We were lucky to catch up with Molly Loftus recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Molly, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the film the I wrote, directed, and produced, Darkness Upon My Fancy. Last year I re-read Frankenstein and was so enamored with it that I was inspired to write a story about a monster, born from the ashes of a witch’s sister, and her quest for meaning. Exploring themes of loss, loneliness, and love, we empathize with the characters’ tendency to be complicit in familial cycles despite longing to break free.

Mary W. Shelley’s “Frankenstein” has deeply resonated with me on multiple levels. From her own experiences as an ambitious woman during her time, to the tragic loss of her children, loved ones committing suicide, an adulterous marriage, and familial alienation, Shelley’s life tragedies serve as inspiration for the themes of her literary masterpiece.

The part most indelible to me is when the monster spends days in the woods observing the impoverished cottagers. When the blind old man plays an instrument for a young girl, bringing her to tears, the monster’s emotions are awakened. He experiences:

“…sensations of a particular and overpowering nature: they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food; and I withdrew from the window, unable to bear these emotions” (Shelley, 111).

He bestows upon the cottagers acts of kindness to earn their love, such as chopping wood for them and anonymously placing it by the cottage. But, overtime, he confesses, “Increase of knowledge only discovered to me more clearly what a wretched outcast I was” (Shelley, 137). When the blind old man is finally left alone, the monster makes his acquaintance, only to be shunned as a hideous creature by the children upon their return. This devastating rejection of the monster’s basic need for love and companionship ultimately leads to his and his victims’ downfall.

Similarly, Fancy, the protagonist in my own work, longs for acceptance and unconditional love from her creator—willing to
go to great lengths to make them proud while toeing the line between inherent goodness and darker consequences. Despite the challenges she faces, we care for her deeply and feel her pain.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a producer, writer, and director for commercial and narrative works. I recently wrote, directed, and produced a short film, Darkness Upon My Fancy, with an entirely female and non-binary cast and crew. The film is fiscally sponsored by The Film Collaborative, a 501(c)3, and will be considered for film festivals this year. If I’m lucky, two films that I produced will be in this year’s festival circuit!

I got my start producing a magazine, which I left in order to focus my skills on video production. Now, I am a multimedia production consultant for brands big and small, which is perfect for my lifestyle. Building my own schedule allows me the flexibility to work on my own projects and travel.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As a producer, my main goal is to provide artistic collaborators with the respect and pay that they deserve. It’s very important to me to create art that engages more female-identifying folks. The film that I wrote, directed, and produced, Darkness Upon My Fancy, was produced with an entirely female and non-binary identifying cast and crew.

This past year has been really tough for the American film and TV industry due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes which began in May and July, respectively, of last year. In Luminate’s 2023 Year-End Film and TV Report, Premieres of new and returning TV programming is the lowest it’s been since 2018, plummeting by 21%. That, combined with the budget cuts that many companies experienced, vastly impacted productions.

Many of my peers were affected by this, so it was important for me to pay a fair rate to the cast and crew who worked on Darkness Upon My Fancy. Half of the film’s budget of $27,000 went to the cast and crew, which was a combination of donations and my personal investment. I’m very proud of this, and I’m grateful to the many donors who contributed to my crowdfunding campaign. This incredibly rewarding project would not be possible without the generous monetary and in-kind donations the film received.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Joseph Campbell famously said: “Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living.”

I find this very inspiring and a main reason to persist even when, especially when, you invariably experience feelings of self-doubt about pursuing your desires. There were moments leading up to filming Darkness Upon My Fancy when I felt like every moment counted. It often feels like there’s never enough time, money, or skill to begin a film project. If there’s never a right time, then the only time is the present.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/fiscalsponsorship/projects/darknessuponmyfancy
• Instagram: darknessuponmyfancy_film
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyloftus/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/EB1HMCv5FIE?si=r_R73IoXKqUgcuWT

Image Credits
BTS shots by Megan Roe