By Mariana Valencia
Welcome to NYWIFT, Eleanore Pienta!
Eleanore Pienta is an award-winning screen and stage actor, comedian, dancer, and filmmaker. Pienta has carved out a niche for herself by portraying uncompromising and complex characters in films such as Sundance Award Winner Josephine, A Different Man, Soft & Quiet, and many more.
Filmmaker Magazine called her role in See You Next Tuesday: “…one of the most original, indelible, infuriating and truly felt movie characters in some time, a sister to Loden’s Wanda and Rowlands’ A Woman Under The Influence.”
Pienta’s directorial debut, Ada, premiered at the New York Film Festival 2018. Her second short, Master of the House, premiered at The New/Next Film Festival 2024.
In our interview, Eleanore discusses her motivations for the performing arts, her inspirations, and how her collaborations with others elevate her creative work.
New NYWIFT Member Eleanore Pienta
Could you give our readers a brief introduction to yourself?
I’m a performer and filmmaker straddling the film/comedy/dance/art worlds.
What brought you to NYWIFT?
My producer recommended it to me for community and resources!
What aspects of your life and background have motivated the stories you want to tell?
Being a person with a body informs a lot of my work [laughs]. That’s not meant to sound glib, but I think having a body and the way it is perceived in the world is something that I certainly play with in my work, often subverting language while using deadpan humor. The wish to be seen and the fear of being seen is an undercurrent in a lot of what I make and certainly is at the forefront in the project I’m making now.
NYWIFT Member Eleanore Pienta on set
What films, actors/actresses, and stories have inspired your way of creating?
The way in which Mike Leigh works is a total inspiration; sad to hear Tender Loving Care will likely be his last. I came up studying photography and video art, so Cindy Sherman is a guiding light, [and] Nathalie Djurberg’s animations have that beauty plus disgust that I love. William L. Hawkins’ paintings are thrilling to me, he creates space in the most unlikely ways. Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade was a huge film for me; it reminded me, ‘oh yeah, you get to make your shit, so fucking do it.’ Stacy Grossfield Sperling, who is a choreographer/theater maker created a series of work called metamorphosis that rocked my world.
And in terms of actors, there are so many: Allison Janney, Willem Dafoe, Gena Rowlands, Stephen Root; am rewatching The Diplomat and love every time Nana Mensah (a filmmaker in her own right) comes on screen, but everybody on that show is really so good.
Honestly, I’m inspired by my friends and their brains and the way they make what they make. I’m currently on the train to go shoot something with Corey Hughes, who makes really exciting work that only he can make. It’s exciting to be a part of the puzzle of someone’s work and try to bring it to life in a way that exceeds what’s on the page and imagination, and to find collaborators who help you do that for your own projects.
Eleanore Pienta performing.
What is the most fulfilling aspect of being a performer and artist?
Collaborating with other people who really care about the project, who elevate your own work and challenge you. Being on set is one of my favorite places, even when it’s deeply stressful. And I feel similarly being on stage: it’s a totally different animal, but if you’re on stage with someone you know has your back, there’s nothing like it.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far in your career?
Keep going.
NYWIFT Member Eleanore Pienta
What project(s) are you currently working on that our readers should be on the lookout for?
I’m in Josephine, a film directed by Beth de Araújo that will be coming out this fall. And I’m gearing up to shoot my first feature called Eleanore & Nadine, wherein I play both Eleanore and Nadine. It’s all about anxiety and grief and how one copes. In this case, it’s by the titular character, Eleanore creating an alter-ego, Nadine, the other titular character, in order to exist more comfortably in the world.
Connect with Eleanore Pienta on Instagram at @honeydipmagicstick and on her website www.eleanorepienta.org to learn more about her upcoming projects.
(All images courtesy of Eleanore Pienta)
Mariana Valencia
Mariana Valencia is an intern at NYWIFT with a background in film and television. A recent graduate of Boston University school of Communications, she moved to New York to pursue her career in film production, and her passion for directing. She is working on the team for the hit show Couples Therapy by Paramount Edgeline Films, and submitting her short film Aftershock to festivals she produced last year. She is passionate about telling the stories that haven't been told yet, and hopes her work reaches all corners of the world.
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