LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: Andrea & Izzy Polnaszek Bring Female-led Cinema To Town
from backyard movie sets to feature films, the Polnaszeks discuss community and collaboration ahead of ‘Missing Cody’ and Chippewa Falls franchise projects
Izzy Polnaszek, born and raised in the Chippewa Valley, remembers doing just about every role on set as she joined her mom, Andrea Polnaszek, for the making of Catching Faith – from a little bit of acting to being around for behind-the-scenes support.
She recalls getting off the school bus and being shown casting reels to give her opinion on actors, writing cue cards and doing table reads where she and her siblings would read the scripts out loud.
The threads of these formative experiences have naturally intertwined to shape Izzy’s own cinematic milestone – her debut feature film Missing Cody.
“I grew up (with) the most wonderful, wholesome, female-driven (and) female-written content,” Izzy said. “I just grew up in my own special bubble of what it was (like) to be filmmaking and what that meant to be filmmaking in your backyard.”
Later, Izzy ventured to California and Arizona to continue her education in film and media. Despite working hard to establish herself in Los Angeles, Calif., she felt an innate desire to tell stories that represented her own communities – which she felt did not fit into the traditional Hollywood narratives.
“Media is so profound, I do think it reflects reality but it also refracts reality and it determines how we see the world,” Izzy said. “I want to make things that (show) little people they are important ... (things that) I could see myself, as a small child, and be like ‘that’s me’ … and she doesn’t have to go other places.”
Andrea’s own cinematic path was paved as a writer, as she wrote scripts alongside her sister. Today, has evolved and moved into multifaceted creative roles through her work in production and art design.
Since Catching Faith – a film set in Chippewa Falls – debuted in 2015, Andrea has both written and done art design for several films including, Catching Faith 2, Switched, The Greatest Inheritance, Wish For Christmas, among others.
Today, she too embarks on yet another feature-length film venture, a project designed to serve as a cornerstone of future work through an expansive film series based in Chippewa Falls.
The first movie of this series will highlight the city’s snow-dusted landscape and iconic locations like Irvine Park’s Christmas Village to Bridge Street businesses; the story centers on a family’s struggle to preserve their Christmas tree farm – a classic narrative of “festive chaos” which ultimately celebrates family togetherness and the magic of the season.
“Chippewa Falls does Christmas better than any place that I have ever lived – it just makes sense that (because) we are already a Christmas town, we should make a Christmas movie,” Andrea said.
“(Once) I said it out loud, I said we should just make a movie every year, for the next 10 years,” Andrea continued. “We are not just making a movie (franchise) in the Chippewa Valley, we are making it in Wisconsin.”
Izzy’s debut film, Missing Cody, is also set in the Chippewa Valley and follows main character Cody as she returns to her childhood home after her parents’ unexpected passing. As Cody reunites with her four estranged siblings, they discover the family house is far from paid off. To clear it, the five invite childhood friends to move in, splitting rent and creating a “post-grad frat house.”
Whether it be in Andrea’s burgeoning franchise or Izzy’s new cinematic pursuits, the mother-daughter duo remains committed to modeling authentic narratives in filmmaking and proving local creators can produce art without leaving their roots behind.
Plus, the recent revitalization of Wisconsin’s tax incentives for filmmakers offers a timely opportunity for their feature-length projects; it more easily allows the Polnaszeks to showcase the unique spirit of their home state in every frame they capture.
“I think being here and being in this environment shapes the way I even think about making movies,” Izzy said of the Chippewa Valley. “It’s not about being the next Spielberg, it’s just about enjoying community (and) films are community-based projects.”
With cast and crew processes still in development, Missing Cody is set to film later this fall in the Chippewa Valley; the Chippewa Falls Christmas movie will also film around a similar timeline with intentions to debut in 2027 around the holiday season.
Both have created crowdfunding campaigns for these film pursuits, to secure production capital and offer the chance for community partnerships and sponsors through local businesses in the community.
To learn more about Missing Cody by Izzy Polnaszek, visit the film's GoFundMe page online. Learn more about Izzy Polnaszek's Chippewa Falls movie franchise, online at chippewafallsmovie.com.
