Thursday, January 23, 2025

Meet the Actors of Luz Cabrales' New Horror Flick "Shadows of the Past" - Ava Wallace, Olivianna Vanesko, Sammie Gashi and Tierney Joyce

Shadows of the Past premiered to a sold-out event on October 1, 2024 at the Ritz Theatre in Scranton, PA. Scranton, Pennsylvania. The plot - Four teens target a wealthy mansion owned by a lonely host. In exchange for safety and the freedom to take anything within the mansion, the host compels them to listen to haunting stories of the past.

Shadows of the Past, A Horror Film Anthology was directed & edited by Luz Cabrales. Written by Julian Santos, it's based on the short stories of local author A.C. Bernardi. It will be distributed in 2025, check the website for info: Scrantonfilms.com. View trailer here: https://youtu.be/QM75MhPef_U

Luz is a Mexican American talented filmmaker and creative professional in the Scranton area, she's passionate about nurturing talent regardless of experience level and helping them develop their professional skills. 

As the founder of Scranton Films, she has hands-on experience in managing and executing various film projects that employ local talent in the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre & Lehigh Valley area. She has worked on several documentaries, and short and feature films for her team and peers. There are a total of 50 actors and extras from the Local Scranton area. 

SuzeeBehindtheScenes interviewed the three main characters, all up and coming young women.



Ava Wallace

How Did you get the part?

Ava: I reached out to Scranton Films multiple times about interest in acting in one of their films. When Shadows of the Past project went up they sent me audition material and I was thrilled! At first my character was supposed to die in the first scene, but they decided to keep Veronica going till the end and make her a main character.  

What did you like about filming in PA?

Ava Wallace: I loved filming in PA since it was so close to home. It also allowed me to visit some pretty cool places that we filmed, that are right near me. 

I would say there was absolutely a camaraderie on set. The amount of funny pictures and videos I could show you of all the actors and crew between takes is an insane number. We became very close during our short time working together. Luz Cabrales, our director truly provided the best professional and fun environment. It was my first film, and her and her team made the experience perfect. 

Top three movies - overall and horror?

Ava Wallace: Hocus Pocus, The Dark Knight, The Greatest Showman 

Top three horror movies. SAW, It, Bird Box 


Olivianna Vanesko

As this is your first role, what did you find most interesting, fun or challenging working on a feature film?

Olivianna Vanesko: The most interesting thing about working on a feature film was the amount of creativity, perspectives, and collaborative ideas that I helped bring to life. 

What did you learn doing this role? 

Olivianna’s Vanesko: This was my first time ever acting, and I was taught through my love for movies, and being a singer and dancer when I was younger really helped trigger the emotional process in telling another’s’ story. This role taught me that there is always more to learn from my character than can help me grow in my craft and help them grow as a character.

What did you like about filming in PA?

Olivianna Vanesko: I liked that this film was using so many hidden gems as set locations, showing and utilizing the history of our town. The crew was so fun and friendly. Much of the crew I already know from previous projects so the energy was great.

What are some of your favorite movies?

Olivianna Vanesko: Little Women, The Sound of Music and 10 Things I Hate About You. But I’m really really into a lot of action and gangster trilogy’s as well. 

Top three horror movies?

A Quiet Place
The Zodiac Killer
Truth or Dare 


Sammie Gashi

Are you a fan of horror? How did you get yourself ready for the part? Did you bring it home with you?

Sammie Gashi:  I am obsessed with horror. Usually in my free time, I watch a lot of horror films because it’s not only entertaining, but it also gives me inspiration because I hope to work on more horror films in the future. Eleanor the Ghost was this banshee/demon-like girl who was also a ballerina, so Luz actually gave me some inspiration of what kind of characteristics to think about when portraying her.

For instance, the girl from The Ring Samara because she was known to be a vengeful spirit, which is similar to what Eleanor was like because she was this demonic spirit who sought to harm others. 

Luz also gave me the idea of The Black Swan because Eleanor was a ballerina in her life, but was also unstable and had all these sorts of personal issues. And because I wanted to make this character unsettling and something that would terrify people, I also used  Bill Skarsgard’s version of Pennywise the Dancing Clown from IT because he had sort of this animalistic behavior to his character. 

So putting all of these things together, I feel that is what gave me inspiration to bring Eleanor to life. 

Did you bring it home with you?

Sammie Gashi: Quite honestly, there were times I had scared myself on set. Although I always had a blast being creepy and going ballistic all the time, I gave myself nightmares of Eleanor always coming after me. I would even sometimes be in a room by myself and would have to look behind me to make sure no one was there.

What did you like most about doing this film in PA? 

Sammie Gashi: One thing that I appreciated most about doing this film was that it was in my hometown. It feels so special to me because I got to be a part of a film locally. It was nice that the filming locations were only 15-25 minutes from my house, and I feel that being a part of a film in my hometown is a wonderful opportunity to get my foot in the door of the film industry. 

On set of the film, there was definitely a strong camaraderie among the cast and crew. I feel that because there was a medium group of us, we were all able to bond instantly. Although for some people, they have known each other prior to the film so they already had that strong connection between each other. However, for newer people like myself, I feel that everyone was still able to connect with each other easily because we all shared the same interests and such.

What kind of roles would you like in the future?

Sammie Gashi: Although I’d love to portray creepy roles in the future, I always found myself interested in portraying other roles in sci-fi, action, or drama movies. I would even be excited if I got to do a comedic film. 

What are your top three non-horror and horror movies?

Non-Horror:
1) Spider-Man: No Way Home
2) Tick Tick Boom
3) The Goonies
Horror:
1) IT (2017)
2) Hell House LLC
3) Halloween



Tierney Joyce

What kind of acting training and experience do you have? 

Tierney Joyce: I have been acting my whole life. I usually am in more theater productions but I’ve loved working on film as well. I’ve worked with Luz for many years now and when she was casting this film she reached out to me to see if I would like to play Elle! 

This kind of character is someone I don’t usually portray so it was interesting trying to dig into why my character is the way she is. 

Did you like filming in PA?

Tierney Joyce: I loved meeting other people from my area who love what I love! I loved seeing new parts of where I live. Overall it really was an educational and exciting experience!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: SCRANTONFILMS.COM