Actress and producer Gia Skova announced at the Sundance Film Festival that her production company will be filming ‘The Christmas Recital’. It is a heartwarming film about a determined ballet tutor, played by Gia, who tries to bring the spirit of the Christmas story to her students and help them appreciate the joys of the holiday season.
A former model, Gia rose to prominence in the United States after her debut feature film, ‘The Serpent’, received widespread acclaim. Gia founded Valholl Production in 2017 to create bold and innovative films, TV shows and web series that take a stand on the issues that matter and motivate people to make a difference.
Its name comes from Valhalla, a concept in Norse mythology, something Gia is particularly interested in. The company creates stories that explore identity, cultural heritage and the human experience. In addition to producing their projects, the company also offers script consulting, development and production services for independent filmmakers.
Valholl Production is actively trying to create a platform for diverse voices and to promote inclusivity in Hollywood, working with organisations including Sundance Institute and Women In Film and filmmakers including award-winning executive producers Jared Safier and Alex Volyanskiy. We talked to Gia about her outlook on life and the importance of the arts.
Why is it important to you to support women in film?
Actually, it is important for me to support not only women, but also children and men – in fact, it is important to support people in the arts! You cannot imagine how easy it is to discourage someone from pursuing art. There are so many obstacles in people’s minds, and then there are the comments and criticisms that others make. Take any successful movie and you will find more than half of the comments about it are negative. I don’t want to belong to this category of society. Instead, it is valuable to support and praise people for their efforts and contributions to the advancement of the arts. Trust me, the world would be much darker if all of these people were just focused on business.
Why are you drawn to Scandinavian mythology?
Since childhood, mythology has been my favourite subject. Whether you want to become a rich millionaire or a successful athlete, read books, develop and learn something new. Mythology taught me this – the stories of gods who lived on Earth with their incredible abilities, and I realised that I too could be capable, I just needed to find out how to do it!
Tell us about ‘The Christmas Recital’
It’s going to be a story that will touch the hearts of children and adults alike, a story that will make you believe in miracles again. One of my partners on this project is Patrick Carroll, who has amazed me with his kind heart and his goals of helping children and other people. This film is dedicated to those people who change the world for the better. After all, that’s what the mythological gods did!