Entertainment <\/p>\n
\n\tAt the \u201cVariety<\/em> Culture & Storytelling presented by World of Hyatt\u201d event at the Sundance Film Festival, a panel of creatives in the film industry sat down with Variety<\/em> senior entertainment and media writer Matt Donnelly to discuss the role of cultural experiences in shaping creative work. The group included Molly Ringwald (\u201cRun Amok\u201d), Danielle Brooks (\u201cIf I Go Will They Miss Me\u201d), Ali Ahn (\u201cTake Me Home\u201d), Rain Spencer (<\/em>\u201cBig Girls Don\u2019t Cry\u201d),<\/em> and Dawn Porter (\u201cWhen a Witness Recants\u201d).<\/p>\n \n\tThe panel explored how immersion in different locations and cultures on set influenced the direction of their projects and them as people.<\/p>\n \n\tBrooks, who filmed \u201cIf I Go Will They Miss Me\u201d in Los Angeles\u2019 Nickerson Projects, described the filming process as intense. \u201cIt\u2019s so beautiful seeing the kids playing outside who don\u2019t have much, but they\u2019re so connected to the world,\u201d said Brooks. \u201cThey\u2019re just open in a way that we are not always, because we might be afforded a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAhn had a different perspective filming \u201cTake Me Home\u201d in Orlando, stating, \u201cWe don\u2019t live in a country where there\u2019s a system built for us to step in in any other way than families to take that burden. But you can feel that stuckness in the place.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPorter found herself challenging the stereotypes in her mind when filming in an Alabama abortion clinic, saying that it was \u201creally fulfilling\u201d to see people being taken care of.\u201d Ringwald reflected on her very first movie, which filmed in Europe when she had never been outside California before, and how it opened up her world and shaped her life. The only American on a New Zealand set, Spencer also travelled internationally and was captivated by the country\u2019s natural beauty, calling it \u201chealing.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe group also discussed the various media that had inspired them to travel. Ringwald said \u201cReds\u201d made her want to learn about history, while Porter was inspired by Gallipoli, Turkey. Ahn was drawn to \u201cKevin Costner and those mountains\u201d in \u201cDances with Wolves,\u201d and Spencer referred to \u201cBrokeback Mountain\u201d and \u201cNapoleon Dynamite.\u201d A self-proclaimed theater girl, Brooks found Brandi Carlile\u2019s \u201cCinderella\u201d to invoke a sense of wanting to transport, but to a stage instead of a country.<\/p>\n \n\tTraveling the world also resulted in some painful experiences, as Ahn revealed she was injured after a fall in Scotland.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThey have a tradition in Scotland where you jump into the lakes, and I am not a cold plunge girly. But I\u2019m here, let me do as the locals do. As I was heading back to my pile of clothes that were on the rocks, I fell hard. I get back into my room to take a hot shower, and I\u2019m looking at the bathtub, and there\u2019s pink everywhere,\u201d said the actress, referring to her bleeding.<\/p>\n \n\tSpencer went rock-climbing in Iceland in the middle of a strong wind, while Ringwald got her fruit stolen by monkeys in Africa, and Porter suffered from food poisoning in the middle of making a movie. \n\tThe panel also revealed ways they stay in touch with their own culture and heritage when filming. \n\t\u201cI\u2019m the child of Korean immigrants, so what I bring to set is work ethic, discipline, and a really strong ability to take criticism,\u201d joked Ahn. Porter stated it was important for her crew on a Baltimore shoot to be \u201cmajority Black\u201d when filming at a majority-Black school, so the children could see themselves represented.<\/p>\n \n\tClosing out the panel, the group discussed their dream locations to film someday. Brooks wants to revisit a church-turned-Airbnb in Atlanta, while Ahn, Porter, and Spencer chose the tropical locations of Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Kauai, respectively. Ringwald chose the Galapagos Islands because she \u201creally want[s] to see those giant turtles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna beat everyone \u2014 shooting on a plantation,\u201d Brooks quipped. \u201cYou weren\u2019t ready for that one, were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooks, who comes from a family of \u201cbig cookers,\u201d likes to bake and bring in banana pudding for the crew; Spencer brings candles to help her feel grounded and at home; and Ringwald is often accompanied by her cat.<\/p>\n