Pretty Problems, the new independent feature by director Kestrin Pantera, lets audiences follow Jack (Michael Tennant) and Lindsay (Britt Rentschler), whose careers and marriage hang by a thread. The movie highlights the different class divisions between these characters and a wild bunch of wealthy strangers which include Matt Flax (Graham Outerbridge), a self-made billionaire; and his bestie Kerry (Alex Klein), a trust fund kid with an actress/model girlfriend, Carrie (Charlotte Ubben).

Pretty Problems premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival, where the comedy was welcomed with rave reviews. The movie took home the Audience Award. Pantera also earned the Bay Area Filmmaker of the Year and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at the Sonoma International Film Festival. The New York Times called the director “a force.”

An interesting fact: before Pantera took a seat in the director’s chair, she was a classically trained cellist-turned-rocker who toured in rock bands and appeared onstage alongside Weezer, Beck and Brandi Carlile. Some of her original music was even featured in TV shows and award-winning films.

Ubben, an American actress and producer, who obtained her bachelor’s degree in theater at the American Institute in San Francisco, is best known for her roles in Tallulah, American Honey, and Loving Vincent. The premiere at SWSX of Pretty Problems was her first as producer, developer and actress.

The following are excerpts from our interview with Pantera and Ubben at an HFPA press conference.

Pretty Problems captures some outrageous behavior of the spoiled, obnoxious ultra-rich. The colorful ensemble cast delivers many humorous moments with lots of laughter and joy. As the director, what themes did you want to express to us, the audience?

Pantera: It’s a real funny, goofy movie with some big topics that get broached. Of course, there is the income inequality as the setup, but one of the major things I learned from making this film is that this movie revealed itself to me as I made it, and tells you what it wants. While creating this story, I learned that everyone, no matter how well they appear to be doing on Instagram, is going through their own weird stuff. What I mostly took away from making this film was let’s give ourselves a little bit of grace wherever we are right now, and have some empathy, appreciation and gratitude for where we are right now, as opposed to the greener grass thing.

One of the things that struck me about the movie is how much the Lindsay character gets impressed with the lifestyles of the other women. When you look at Instagram, most feeds are focused on what they’re wearing, what they possess or where they are going. What message did you want to send and do you have any thoughts on possessions and self-worth? 

Pantera: When I was going through the process of making the film, when we were actually at this beautiful place, living it out in some ways, I realized that home is truly where the heart is, it’s where the people that love you, are. You can have all these possessions, even look great, but at the end of the night, you find yourself home alone. It’s a sad and shitty place, that’s where success lies, yet not where fulfillment lies in life. It’s funny, I went camping in the desert for a week, and when I came back, I was the happiest I’d been in months I wondered, why is it that the happiest I ever was is when I was sleeping in the dirt. I think that there is something to that.

Ubben: Yeah, I agree, it’s like the grass is always greener. The obsession with wanting someone else’s life only to find out that cat is not happy either is something everyone can always relate to.

In this movie there is no real antagonist. As shallow as some characters might be, at the core, you see something genuine and sweet in each of them.

Pantera: I like to make movies where you get to see and know the world from each character’s point of view. I sat with the heart and perspective of every single character in the movie so that there was no arbitrary dumbass or arbitrary villain. There’s not like a jerk jock. With every movie I direct, I want to understand and empathize with each and every character, no matter how shitty they can be.

Ubben: Yeah, I think that was maybe one of the biggest goals of this movie because it could easily go the other way. I think that’s what makes this movie so special.

Charlotte, you portray Carrie, whose character description is an actress, model, dancer and someone’s arm candy. So how did you develop this role without falling into the cliché of such a description?

Ubben: Well, it was definitely a process which Kestrin and I worked through together to find her truth. Also, a lot of the script was improvised. I remember one day we were shooting, we came up with the idea that Carrie is extremely smart. No one had any idea. Giving this character dimensions was fun for me to play. For example, I played my sister’s best friend’s drunkenness in my head. It gave me an outline for Carrie.