Today we’d like to introduce you to Susanna Prummer.
Hi Susanna , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have grown up in a family of very educated and admirable men and women who “studied something proper” …as some people would say I assume. My mother was a highly decorated neuropsychologist traveling the United States for conferences and to present her work when barely 30. Until she retired to become a full time mother to me and my younger brother. My father has worked as diplomat since his early 20s. The rest of my family consists of mechanical engineers, biochemists, mathematicians, physicians and IT technicians. My grandmother was the only exception to this if you want, it was her who inspired my work and led my to the path of becoming an artist. She spent her entire life painting, drawing and studying color. Some of my fondest childhood memories include sitting down with her in the garden and painting together. If it was not for her, I would likely never have picked up a camera or pen.
I spent my early childhood to early adolescence as a part of various acting ensembles and engaging in theater, picking up writing my own scenes and stories. When I was 13, me and my family – as did the rest if the world – found themselves in the middle of a global pandemic. My mother, seeing me and my brother at home and directionless, signed us up for a film audition she found in town. It was more of a “get the kids out the house and out of this bubble” than “They will get this role and their life will change”…I think is fair to say. My brother however, did not really show much interest in that. However I found myself enjoying the audition and process and by surprise..even landed the role. Filming and rehearsals began almost immediately and I made some important friends along the way. I am still in contact with the director and my co-actress from back then and we even got to work together again. As soon as filming wrapped and I caught up to my family, I could not stop chatting and yapping about filming to them. And I guess this is pretty much how this all got kicked off….thanks to a global pandemic and an anxious mother.
From There, I started attending on-camera acting classes, and decided that one day, I wanted to be a filmmaker. I picked up a pen for the first time when I was a 14-year-old and decided that I was determined to write, direct and release my first short film, named “Who Are We”. At the time, I was a 14 without any means and had to resort to the local culture center and my friends to borrow equipment and editing rooms. Along the way I made even more friends who I will remember for a lifetime. We were a young but ecstatic group of kids – we had little means but we were motivated. We shot at night, in the woods, in the snow and rain for 2 years…until we had a finished film in our hands in summer of 2023. I was incredibly proud of my first film, however “bad” it seems compared to my recent work…but I did manage to get some screenings and win some awards around festivals with it.
I finished school at 17 and after spending a few summers working as a runner on a major TV production around the city, I started studying film. During that time I had the opportunity and freedom to “mash together” 3 professional short films, and 2 other experimental “collages” from past material I had in my camera roll or scenes that were cut from my earlier films.
I have now released all of them and they are going through the festivals right now. After almost 3 years, my first film “Who Are We” has come to an end of its festival run and I am prepared to set eyes on new horizons.
In a few months I will be moving back to my hometown of Rome to further study makeup and VFX applications. I am looking forward to my future and all what is to come, in challenges and rewards.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
That is sort of a rough one to answer because I assume no one reading this expects a smooth sailing experience…and they would be 100% right. From age gaps, to 17-hour days, to workers rights, to financial limitations, to never-ending drama between some co-stars and endless, endless rejection.
I, as a person and filmmaker have to be honest about never really learning rejection. For some people I assume it is something you get accustomed to and can just learn to stomach, like professional fighters eat punches. But even if you can take the punch and keep standing and fighting…the bruise will show up the next day, you know what I mean? That is a harsh reality of our industry. Among thousands and thousands of rejections – you must not lose the will to get up the next morning and try what you did yesterday again. And then again…results, selections, interviews and awards will come. I can guarantee you that. But that can take years over years over years. I mean, look at me,… it took me 6 years of relentlessness to land this interview here. I am immensely proud, but will never forget how many restless nights I spent hoping to one day land an interview like this, but it never came my way until now.
You just have to be willing to eat a lot of slaps, humiliations, smack-downs and sleepless nights – every day on repeat if you are determined and see your future in front of you. Of course, proverbially. Most artists and people get smacked down five, six maybe seven times and lie flat. And that is okay. I did that. That is part of the game. But there is no rematch if you are not willing to get up again and try it all again. Yes, maybe you will get smacked again, maybe you will stay up all night again angry, maybe you will get upset again, maybe you will embarrass yourself again…or maybe this is the day where you grow and learn and earn an opportunity you have been hoping for.
I assume the larger point behind this is that nobody determined to achieve something extraordinary that they have set their eyes on when little – or even later in life at 70 or 90 who cares….should expect a smooth path without setbacks and rock bottoms. But the most important thing is to be able to distinguish between set-backs, things that might not have gone your way and abuse or power-dynamics. This is my most important takeaway. It is something many people of any age never really quite learn, or are too afraid to speak about.
Working all night and day to finish your first film or market it as a kid and falling asleep at school, that is part of a normal origin story I would say. That is just part of the deal. However, getting tossed around on big film sets by people three times your age when you are a child is not okay, no matter how big the salary is or how good the experiences on some days. Old and young should stand up for themselves and be able to seek help and put their foot down, especially when they get thrust into new environments as harsh and turbulent as television and film sets with million-dollar budgets behind them.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I don’t really try to focus on what sets me apart from other artists in my field. But i would say that maybe my age is a fair point. I graduated from film college early, at 19, and have generally been the youngest in almost every setting in my life. From school days, to graduations, to work settings, to film sets, to festivals and now college…I have to get accustomed to that.
My films at the beginning of my career were films about kids struggling to keep face in adolescence and were similar to “rip-off” teenage dramas I used to watch with my brother and friends when we were little such as “Pretty Little Liars”. But they always resolved in a very emotional and sometimes cruel way…since I did not like how these sides were often hidden in mainstream media shows of films. I wanted to set myself apart from that even at 14. They have later evolved into deeply personal and at times pretty violent or brute films about the cost of greed, stardom and chasing perfection.
I am most proud of my evolution if I can be honest about this. I can see how I evolved as a person and filmmaker in every film, as I look at the timeline of my works. I believe that is one of the most beautiful things there is about any artist. Growth. That obviously consists of setbacks, stumbles and recalibration.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
As I said previously, be willing to fail over and over again. There is no shame in that. Learning requires failure and embarrassment.
I have failed many, many times myself and know that that will never stop. That counts for life, friendships, relationships and career. You cannot really fight it, all you have to do is get up and do it again, keeping in mind that you will either fail again, or get one step closer to your dream.
It is painful, but you mist never lose sight of who you were one year ago and who you want to be in one.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://filmfreeway.com/SusannaPrummer
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_justsusi/
