[Watch the video interview Youtube here]
Film Courage: Why is sci-fi/fantasy better than all of their genres?
Sheila: Wow! So this is extremely my subjective, personal opinion because I know there’s people out there, like my mother, who hate sci-fi and fantasy. Any time I’m like Let’s try this show, she gets so upset because she’s like It’s not relatable to me. Personally, I like the genre the best because it’s a way of handling serious subject matter without being preachy, especially sci-fi. You get to drop people into a fictitious world that is critiquing the way our real life society might be acting behind the scenes but in a little bit more…I’m thinking Squid Game. Squid Game to me is sci-fi for sure, slow burn, sci-fi — **spoiler alert, sorry everybody** — but definitely a game where everyone is kind of killing each other but it’s a more brutal version than The Hunger Games, that’s a commentary on how our system pits us against each other, again going back to that competitiveness, going back to that form of capitalism. Sci-fi and fantasy allow you to say Okay, I don’t have to think about my daily life. You get to just enjoy this fun story but behind the scenes of the story is…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
Sheila Houlahan is a Webby Award Winning Indian-American actor, singer, producer, writer and advocate.
Sheila played the supporting role “Paige Callahan” opposite Denzel Washington in the Warner Bros. feature “The Little Things”, which was written and directed by John Lee Hancock. She also has a role in the Michael Bay thriller “Ambulance”.
In 2021, Sheila was the executive producer for a feature film adaptation of Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer-winning play “Night, Mother” in partnership with Twitch.tv; this film was a “hybrid” film, mixing pre-recorded segments with live performance that was recorded and edited in front of a live audience. Over 8000 people watched “Night, Mother” live, and since then, the film has received critical acclaim and has been screened at 68 festivals in over 24 countries. “Night, Mother” has over 64K views on it’s flagship Twitch.tv channel and has been praised for its’ fresh, innovative approach to filmmaking winning over 60 awards including the Webby Award for Virtual and Remote Entertainment & Media.
Sheila is a Celebrity Champion for Project HEAL, a nonprofit organization that helps people suffering from eating disorders source affordable treatment options and pay for treatment. She is also an ambassador for Ability Magazine’s platform AbilityE, a casting portal that seeks to increase inclusion and representation of differently-abled talent and creatives on both sides of the table in Hollywood.
WATCH ‘NIGHT, MOTHER’
CONNECT WITH SHEILA HOULAHAN
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