors in the way the story was told. If there was a moral obligation or not, should films be entertaining or should they be used for other purposes. That was the great debate.”
She explored this topic as well as what it was like to grow up around her father and other great directors of his time in a book and the film, “My Dad is 100 Years Old.”
Her American film debut came as Gregory Hines’ Soviet wife in “White Nights” (1985), but it was her turn as the tortured lounge singer in David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” a year later that made her a household name. In the movie, many scenes depict sexual violence. While intense, she felt that a sense of safety was key to creating the best movie.
“The set was six or seven people, and you felt very protected,” she said of Lynch’s directing, “I think that by making you feel very protected and intimate you are able to free yourself and perform.”
Rossellini went on to establish a long career in film, television and print with the majority of that work blossoming outside of the Hollywood studio framework.
She spoke of experimental director Guy Maddin’s approach to filming. When they do a movie together, he explains it to her through his creative research.
“He shows me all the things that inspired him and I understand what he’s trying to get at,” Rossellini said. “It’s much better than just reading a script. But, you can’t say, ‘come to my house and I’ll show you my magazines’ [in traditional Hollywood] because people say. ‘I have to budget it, how do I budget this?’”
She counseled new directors to keep their budgets small for a larger slice of creative independence. “Try to keep them the cheapest. More money means less freedom. Less money means more freedom.”
She find the Internet an exciting forum for young filmmakers and artists everywhere, but stresses that somehow artist have to find a way to make a living from it. Without some money coming back for their work, artists would have no way to finance and create new projects.
In her latest venture for the Sundance Channel—“Green Porno”—Rossellini attempts to tap into the Information Age. In the series, she portrays animals and depicts their mating habits in humorous, but informative, two-minute videos. These shorts are designed for viewing on mobile devices.
“The attempt was to try to make films that were specific for the small screen,” Rossellini said, “So the small screen on the mobile dictated that they had to be very colorful, because when I try to watch something like Lawrence of Arabia, it doesn’t look like anything on my iPod.”
Rossellini strongly feels that the key to her longevity as an artist was that when given an opportunity to do something, she always took it.
“Even if you don’t know what you want to do with your life–just try something. If it is not for you then maybe you will be exposed to something that is.”
She said that being an artist is not like becoming a doctor where everything is structured for the student. In art, she said, you have to find your own voice and create your own style. For her, the best way to do this is expose yourself to everything. Any job or internship you get will teach you more about yourself and what you want to become.
“My magic word is ‘do,’” said Rossellini, “Take every opportunity you get. Things will shape up eventually.”
