Today we’d like to introduce you to Greta Zenelaj

Greta, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I am originally from Albania a small country in South Eastern Europe. I was born and raised under communism, but in the early nineties, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we gained our freedom. My sister and I would watch American films dubbed in Italian, and we fell in love with the stories and the actors. So much so that we would reenact some of the scenes with our cousins when we got together to play. This is how I developed a love for acting and the art of filmmaking from an early age.

Later, my sister moved to the US, and I joined her in Michigan in 2000. After getting adjusted to US culture, we decided to move to LA and give our dream a shot. It was the early 2000s, and the birth of digital cameras making it easier for actors to make their films. Encouraged by our friends to produce our film, we rented a red camera, hired a crew, and shot our first feature film, a dark comedy titled “What Do I Do Now?”. It was very hard because I had the lead role and was the producer and didn’t have much experience on the production side. We learned a lot and this experience gave us confidence especially after receiving awards at film festivals. Maybe we are onto something about telling stories through lenses, and that’s how I decided to create my film company with my sister, and made another film a year later.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

It has not been a smooth ride…haha.. We’ve made 4 films so far and the hardest part is finding partners/producers that we can collaborate with. The support is just not there. This business is about connections and being from a different country without having let’s say your childhood friends can be hard. It’s also hard to make friends when you’re an adult. Everything sort of becomes transactional “What’s your budget?”, “Who’s attached to your film”, and “Who’s directing?” before they even ask you for the logline of the story. For me, a good film starts with a good story. But at the end of the day, I thank God that I have my sister and we are close. We share the same goals for our film company. Being together in this has helped us move along past all the difficulties and challenges. We’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.