Michele Feren: Actress, 7 LIVES OF CHANCE

I’m good friends with Jodi (Chance) and she had already worked with Banks on a few different projects. She mentioned this project early on to me. Knowing Banks’ other work, I really wanted to be involved with 7 LIVES OF CHANCE. I auditioned and was cast as Lady in the Dress. This character, being that she’s created by Chance’s imagination, was very open to interpretation. I saw Lady as Chance before she became scared of death, before she became a hoarder, before she stopped loving. Lady is her 16 year old self telling her to wake the f*ck up.

I’m very proud of the work we all did together, we all were committed to tell this story and I feel it shows. I hope the audience feels as inspired as I was when I watched it. I hope it inspires people to keep growing spiritually and to let go of what doesn’t serve you anymore.

3Q: What was your best and/or worst experience while making 7 LIVES OF CHANCE?

My best experience was the speed of shooting a feature in 7 days. It forces you to be in the moment, you can’t take time to make phone calls between scenes and turning the camera around, then you’re distracted. You moved along VERY quickly, getting two MAYBE three takes, so your awareness is forced to keep you present.

My worst experience was the speed of shooting a feature in 7 days. Keeping track of a character arc at such a speed is a little nutty. You hope you’re giving him what he wants with limited numbers of takes. Boy, did I sleep good though!

4Q: Festival audiences often have to make hard decisions about what to see, and the catalog descriptions sometimes run together. In your own words, why should people see your film?

I believe it’s a story that every human being relates to, an “imprisoned” way of life we are all capable of living if put in the right circumstance. Letting fear guide our decisions, gripping onto an identity that is only defined by being a victim. We don’t have to live that way, we aren’t our experiences. We choose to learn from it, accept the lesson and move on. We are responsible for how we respond to our experience, I feel this film inspires people in that way.

5Q: You have a long list of IMDb credits. Was working with director Banks Helfrich a different experience from working with other directors?  Tell the craziest story you know about Banks. I know you must have at least one.

He was certainly one of the most trusting directors I’ve worked with, he gives his actors a lot of freedom to move. He directs without words, he’ll come up to you before a take, forehead to forehead, just make eye contact and you somehow know. It’s very quirky and connective, I don’t know how else to describe it. But I like it.

A crazy story? Sheesh. It’s hard to qualify anything I’ve seen him do as crazy, he’s a pretty laid back and focused individual. Although, shooting a feature in 7 days is fairly crazy itself.