We were lucky to catch up with Elena Nardini recently and have shared our conversation below.
Elena, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?
Corporate America is about money and industry, not people. I’m someone who’s definitely of the people. I’m driven by creativity and human connection and I do what I do in both my industries because I want to interact with people here on the ground. I’m not looking for an ivory tower, I’m looking for artists. I love collaboration and new ideas, and I believe that this is what true artists care about too. The corporate world, as we’re seeing with all the Hollywood strikes, does not care about the experience here on the ground for us. They seem unwilling to risk it all for the people and the art, but I know that artists are willing to do this, just like I’m willing to do this, to risk everything and put everything on the line to chase freedom in the creative pursuit. That’s why I respect people who get down in the dirt for what they love to do, whether the industry follows them or not. I’m here as one of the real people of LA, not dreaming of corporate elitism, but dreaming of art, relationships and actual fun.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I grew up in Los Angeles, raised in the theatre by two actor parents. My theatre background is no doubt what trained me to be creatively driven and outgoing, even though I’m naturally more of an introvert. I’ve always been a writer in some form, but it wasn’t until college that I declared my pursuit and graduated with a degree in creative writing, specifically in fiction and prose. After college I spent some time as a freelance journalist, specializing mainly in cocktails, spirits and the bar industry. I’ve also been a working bartender for many years and I have passion for both the bar world and the film world. I pivoted to filmmaking and screenwriting in my mid-twenties and I realized that I was coming full circle, getting back to my roots with acting and writing. I believe that my experience on stage gives me an edge as a writer and a director, to understand the acting side of the craft. Then I essentially created my own version of film school and shot two short films on my own, to learn as much as I could, as fast as I could.
Since 2019, I’ve been teamed up with Luis Tovar and Quagmire Filmz, shooting short form content in both comedy and drama genres. Working with Quagmire enabled me to learn so much more about the production process. Luis has been a great mentor when it comes to camera tech, directorial nuance and all around creative expression. We just finished a festival run for Luis’ film, Lapse, released in 2022, which I was a producer on and coming up in October, my latest short, Deliverance, will be premiering at the Portland Comedy Film Festival. My work nowadays mostly gears towards dark comedy, a tone I love and continually strive to hit in my writing, but it’s a challenge with as much duality as my personality. I’m also a script reader for the team at Roadmap Writers, which definitely serves to better my craft within the format and I always love giving feedback to other writers. Working with Joey Tuccio and Roadmap has also given me amazing networking opportunities over the years.
On the bar industry side, I’m excited to say that I’m now a small business owner as of this year. My passion for spirits knowledge and craft cocktails have lead me to launch a cocktail-making class and spirits tasting business called, Bar Nardini, the name being an ode to my Italian heritage and a brand that represents me, separate from any specific bar. Hosting classes is a fun and hands-on way to share something I’m good at and to further spark my entrepreneurial spirit. Classes with Bar Nardini are my way of creating gig work for myself as a bar professional in a gig economy, that utilizes both my event curation and public speaking skill sets.
I love sharing my knowledge and interpersonal drive in both the creative sides of my life and I love the independence that I find in both. With Bar Nardini, I can work for myself, continuing to learn, creating a brand meant to build community in my home of Los Angeles. With Quagmire and my filmmaker side, I can collaborate with other artists, which I love even when it’s hard, and we can create something from nothing, which is the absolute best part of creative work.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Putting myself out there as a writer is always a challenge because it’s nothing but raw vulnerability. No one really told me the rules, it’s just me, a blank page and a lot of trial and error. When I was young and I knew I was on a path to be a writer, I knew very little, but I did know two things for sure, that have held true. I knew if I was going to be an interesting writer, that I would need a lot of life experience. I knew I couldn’t hide inside at a desk or just watch endless TV and expect to represent the world in a unique way. I had to get out and live first, I had to have adventures and take risks, a path that some view as lacking in structure. I recognized that others were often projecting their fear onto me, a general fear that all artists face, that pursuing a creative life is too full of uncertainty, that it’s somehow unwise or even impossible. This fear never felt like mine, though, and actually I felt well-suited for the journey, not knowing, but barreling ahead anyway.
The second thing that I knew for sure about being a writer was that it would be a long, long road. I knew that to hone a craft and to experience the depth of life would potentially take forever, and would be full of discouraging and even humiliating moments. I knew that I’d face countless rejections, but I knew it was a path that made sense to me. I knew I had to be willing to go through all these truths, including all kinds of truths about myself and I believe that I’ve come very far. When the personal journey and the professional journey are intertwined, as is the case with creative writing, the strength needed is bottomless. At this point, I believe I’ve managed to do two opposing things, grow a thick skin and somehow shed layers, freeing my vulnerability. Over the years, both shifts have made me feel more in line with myself and what I want out of life. Doubts have never stopped me and, to put it in perspective for the struggling writers out there, I’ve written eight long-form scripts that I’ve since moved on from, but I have no regrets because each time was a learning experience worth having. Resiliency is about knowing that life is long, but we’re built for it.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Luis Tovar, the founder of Quagmire Filmz is a business partner and creative partner who sort of came out of left field into my life. In 2019, I was at a point where I wanted to shoot content, but I knew I needed a supportive team around me. I had struggled through shooting two of my own projects and I had made mistakes. I knew I needed someone with more experience and I needed more creative friends, in general. In 2019, a friend from college, whom I hadn’t spoken to in years, reached out on IG and told me I should meet with his friend, Luis. He said we had things in common as writers and filmmakers and that Luis also lived here on the westside of LA. At his random suggestion, I met Luis for coffee and almost immediately I jumped on board with him and his existing Quagmire team of actors and producers. Daniel O’Reilly, Chelsea Teel and David Holt made up the team at the time, they welcomed me into their creative process and we got to shooting.
Since then, my relationship to Luis has enabled me to do so much these last few years, even in spite of the pandemic. He has the gear and the drive to make things happen and I’m always looking for people like that to work with. So far, we’ve done short-form content, but now, we’re entering another phase, as we bring in more new writers and actors and start moving toward our indie feature goals. Luis is a strong partner for this work, because he’s talented, reliable and doesn’t shy away from taking risks. We’re still chugging along out here in LA and I trust that we have what it takes to create projects we can be proud of.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://quagmirefilmz.com
- Instagram: @nardinimartini
- Other: http://barnardini.com
Image Credits
Luis Tovar Brooke Taffet