With a twenty-year career, Deborah Twiss is one of the most talented faces in independent cinema. Today, she discusses a great career and upcoming projects in this exclusive interview.
Can you tell us how is started your career?
I stood in front of the tv when I was three years old and told my parents that when I grew up I was going to play inside there with the people. My mom said, “You can only do that if you’re an actress, silly.” That stuck in my mind and so I became THAT. I also had the inspiration to tell stories and write as soon as I knew it was possible to do it. So when I was three I begged my parents to teach me how to write and I picked it up pretty quickly. I skipped kindergarten and went straight to first grade at five years old. The teacher had written scripts for puppets we’d made. I thought her script was awful and stupid, so I rewrote it. Needless to say, she pretty much hated me but it made me realize I was good at writing. To make a teacher angry that my writing was better was a strange but valid achievement. In fourth grade I wrote my first full length play and the school produced it under the agreement that if they wanted the rights I had to play the lead. At 17 I went to NYC to go to NYU to study drama but left to work as an actress and a filmmaker. So my career never started, it’s always just been….it’s sort of funny.
Your new movie, “Crave,” was released a few weeks ago. In this project, you are involved as producer, main actress and director. Can you share details about this movie?
I really wanted to dive into the questions and longing that had begun to rise in me after the passing of my husband in 2023. Crave is deeply personal and explores the broken parts of people who find themselves connecting and wanting to become whole. The lesson, as I have even found in life, is that the only way out is through. You have to feel the pain, feel the discomfort, find the things that align with who you’re evolving into. Both Max and Abigail are very broken people. It is in their sadness they connect and it’s almost what destroys any hope for them. There’s also a lot of nudity but it’s not to titillate. I wanted the audience to feel how naked and raw the two main characters were being with each other.
“Sapiosexual”, “Taboo: Family Secrets” and “Crave” are focused on relationships. Is this a topic you find fascinating?
I absolutely am obsessed with exploring relationships. It’s why we are human, I believe. And the beauty of indie films is that it’s all about characters, relationships, the crap we find ourselves in. I believe we evolve in our own lives through the interactions we have with others and it’ll always be my preferred subject matter as a filmmaker.
What are your main sources of inspiration in terms of cinema?
I am obsessed with Cassavetes films and European films. They truly are so raw and willing to dive into the darkest parts of the human psyche and that resonates with me deeply. I think it’s fascinating that Cassavetes captured the edgy and very real perspective of characters, as many many European films do. Look at Betty Blue (1986, Directed by Jean Jacues Beineix)…it’s so intense and thrilling and it is simply a character piece. I love it. I saw that alone in an arthouse three times. It is one of the many films that influenced my development as a filmmaker.
Actress Sean Young is in the “Crave” cast. You already worked with her, what can you tell us about her?
Sean is amazing. We met on the set of Nick and Nicky about twelve years ago and became fast friends. She’s been in many of my projects and even adopted one of the puppies that was born in my house. As a kid I was obsessed with Blade Runner and if someone had told my little Debbie self that I’d one day be so close to Sean, damn, that would’ve made me pretty darn happy. She’s really a wonderful person.
The main challenges of being an actress, producer, and director of your own movie, and the biggest challenge to making a low budget/indie movie?
I could go on and on but the very biggest challenge of all, honestly, is craft service. No joke. It’s really important to me that I feed my cast and crew well. And it’s nearly impossible to find someone in the low budget world that can do crafty without just stocking a bunch of garbage like juice boxes and packaged junk food. Makes me actually angry. I love to bring lots of fruits, veggies, hummus, good crackers, bread, pita, sandwich meats and cheeses….and a good hot meal for regular lunch or dinner. AND GOOD COFFEE. Maybe it’s because I’ve been on enough indie sets where there’s NO craft service or it’s so bad, not nutritious, it’s a thing with me.
“Crave” is the confirm of a great partnership between you and Breaking Glass Pictures. We have to expect more movies in the next future? Are you working on something new?
I love being partnered with Rich and Susan at Breaking Glass. They get me, I get them. We have such a solid relationship and I cannot even begin to express the gratitude I have for what we have built together. They are the answer to everything I wanted when I came to NYC at 17 and knew that I would also become a filmmaker in addition to being an actress. It is so rare to find people you genuinely adore that want the same thing you do AND are so supportive and amazing. I cannot ever put into words how much it makes my heart full to be a creator partnered with them. I’m a very very lucky girl.
In these days you starring in “The Dummy Detective”, a noir/comedy very, very special. Can you tell us about this project?
Oh my goodness, I love that film so much. Rob Margolies directed and It came from the mind of Jonathan Geffner. These guys hired the most incredible crew. The DP is Juri Beythien, who flew in from Germany, and the gaffer was Michaelf Fisher. These two were the “angels of light” that literally made the film look like it cost millions. I am blown away by them both. Michael and I have become good friends and he cast me in this amazing promo he wrote, directed and produced for OHmd, an homage based on Severence….linked here: https://vimeo.com/1071905183?fl=ip&fe=ec. I hope to work with him many more times. Truly an artist of the highest caliber. And i would love to work with Juri but it’s more difficult to get him to come to the US.
What has been your favorite project until now, and why?
I love my life. This is a funny question. Many many times it’s the most recent project that is my favorite. The last thing I worked on is a secret feature film directed by Evan Crooke. I was in South Carolina in November playing one of the leads and, damn, that was such an intense and fulfilling shoot.
Of my own projects, CRAVE is my favorite so far but….I am writing RELEASE right now, a very dark thriller, and I know it’ll be my new favorite. The key is to always be evolving as an artist. So while I will always be fond of every project, it should always be the most recent that I have the most affinity for because it’s the closest to who I’ve become so far. I expect the fun to continue to unfold for the rest of my life. AND I’m planning on a very long and healthy one!
A final greeting to our readers?
I just really do hope everyone enjoys all the things I create and that I’m lucky enough to be cast in. I always want to channel the most loving, transformative, deep messages I can. I am massively into meditation and human evolution (within our own lifetime) and that energy is something I do try to always infuse into my work. I am a vessel of the universe, here to channel higher frequencies. Yes, I’m a weirdo and very proud of it. LOL!