Today we’d like to introduce you to Dina Freberg.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’m a Peoria/Glendale native, now residing in Los Angeles. I moved to LA as an actor at 19 to pursue a film career. After years of auditioning for simplistic and unrealistic female characters, I decided to write my own short film and create an opportunity for myself instead of waiting for one to come along. This short film entitled “Georgia” raised $15,000 on Kickstarter in 30 days and became my directorial debut. Since then, I’ve directed countless projects (some of which I’ve also written) and Georgia has been screened at some of the most major film festivals in the world, including Berlinale and Cannes. Since this transition, I’ve began working in production and doing stand-up in LA at venues such as The Comedy Store, Flappers, and The Laugh Factory.
Please tell us about your art.
My love of film came later in life than most of my peers. Until a few years ago, I didn’t see characters on screen that I recognized. Females were put into categories, the “damsel”, the “funny best friend”, the “other woman”. I wanted to write complex female characters that reflected the amazing women I surround myself with every day.
All of my projects, whether documentary or narrative style, highlight strong, complex women. And all of my projects are 50/50, meaning at least 50% of the crew is female. Writing and directing is my way of giving back to all of those women who inspired me to love film the way I now do. As a female director, writer, and comedian, I always walk in the room as the underdog. And I relish in that. I don’t care that people underestimate me, because my work speaks for itself.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
Success is one of those words that makes me uncomfortable, because it’s defined differently for everyone. I’d say, speaking only for myself, my version of success would stem from any project I saw all the way through. It’s so easy to throw out an idea or concept and never execute it. So, I consider myself successful anytime I achieve that victory (no matter the size or scale of the project).
But as an artist, my gut reaction to this is to stay it really doesn’t exist. Someone really driven by art and creation will always tell you there’s more to be done, another story to be told, and I think that more accurately describes how I feel about “success”. There will never be that peak for me, I will always be wondering “what’s next? where do I go from here?”
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
“SYDNEY” a short documentary, will be screened at national festivals later this year, and will be available online to view in October 2018.
“Georgia” is available on Vimeo for rent. You can see me do stand up in Los Angeles and around the country every month, check my website for dates: dinafreberg.com
Contact Info:
- Website: dinafreberg.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @heyitsdina
Image Credit:
Clint Hanaway
Mike DeMille
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