Film and Theater

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Paula Parducz - Actress

Paula Parducz Photo front pageThis seems like a good place to begin when talking about film and theater actor Paula Parducz, her stage name and you will understand why we clarified that in a few moments. She was born in the state of Kansas (United States), grew up in Costa Rica, lived in the London (U.K.) for five years, lived part of her adult life in Asturias, Spain and now is her eighth year living in Budapest, Hungary. Now you understand.

She is cerebral, talented, at home in comedy or dramatic productions, but leans more to drama as a preference, which we will explain in a bit and she shared some insight to that side of her acting while discussing the role she played in the theater production Beauty, directed by Carna Krsul.

“My favorite role is Annabel in Beauty. I liked it because it allowed me to (get into) a vulnerability that I really had not explored before, because in a way it touched a part that I really had not dug into (previously).

She (Annabel) stepped out of her own shell. She is afraid of going out (Annabel is agoraphobic), but she is masking that by looking young and  pretty. It was very powerful on stage and it was always interesting to feel the reaction of the people when they could see the mask dropping,” Read More

 Las Tres Sisters  Film Interview

Valerie Maldonado Interview PT 1 Photo Front PageThe film Las Tres Sisters while primarily about the relationship between the three primary Latina female characters, as seen through the eyes of Mexican Americans, also has two amazing male actors, Cristo Fernández as Kin and Adam Mayfield, the real-life husband Virginia Novello (Sofia) as Harold, who plays Maria’s husband. Again, without providing spoilers, we might describe Kin as being a combination of mystery man and quiet hero, which works well as his character plays an important role in both the story and highlighting an important part of the Latina culture. Adam Mayfield’s character Harold is just loveable. That is the only way to describe Harold. Although he appears intermittently throughout the story, he is just the kind of guy that you want to wrap your arms around and give him a great big hug.  

So often male characters are portrayed in one light, as being stoic and that is a stereotype drawn from generations of the expectations often placed upon men in real-life with phrases such as “Come on be a man,” and “Man up.”  A certain portion of society wanted to deny men the opportunity to be vulnerable, to not feel emotionally moved by happy times, sad times, pain or joy. The character of Harold runs counterpoint to that stereotype. Read More

Anna Carvalho Loves Monsters

Anna Carvalho Front Page PhotoAnna Carvalho loves vampires and monsters, she was cast as a demon, but instead became an angel, she has been a prostitute more than once, on film! She was in a monster tale.  Those things are not nearly as intimidating as when we briefly summarize her career CV for you. Anna Carvalho is an accomplished screenwriter, a good actress, director, producer and model. Born in Portugal, now making her home in Austin, Texas, she is one of those rare jewels you find in any walk of life, incredibly talented, always with a smile on her face and laughter punctuating her conversation, she has this knack of making one feel like she is someone you have known for years, rather than someone you are beginning your first conversation with.

Seeming to have several projects on the go all at once, we decided to ask her about two of them.  

“One of them is a series that we started in 2023 and it is a horror series. It is (comprised of) Portuguese tales that were in a book that was launched in 2023. At that time, we realized in Portugal there were not a lot of women working in horror. In Portugal horror is stigmatized a little bit. One of the women (working in horror) was me. I was the producer and director. My collaborators are Isabel Pina and Sandra Henriques. Read More

Sabrina Culver - Actress & Producer

Sabrina Culver Interview Front Page PhotoSabrina Culver is an actress, both on film, television and theater, she owns a film production company and has sat as a judge at numerous film festivals, but we bet if you asked her what her most important role has been, she would without hesitation tell you, it is as the mother to her son and daughter. According to IMDB she has appeared in eighty-one films, and television episodes, has produced, co-produced and executive produced eleven more and that is not counting her theatrical performances and the commercials she has been cast in. We should also note that although she did not completely walk away from acting while she focused more on her children when they were younger, she did slow down her career for a time. She wants you to know however, she is in full steam ahead mode once again and that should make many directors smile, because she is a very good actress. Afterall how many people do you know that get cast as a young Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe), more on that later.  

As this goes to publication she was beginning to shoot a television series, but that is under wraps and for another day.  

Sabrina Culver grew up near New York City, but now lives in Amsterdam, the second time in her life that she has made Europe her home. Much of her early creative interests were inspired by her father who played Read More  

Ágota Dunai - Actor Interview

Agota Dunai Interview Front Page PhotoWhile she has moved around a bit, actress Ágota Dunai now calls Budapest home, in her native country Hungary. You may have seen her in the high altitude action thriller Fight and Flight starring Josh Hartnett, the second time she has worked with him and Katee Sackhoff or perhaps in the film Dr Jason II Lights and Shades, streaming on Amazon (in some countries) and soon you will be able to see her in a Tom Cruise movie (at press time still to be titled). With three films either released or in production during 2025 and two more from 2024, Ágota Dunai’s career is gathering momentum and so it should for this talented young actor.   

In the film Fight and Flight, Ágota Dunai says, “I played a flight attendant. I had flight attendant experience before in another film, and they chose me,” Although she had a minor role in the film she says, “I really hope it made it to the film. I haven’t seen the film yet. There was one scene when the plane starts to crash and there is a lot of shaking and someone falls down. Then I go to the (person) and help him up. I ask if he is okay and ask if he needs medical help. That was my speaking Read More

Camilla Roman's New RomCom

Camilla Roman Fortysomething Interview Photo OnCamilla Roman, the Norwegian actress, screenwriter, director and producer is back with another fabulous short film and one that is very relatable to anyone who has used social media and also one that is very funny. The film Fortysomething, centers about ex-spouses, social media mistakes by Torbjorn and that implicate his wife (Susanne) and her mother Britt-Eva and develop into a big misunderstanding with Torbjorn inadvertently inviting Susanne and her mother to his wedding to Vanessa, which is to take place in Tuscany, Italy.

The film was inspired by a real-life situation experienced by one of Camilla Roman’s friends and the mishaps and misunderstandings that can happen on social media platforms.  

Camilla Roman explains, “This is based on a true story and what sort of happened to one of my friends, the character that I play. When her ex-husband was going to get married there was a lot of confusion and stuff on Facebook with invitations. He invited her and her mom and that was a mistake. He deleted them and deleted whole events and people were what? Is it canceled? All of that happened and then there is a lot of fiction into the mix (in the film).

After she told me this story, I wrote it down a little bit. I thought maybe I can do this for something later. I took a year of filmmaking. I got into the final year and so I got my Bachelor (degree) in one year. I had to make Read More

Actress Corinna Seiter

Corinna Seiter Photo Front PageCorinna Seiter, a German actress, screenwriter, and producer who splits her time between Spain and Germany took time out recently in between writing a new screenplay and taking part in the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, to talk about her life and career.   

Ms. Seiter who we will simply refer to by her first name for the rest of this interview, because for such an affable woman, this seems more appropriate, provides us with some insight concerning the new short film she is working on.

“It has been quite a while since I wrote my last project. I have always enjoyed writing and I wanted to do something that is close to my heart. I think it is something that all of us go for at certain stages in our lives. It (the film) is about isolation, and it has a bit to do with the whole pandemic situation. That is not going to show in the project really. It takes place in a dystopian world that we really do not know that much about. It is about a character who lives in that world and who is trying to find their way between what is real and what isn’t. This (individual) is trying to figure life out in a way, and they are trying to be mentally well. It also has a big part about mental health as well.

I wanted to do something simpler than the technical side of it and not very complicated. Read More

Actress, Singer Carmen Prados

Carmen Prados Main Page PhotoWhen you are the understudy for the principal role in a theatrical production it can be challenging both mentally and physically. Couple that with a major musical such as Pretty Woman el Musical when you are providing cover for Vivian (lead actress Cristina Llorente), plus you sing and dance nightly in the ensemble and wait for it plus you are Scarlett, just thinking about all of that is enough to make someone want to lay down and have a nap.  

Actress Carmen Prados originally from Córdoba, Andalusia Spain and who has also called London, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid home, is that very person and she was gracious enough to take time from a busy schedule that often sees her performing twice per day and at least once per week in the sometimes salty, but mostly endearing role of Vivian. 

How does she do it? Carmen Prados explains, “I have done two shows as Scarlett and two as Vivian, one as Vivian and one as Scarlett. I have done all the possibilities. It is challenging, but I really love it. Two shows of Scarlett are tougher on the body and two shows of Vivian are tougher on the voice. Doing both, I love it because it is Read More

  

Rubén Yuste and Pretty Woman

Ruben Yuste Interview photo for front pageImagine you are relaxing in a restaurant in a picturesque town on the island of Mallorca, Spain, the resort of Port d’Alcudia and in walks a fellow and you think wait a minute isn’t that the same guy I just watched a few nights ago when I was in Madrid (or Barcelona) and he was Mr. Thompson in Pretty Woman the Musical? The restaurant is Como en Casa and the actor is the highly respected Rubén Yuste who owns this beautiful restaurant with his sister Vanessa Yuste. Actually, you may have noticed Rubén for more than one reason, as he also plays Happy Man with the wild hair and Mr. Hollister in Pretty Woman the Musical. After enjoying a six month run in Barcelona during the 2022 – 2023 theater season, the musical, with the cast intact are taking the production to Teatro EDP Gran Via in Madrid for the entire 2023 – 2024 season. Rehearsals begin in early September.

Riveting Riffs Magazine attended two performances in Barcelona and three in Madrid while in Spain we connected with several cast members with Rubén Yuste, kindly consenting to be interviewed by us.

Naturally our conversation began with Pretty Woman the Musical, and we wondered about the challenges presented by playing three very different characters, and also if he had a favorite scene or two that he was in Read More