We thought by setting the film ["Selling Isobel"] in the cloak of... let's call it an indie-Hollywood thriller, it would appeal to a wider range of young women who would see this cautionary tale and say, "Hang on, I've got to think twice about what I get myself into."
Rudolf BuitendachTo be honest, I was just honored to be in the same festival [ Raindance Film Festival's ] as Johnny To and Dominik Moll.
Rudolf BuitendachThe incident itself happened in London, but because we were all based at the time in Los Angeles we moved it there. Certain details are almost exactly like the true experience, but we decided to make the film more of a thriller, in the hope that it would reach a bigger audience. That's why it's called "Selling Isobel" and not "Selling Frida." We didn't want to make a dark, depressing "movie-of-the-week."
Rudolf BuitendachI was approached by the filmmakers. I didn't know much about the project ["Selling Isobel"], and the more we talked, the more they started to confide in me. I read the script and thought it was really interesting, and then a week later I discovered that this wasn't just any old script, this was actually Frida's [Farell] story and she was trusting me to tell it. I felt very privileged.
Rudolf BuitendachWe took a fair bit of liberty with the story, but the basic premise of the film ["Selling Isobel" ] - a girl is kidnapped on the streets of a city and held captive for three days and two nights while various men show up and exploit her - is the exact truth.
Rudolf BuitendachA few people have come back to me and said, "Thanks for giving me nightmares for the last few nights!" I say to them, "Well, now you know what I've been going through for the last three years!"
Rudolf Buitendach[Frida Farell] also wanted the film to serve as a cautionary tale for young women - to say, "Be careful when an attractive man asks you to go to a casting or a photo shoot, because it might be a demon in disguise."
Rudolf Buitendach