'Another Love Story' Emerges From Deep Tragedy; Isadora Ortega
Another Love Story is a deeply personal project for Isadora Ortega. The film was inspired by the tragic loss of her childhood friend to domestic violence, and it aims to not only raise awareness but to drive change in the legal framework surrounding domestic abuse prevention. For her moving portrayal in this film, Isadora was honored with the Best Actress award at the New York International Film Awards. She is an alumna of the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and Susan Batson Studios and has starred in off-Broadway productions, web series, and hit TV shows like Laff Mob on TRU TV. She has also made her mark as an executive producer, with a strong presence in social media and the publishing world, recently releasing her graphic novel The Curse of the Flower. In this one-on-one interview with US LIFESTYLE she tells us more about her journey and “Another Love Story" . LETS READ… trigger warning.
US LIFESTYLE: Can you tell us about your life growing up and how it has impacted your creative process?
Isadora Ortega: I'm Dominican and Venezuelan I was raised in a very Latin household. In my family watched a lot of soap opera and that's where my love for acting began. Latin soap operas are different from American soap opera. I was able to see the same actors, play multiple roles and different characters every 6 to 9 months and I thought that was so interesting how they went from being the good guy to the villain and to me that was extremely fascinating their ability to embody a character.
US LIFESTYLE: Take us through your journey with Another Love Story.What drove you to this project?
Isadora Ortega: Another love story emerged from a deeply personal tragedy. A very dear friend of mine was killed by her partner, who then took his own life. We were all left in shock and grief. As I began researching the issue, I realized how widespread domestic abuse is in our society—it’s a major social issue that often goes unnoticed. The journey was painful because every time we revise the script, we did table-read we shot a scene It was like plain with a wound that wasn’t fully healed. But it was his door that needed to be told.
TRAILOR - ANOTHER LOVE STORY -Trigger Warning.
US LIFESTYLE: What was the significance of the graphic scenes in the film? Do you feel this could turn people off?
Isadora Ortega: Unfortunately these scenes are the reality of many people they are victims of domestic abuse. While I was shooting the film members from my crew came and spoke to me and said oh that happened to me, and this other thing happened to me and someone came to me and said that rape scene happened to me, it’s not my job to water down reality. My job is to tell the story and bring awareness to the issue. Another Love Story is a very raw film. It reveals the signs of isolation and how a person can change, becoming a shadow of who they once were. What I hope people take from this is the ability to recognize those signs. Pay attention to your friends and family—hopefully, it won’t be too late to help them.
US LIFESTYLE: Was it difficult to tell the story from a production and story-telling perspective?
Isadora Ortega: Producing and acting is always very challenging. I created Another Love Story,
I outlined Another Love Story, and I co-wrote on Another Love Story. This story was very close to my heart. So in reality my hats between a producer and actress they were very blurred an extremely interchangeable.
Isadora Ortega - Photo by @anastasiya_s_photo Style by @ilaria_de_plano Hairstylist by @arend.jackson Makeup by @christinetirado_mua
US LIFESTYLE: How do you see the story help make change happen?
Isadora Ortega: As I mentioned before just from the reaction of some of my crewmembers and the audience that came to the Premier I realize that the story was bigger than just me. It was just bigger than then telling this painful story they happened to my loved ones. It was an opportunity to let other people and victims know that do not wait for the last minute to leave to ask for help and they are not alone.
US LIFESTYLE: Can you share with us, in what ways you pulled from your personal life, for this film?
Isadora Ortega: As an actress, I can pull from a lot of various places. I was able to do a lot of research on different cases. I was able to get more in the mindset of a domestic abuse victim. I was able to understand why they sometimes stay in those type of relationships for that long. I actually have a family member that dealt with domestic abuse and I didn't even know and she actually came and spoke to me about it while I was in pre production and she told me her story and she told me why she kept the hidden. And I apologize for not knowing and she was like don't apologize. I was hiding it, so there's no way that you would have known that I was going through that.
US LIFESTYLE: What challenges were you met with while making the film? and what went perfectly well?
Isadora Ortega: Another love story was filmed during the high of COVID so we had to oblige by all this COVID rules to make sure that our cast crew was safe. Which is extremely expensive to do so an independent filmmaker, something that we always need period. Also it was very challenging finding an actor that was willing to play the role of mark. We were able to find Kenneth close to shooting the film and then after we found him we had to reschedule the film and I was honestly extremely concerned and scared that we were going to lose him because of the date changes but as you know everything worked out for the best and Kenneth did an amazing job.
US LIFESTYLE: Is there organizations that you are working with that support your work in this film? What DV organizations do you personally support or would like our readers to learn about?
Isadora Ortega: After we were done shooting the film I was able to get in contact with Jonathan Daniel Kraut He’s also the author of ending the abuse, a handbook for identifying defending and detaching from domestic abuse. After speaking with Jonathan I began examining the laws and government efforts to protect victims and support their recovery. What I found was alarming—the laws are outdated and inadequate. It’s disturbing to see how little has changed, and I believe we need to do more to address this issue. Additionally, domestic abuse is closely tied to mental health, making it crucial that we become more aware of our mental well-being. When you truly love someone, you don’t harm them.
US LIFESTYLE: How do you see your work impact the lives of Americans today or in the future?
Isadora Ortega: I love creating from a place grounded in reality, drawing from facts, history, and deeply rooted subjects. I have several other projects in the works that focus on society, history, science, and human morality. So, you can expect to see more of that—more films that reflect my culture and the people I grew up with. History and social issues are a big foundation of my writing process we have so much history that is still on untold and we have so many social issues they still need to be addressed.
Isadora Ortega - Photo by @anastasiya_s_photo Style by @ilaria_de_plano Hairstylist by @arend.jackson Makeup by @christinetirado_mua
