ITV_VICTORIA

THE INTERVIEW

September, 2025

VICTORIA BUGBEE

DIRECTORS OF OUT OF STATE-A GOTHIC ROMANCE

HONORABLE MENTION

Victoria, tell us a bit more about yourself. Where does your desire to be a director come from?

I trained as a visual artist and moved into theater and film both as a writer, director and producer. I loved staging performance pieces in unusual places like a laundromat, a furniture store window, or an auto body shop. For me, actors became my paints and pastels and I discovered that I had an ability to created characters and write dialogue.

What is your background?

I grew up in a big family of six kids in a small town in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Our parents encouraged us to study the arts and humanities. As a Rotary Exchange Student I studies art at Universidad de Cordoba in Argentina. I then studied at art Kutztown State University and was exposed to performance art. While living in Atlanta I managed an old New Orleans style hotel and apartments and wrote a play about my experience. This led to more audience immersive performances that we videotaped. On moving to New York City, I worked in commercial film and video production for 25 years.

What were your references for Out of State-A Gothic Romance?

I love gothic romance novels & films like Rebecca, Withering Heights and My Cousin Rachel. In my small town in Pennsylvania we knew many families that consisted of grown sons who lived with their mothers. I drew on these families for The Garths – Marcia, Tab & Emery and thought “What if they are shut-ins who never leave their home & garden. As in all Gothic novels or films, an outsider (Sarah Moliski who plays Elsa) comes into this very closed environment and disrupts the dysfunctional family dynamics..

You won an Honorable Mention at the RED Movie Awards, what does that mean to you?

Everyone who worked on Out of State-A Gothic Romance is thrilled that our efforts were recognized by the RED Movie Awards.. I am happy that my first feature has resonated with film judges & critics in Reims, France as well as at indie festivals around the world in Mumbai, Tokyo, Vancouver, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Sophia, and Dubai.

Out of State: A Gothic Romance is both dark and slyly humorous. How did you find the right tone to balance tragedy with comedy in such a gothic tale?

When Charlie Bugbee, my distant cousin and co-writer, and I wrote the outline for the screenplay it was very dark. As we worked on the script, we found that some of scenes were humorous and absurd creating a balance between tragedy and comedy. You hope that someone escapes this toxic environment and sometimes you find yourself laughing. Kudos to the actor James Nester who plays Tab, the spoiled pianist, who mined the humor in his character and scenes. James is a gifted actor who has penetrating eyes and facial expressions that remind me of the great silent film star Buster Keaton.

Tab and Emery, the two brothers, are both fascinating and deeply flawed characters. How did you work with your actors to capture their psychological complexity and sibling rivalry?

Both sons suffer from Stockholm Syndrome – where the captured person identifies with their captor, their obsessive controlling mother Marcia, brilliantly played by Caroline Winterson. Tab (James Nester) is a spoiled child and his mother’s favorite. He dreams of traveling the world as a concert pianist – but he is terrified to leave his house. Emery played by A. Ryder Turner, is the Cinderella of the family who is dyslexic, yet he is the son who provides for the family by restoring antique furniture. He is the butt of Tab & Marcia’s remarks about his inferior intelligence. All the actors understood their roles and shooting in an actual home reenforced this. We shot test scenes first with Marcia (Caroline) and Tab (James) and then with Tab (Ryder) and Elsa (Sarah). So this created a bond between mother and son and them Elsa, the outsider,and Emery. The costumes for Tab & Emery reinforced their roles – Tab was always in tailored suits, ties, vests while Emery wore work clothes and an old leather football helmet as if protecting himself from the slings and arrows blobbed at him by his mother & brother. When Elsa enters the household both sons fall hard for her and each work on a project to win her heart. – Tab gives her piano lessons, while Emery makes her a hand carved music box. This creates tension between them.

You chose to shoot in your own Victorian home. How did that setting influence the storytelling, and in what ways did you make the house feel like another “character” in the film?

Charlies Bugbee and I wrote the screenplay to shoot in my parent’s home. I would describe various rooms to Charlie and we would tailor the scene to room. There was a garden house that became Emery’s workshop. When we were in preproduction the family home wasn’t available, yet my house, garden and old garage were. Only problem was I had to convince my family that actors and a film crew would take over the place for 21 days with some of the actors living with us. I had inherited some the key props from my family’s home, like the baby grand piano and an antique grandfather’s clock. To make the house feel like another character Cinematographer Ilya Shnitser and I spend 2 days shooting B-Roll of details of the house and garden. These shots were used as segues between scenes instead of “fade to black” so prevalent in many films.

You not only directed but also produced and designed the production. What was the most challenging aspect of wearing so many hats, especially on a micro-budget?

As an auteur it was a wonderful experience to control the entire production. I could only accomplish this because of shooting in my house that was already dressed with a few minor adjustments. Speaking of dress, I worked with Costume Designer Kim Druce Sava who dressed Elsa and I sourced the remaining 50 costumes. Our wardrobe was set up in a spare bedroom and the actors gingerly dressed themselves and Sarah Moliski did her own hair & makeup. We shot a lot – 100 scenes in 21 days – with a small crew – that I called a tripod crew – camera, sound and assistant. As much as I loved working this way on a micro-budget, next project “The Gas Station” set in Florida, will need more capital and crew to realize my vision.

Do you have an anecdote to share with us in particular?

We shot test scenes with Sarah Moliski in winter and spring and her hair was chestnut brown. When we were in production she has lightened the tips of her long hair so we opted for a fall that could be mixed in with her hair to match earlier scenes.Sarah and I called the fall “Renee.” In one scene the actors were in place and we were ready to shoot. I noticed that the hair piece was missing. I shouted “Where’s Renee?” The other cast and crew all said “Who’s Renee?”We all had a good laugh.