You may recognize Chiara Aurelia from her standout performances in Cruel Summer and Luckiest Girl Alive, but lately, she's been having a major New York moment. Chiara made her Broadway debut as Shelby Holcomb, the lead role in John Proctor Is the Villain, with critics applauding her knack for bringing complicated young women to life.
Now, she's taking on another layered role in Caity, a coming-of-age drama premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival. Set against the backdrop of a family-run haunted house in upstate New York, the film explores addiction, family loyalty, and the burdens we carry for the people we love. We caught up with Chiara after the film’s premiere to talk about bringing Caity's story to the screen, why audiences connect with imperfect characters, and the New York spots she's loving lately.
Caity is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival. How does premiering a film at a festival differ from releasing a project directly to audiences?
It's really exciting. I just feel like a lot is going on constantly when you're premiering at a film festival, which is like so fun and amazing, but also it's hard. It feels like you can't keep up with everything. There are so many different movies premiering, there are so many things you want to see, and so many panels. Being a part of Tribeca is just really exciting. It's such a fantastic film festival based here in New York, and it's their 25th anniversary. I'm very honored to be a part of it. [And with] the Knicks games, the city feels more alive than ever!
Caity explores family, addiction, and loyalty. What was it about this story that immediately drew you in?
The script was honestly amazing. When I got sent the project, I was a week away from, or a couple of days away, from finishing John Proctor on Broadway, and to be honest, I was exhausted. The idea of going into another job seemed almost unfathomable. I think I didn't expect to love it as much as I did, [but one night after a show] I got in bed expecting to read like 10 pages. [But] I started it, and literally couldn't stop until it was finished. There was so much that drew me to it. I also think just the complex dynamics of family and the very subtle nuance of what it feels like to be 16.
Addiction can be difficult to portray on screen with nuance and empathy. How did you approach those themes while preparing for the role?
I was definitely nervous in some ways. There’s nuance that is necessary to talk about these types of themes, so I had a lot of discussions with Lindsay Calleran, our amazing writer/director, when I signed on. This story is very personal to her and comes from experiences in her own life. I had a lot of conversations with her about just what it was like to grow up with the relationship with her dad that she had, and how that impacted her life, and just, honestly, doing as much research as I could into addiction and family.
From Cruel Summer to Luckiest Girl Alive to Caity, you've taken on roles that aren't always easy to define as "good" or "bad." Why do you think audiences connect with imperfect characters?
I think humans are imperfect. I think that we, we see ourselves in that. I'm drawn to characters that I feel are individual and complex, and maybe confusing at times, and are experiencing a lot of different things at once. I feel like if we actually looked back at all my interviews throughout the last 10 years, I'd probably say I love complex female characters 100 times, but it is true. I think that there were times in film and TV in which complex female characters were not portrayed as often. I'm just honored that there are so many wonderful women who have paved the path for these types of characters and these types of stories to be told.
Between Broadway and the film festival, you’ve spent more time in New York. Have you discovered any favorite spots, rituals, or routines?
So many. I love living in New York. I walk like an insane amount. Walking is my favorite thing. I love that you can just experience the city without having to try too hard or do too much. There are definitely restaurants and places in the city that I love and that are extra special. There's always something new happening, and there's always something new to try. I go and see a lot of plays, I watch a lot of movies, and try a lot of different restaurants. If I'm gonna wait in a really long line, it's gonna be at Kiki's, which obviously everybody already knows. And I'm a big workout girly. Hot 8 Yoga just moved to New York, which is a yoga studio from LA. I love a very heated yoga class, which is crazy. Although I like literally can't keep up with any of the women in there ever.
What are you excited about next?
I'm going to film a movie in LA called Little One that starts in a couple of weeks. It's really, really cool. It's a really interesting independent film from another first-time director who's brilliant and awesome. It's being produced by Zach Cregger and Roy Lee, who did Weapons. So, I'm very excited.
