Golden Globe winner actress, producer and director Robin Wright tells HFPA journalist Anke Hofmann that she was nervous when she got the opportunity to direct her first feature film, Land. The story is about Edee Mathis, played by Wright, who in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of uncertainty retreats to the wilderness.

“I was very nervous of course. And I think that’s going to remain for quite some time, the nervousness. But I also think it’s a jump start that you need.”

She credits her producers as an amazing team. They were on the set every day and gave her honest feedback. “You’re not going to get it right. That’s why you have to have an incredible team of producers around you and creators who are all architects of this project. It’s not just one director, it’s all of them. And to be able to collaborate, and make sure that you’re speaking the same language, and do they get the vision, there’s nothing greater than that kind of creative teamwork.”

Wright connected with the story, written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam, because of its resilience, and the hope and newfound faith given to Edee by a stranger after a near-death experience in the wilderness. She wanted the movie to be raw, soulful and about human connection. “Thank goodness I had Damián Bichir. He’s just an incredible soul and an amazing actor, and the way he is very frugal with his words as Miguel. The way he’s quiet, the way he is Zen, he was built to play this part.”

Listen to the podcast and hear her thoughts about the current president and vice president of the United States; how was life imitating art on House of CardsHouse of Cards episodes; why the DigDeep organisation became an important part of her directorial feature debut; how she relates to the rebirth of her character Edee goes through; what new skills she learned on the set and why she chose to live on the mountain while shooting the movie; how she earned money for her European trip after she graduated from high school and what kind of conversation she remembers from a train trip from Bari to Greece in 1983; how she describes her young self and how she has changed during the years; how she feels about her kids following her footsteps into showbusiness; why kindness is an important theme in her career; why she wants to direct a comedy; how she knew that House of Cards and streaming platforms were changing the entertainment industry; how she feels about becoming a role model for equal payment movement; how important human rights issues are for her and how she got connected to the Congo; why she thinks Wonder Woman has an important message.