Analog Dreams & Nightmares: Inside Video Barn with Bianca Poletti

In her evocative new short film Video Barn, director Bianca Poletti, with her writing collaborator Alison Goldfarb, taps into the eerie nostalgia of 1980s horror with a deeply personal twist. Recently premiering to audiences at SXSW, the film immerses viewers in a surreal, small-town VHS store where strange forces blur the line between memory and nightmare. Drawing on childhood experiences, the quiet dread of Poltergeist and The Twilight Zone, Poletti crafts a haunting atmosphere that lingers long after the final frame. We sat down with Bianca to discuss the inspirations behind Video Barn, her love for messy characters, and how analog nostalgia fuels her distinct storytelling voice.

Bianca – I grew up between California and Buenos Aires, Argentina. My mom was a single mom working long house. I spent a lot of time alone watching movies and TV shows, and creating little plays for her. In my teens, I got more into photography, exploring visuals, before going onto film school. There I learned about themes, story structure, and other technical aspects. I then moved to Seattle for four years to try something new, where I also continued with photography and got into fashion.

All these experiences, especially in photography and fashion, strengthened my visual approach, but I kept missing the storytelling aspect. I eventually got a chance to work at a big commercial production company, representing directors like Spike Jonze and Mike Mills. I knew nothing about advertising, but I learned how to tell stories visually in a very short amount of time, often without dialogue. Commercial directing has helped me hone my craft and has led me further into filmmaking.

Cine Bijou  – Your background and current work include commercial directing. Many renowned filmmakers started this way, like Ridley Scott. How has commercial directing helped your filmmaking?

Bianca – Honestly, so many directors start in commercials. I think it’s an excellent way to hone your craft because you gain access to resources and build relationships with people who work on big films, which indie filmmakers often don’t have.

Inspirational Figures

Cine Bijou  – Beyond those you’ve worked with, like Spike Jonze, what directors or writers influenced you to pursue film, and how did they shape your vision? 

Bianca – My two favorite directors growing up were Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) and Martin Scorsese. I aspire to be like PTA because he can work in any genre; he’s a storyteller, and I love that. I also lean into retro aesthetics, and he incorporates a lot of 70s texture into his work, which I love. Scorsese, especially for Goodfellas which was always an inspiration, even though it’s a violent film. Steven Spielberg, particularly with films like E.T., or anything that feels like Stephen King or small-town Americana with kids and their imagination, also greatly influences me.

Cine Bijou  – What kind of storytelling and films do you like to make? Are there particular characters or genres you focus on? 

Bianca – I’m definitely drawn to female-driven stories, and most of my films are from a female point of view. I also love coming-of-age stories. I like any story with imperfect, messy, and complicated but charming characters. Human imperfection is beautiful and interesting, and I like to see that reflected in characters and in my films. For Video Barn, Alison Goldfarb and I collaborated. It leaned more into my world, with influences like It and Stranger Things, while Alison sometimes leans more comedic, but we both love messy characters.

Early Work

Cine Bijou  – Your first film credit is the anthology series Dark Hours: Rock Summer. How did you get involved, and what was your contribution? 

Bianca – That was one of the first things I did when I moved back to California. I got involved in an intensive with James Franco, who was producing and funding two feature films. It was an exercise where directors and writers paired up randomly to work on a section of the film. It was a great way to understand my voice, collaborate, and tell a seamless story with multiple directors who all had their own styles.

Both films were set in the 18th century, which was wild for an indie feature. My section was near the end, at the height of the suspense, focusing on two girls trying to escape, one of whom was pregnant, with a lean into 18th-century horror. It taught me a lot about adjusting my voice to match others without losing my own.

Cine Bijou  – You’ve collaborated with writer Rebecca Lee on short films like Fertile and Romantic. What were those about, and how did you meet and work with her? 

Bianca – I met Rebecca through a friend. Like Alison, she was an actress who started writing, which makes sense as actors are great storytellers, and writing gives them a voice. She’s super funny, and I love dark comedy with messy characters—not over-the-top, but more like Fleabag or White Lotus humor with a bit of neurosis, a Woody Allen kind of overthinking vibe. Both films came from ideas I had, which we would break down, and then she would fill in with her witty and smart dialogue.

Meeting Alison Goldfarb

Cine Bijou  –  Let’s discuss Radical Honesty, which you directed and was your first collaboration with Alison Goldfarb. It’s a very interesting look at modern relationships with messy characters. What made you want to tackle that topic? 

Bianca – Open relationships have always been a consistent conversation among couples. I find the grounded comedy fascinating—it’s supposed to be a free and agreed-upon thing, but it’s often full of rules. The juxtaposition of what it’s supposed to be versus what it is I find really funny and interesting.

We wanted to write something in that world. Alison initially envisioned two people on a bench, but I thought of a diner scene, a traditional film setting seen in films like Pulp Fiction, influenced by Tarantino and Goodfellas. I wanted an opening that visually drew us into their world before settling on their conversation. Ultimately, I wanted to play with the comedy of being human and the dynamics we create in relationships.

Enter the Video Barn

Cine Bijou – Moving on to Video Barn, it recently premiered at SXSW and has a strong 80s horror vibe, reminiscent of Stranger Things. Is horror a genre you enjoy working with, and what kind of horror films do you watch? 

Bianca – Absolutely, I love horror. As a teen, going to the VHS store or theater with friends to watch the scariest new movie was exciting, like I Know What You Did Last Summer or Scream. I’ve always enjoyed teen horror that’s grounded and interesting, not too poppy or childish. More recently, I’ve been influenced by films like Get Out. The Twilight Zone has been a huge inspiration because it delves into horror that isn’t slasher, has surreal aspects, and is creepy just by existing.

I love horror where the quiet moments are the scariest. Poltergeist was also a big inspiration for this film. The interesting thing about horror is the surreal visual side you can add, the quiet moments, and how inner demons are fought and reflected. It’s much deeper than just entertainment.

Video Store Glory Days

Cine Bijou – Video Barn captures the feeling of old mom-and-pop video stores. Did you base the set and setting on personal experiences or research? 

Bianca – Yes, growing up in a small California town called Fallbrook, before San Diego, there was nothing much except a small mom-and-pop VHS shop, a grocery store, and lots of land. That’s where I spent most of my time, so I was really inspired by my childhood VHS store. I remember the “American smell” in the carpet, the flickering lights – it wasn’t glossy like Blockbuster. I did go to Blockbuster more as a teen in San Diego. For Video Barn, I searched everywhere for a working VHS shop in California, but we ended up finding a really cool 1960s record store that had the structure and lighting I remembered, and we redid it to be a VHS store.

Cine Bijou – There are interesting surreal and supernatural film techniques, like the shattered glass and dark flashes when Julie goes missing and Hannah hallucinates. What were your influences for these?

Bianca – It was a mixture. I always try to implement a surreal element if it makes sense for the story. This comes more from my photography work and visual interests. For this film, there was a lot of inspiration from David Lynch and his dream worlds. Also, a lot of photography, like Gregory Crewdson’s work, which is beautiful, eerie, weird, and dreamy. I liked the idea of the “Void” messing with Hannah, and the TV essentially portrays this void world messing with her psyche.

Keeping Fans on Their Toes

Cine Bijou – You mentioned the 80s as a “dark time,” and Video Barn seems to make a statement about repressive elements, particularly concerning gender roles. Was this intentional? 

Bianca – Yes, absolutely. That was always the goal, and also the fact that a lot of those issues haven’t changed and we’re moving backward for women. Visually, the 1950s are seen as picture-perfect, and we wanted to juxtapose that with the grittiness of the 80s and present day to show that the town of Kennedy encompasses both of those worlds. I wanted to visually implement the idea of women and young girls having to go back in time, losing some women’s rights.

Cine Bijou – The film keeps the audience guessing with its open ending, particularly with Rick taking the tape. Was this your approach to storytelling? 

Bianca – Absolutely. I love European or perhaps British endings more than American ones; they’re not cookie-cutter or perfect, they’re open-ended. Like the ending of Triangle of Sadness, I find it fascinating when you can take the ending however you want. With Rick taking the tape, it’s been fun to hear people’s different thoughts—some think he controlled it all or that it shows men’s power over women. I love opening up conversations and letting audiences draw their own conclusions instead of spoon-feeding them, as I think they’re very smart.

From Short to Feature

Cine Bijou – You mentioned playing with the idea of a feature film for Video Barn. What’s the approach for that—a follow-up, a remake, or something else? 

Bianca – It’s more of a remake and a follow-up; it stays in this world. The short film is like a taster of these two girls and their world, and we’ll explore more in the feature. In the feature, we’ll delve more into the town of Kennedy, which is a middle-of-nowhere, Roswell, New Mexico-type of alien-themed tourist town. We’ll explore the void, why the girls are being pulled into the TV, and their friendship. So, it will be an extension of the short.

Cine Bijou – Will the feature film lean into more classic horror tropes, or will it expand on the themes already introduced? 

Bianca – It will definitely expand on the themes we already introduced. It will lean more towards Twin Peaks meets Poltergeist meets Get Out. Twin Peaks is more the world it will live in, this forgotten small town. Poltergeist will be for some themes and perhaps answers about what it all means. Get Out will be an influence for its surrealism and how they do dreamy stuff in a grounded way. We’ll implement those elements to keep it horror but with special and visually strong touches without being too whimsical.

Cine Bijou – How was Video Barn received at SXSW? 

Bianca – It was amazing. It went so well. We even got a fourth buzz screening because people loved all the horror shorts this year. Every screening was sold out with a line around the block. I’ve gotten a bunch of meetings and interest in the feature from big studios and investors. There’s a lot of interest in the feature, and people want to see and know more because it’s open-ended.

Reflections and Wisdom

Cine Bijou – I’ve interviewed enough filmmakers, to know that you never rest on one idea. Besides the Video Barn feature, what other stories or genres are you looking to explore?

Bianca – That’s a great question. I have another feature in the works that I’m directing, co-written by John Hawkes and Nikki Lorenzo. It’s completely different from Video Barn, more of a dark romance, like Blue Valentine meets George and Tammy. That one’s really interesting and cool, and it’ll be next. There’s also another idea I’ve been toying with, potentially a short first, which is a coming-of-age story about a young Japanese American girl. It explores what it feels like to be Argentinian American, playing with her obsession with 1950s and 60s greaser culture, and it goes dark and weird on her journey of finding her voice. I’m really excited about this one.

Cine Bijou – You seem to enjoy exploring the past, like the 80s and the 50s/60s. What draws you to those periods and the people who lived then?

Bianca – I think it’s a love for nostalgia and nostalgic things, like I’ve always loved classic cars, music, and film from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. It’s also a hunger for knowledge about things I don’t know and how different it is now, and wanting to play with those two things.

For ‘Yuki’, that last film I mentioned, what I find fascinating is Japan’s obsession with the Elvis period and that culture, and how it still lives on, even in Japan. It’s so weird because Japan is so different from American culture, so why does that resonate with so many people, and the strong look of being a greaser? So, I think it’s a love for different times and wanting to explore that more.

Advice to Rising Stars

Cine Bijou – What advice would you give to aspiring independent filmmakers who want to follow in your footsteps? 

Bianca – Honestly, create, and never stop creating. It only benefits you. Keep making shorts with your friends, especially if you’re just starting out and don’t have many resources or money. You can do it with nothing. For example, Fertile, with Rebecca, we made for about $2,000 with favors and one location, and with friends. A lot of my work has involved friends working on favors. So, just mess around with friends. I would say just keep creating and really find your voice that way. Find what you like, what you don’t, and you’ll notice the themes you’re interested in, expand on them, and keep learning. So, just keep creating is the best thing.

Are you a fan of all things horror and nostalgia? What did you think of the interview? Have you seen Video Barn? What did you think of the film and are you looking forward to a feature exploring the story in more detail? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on social media? You can find us on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram!