Austin Film Festival 2025: American Baby Interview: Ellen Rodnianski & Abigail Pniowsky on Teen Pregnancy, Texas, and Emotional Depth

Director Ellen Rodnianski and star Abigail Pniowsky sit down to discuss their powerful new film, American Baby, which tackles the complex subject of teen pregnancy in a small, conservative Texas town. Rodnianski reveals how the current post-Roe v. Wade climate inspired her directorial debut, while Pniowsky shares her approach to playing the emotionally challenging character, Ollie.

TEM (The Extra Mile) : American Baby is your directorial debut. Like, what actually inspired you to tell this particular story of teen pregnancy in, like, such a small town, Texas?

Ellen: Well, I was obviously inspired by the current climate. I started writing it when Roe was overturned. And to be honest, I had made a short film in Russia, which is where I grew up. I’m not  Russian originally, but I grew up there, about a pregnant teenager. And I just, I clearly gravitate to the subject of, you know, young women finding themselves in this situation, and it felt particularly timely. And that was, like, the initial idea was born out of that. And then I can tell you why Texas. I mean, I wanted to set it in a place with conservative laws on the question of abortion. And there’s, there are options in this regard, in terms of states. And I just really love the particular culture present in Texas. And, you know, movies are made out of, like, the specifics, the, you know, what people wear, what they listen to. And I just really love the specific atmosphere of Texas. So that.

TEM: How did, how did you get involved, Abigail? Like how did the collaboration come about?

Abigail: At nationals for my dance team. And I was in the middle of classes, and my mom pulled me out. And she was like, you need to read the script, like, this director wants to meet with you. So it was a little bit of a spur of the moment thing. And before I knew it, I booked the job. And yeah, it was really, really great. It was kind of crazy. Like everything was happening super, super fast. But I was so grateful that I got to be a part of it. And I love Ollie. And I think that I did her justice. 

TEM: Was there anything, though, in particular about Ollie, that drew you to that particular character? Like, did anything about maybe Ollie’s experience that resonated with you personally?

 Abigail: Yeah, um, I think that I love the fact that she was kind of this, like, I mean, I’ve talked about  it in past interviews for like other projects. I really like the burnt marshmallow type. That’s  like what I call them, like, kind of hard outer shell, but soft and sensitive on the inside. And especially being 15, that really resonated with me because, you know, a lot of emotions as like a younger teenager. And I really, yeah, I loved her fight and the difference between present Ollie and past Ollie that we see in the movie. And that was really special to me.  

TEM: So I want to go back to because, you know, you had a very amazing team, especially like a team of producers that helped produce Stranger Things, A24’s Civil War. What was it like working with them? And how did they help kind of elevate your whole vision?  

Ellen: So the producers are Lucas Ford and Annika Dawson, both of whom went to the same MFA program as I did. So we met in school, and I shared the script with them. And, you know, we were all at the time a few years out of our MFA program. And we all had various kinds of experience that I think lend themselves well in like, you know, a puzzle. We each were a puzzle piece of like our strengths.  And then, yeah, we had some really impressive EP help in terms of access entertainment and Danny Cohen, which is who you mentioned with the A24 Civil War movie. And it was, yeah, it was great to be supported by them, undoubtedly.

TEM: Is there like a particular moment of the film,  like without giving too much away that you guys are both kind of especially proud of?

Abigail: Um, there’s one very, very emotional scene that I don’t want to give a lot away. But  it, I feel like it’s a little bit like it shows kind of the inner workings of Ollie’s mind. And it was also kind of labor intensive. And I remember going home and I like threw up because I was so like, into it. But I don’t want to specifically say what it is.

Ellen: All I can add is that Abby is incredible.And the things she delivered. I like don’t think most adults could do that. Like very genuinely. She really went above and beyond emotionally. And I’m really in awe. 

TEM: Is there anything that you feel that you could take? Like, what’s one thing that you can take away from Ollie that you’ve learned by playing this role?

Abigail: I think that the worst thing you can do is not receive help from other people, I think. And I mean, obviously, Ollie, there was things  out of her control. But she was going through a lot. And she, it was hard for her to kind of reach out to people and open up to people due to other circumstances. But I feel like I kind of,  I learned a lot about myself playing Ollie in the fact that like,  emotions are something you can’t just like brush off. And it’s really important to like,  understand how you are feeling. Yeah.

TEM: What is like the biggest takeaway that  you hope, not even just the teenage girls, but just people in general, who see this film?

Ellen: Me coming into the story? The big takeaway is I  think we should all have conversations. Because it’s really easy to demonize someone you disagree  with, just on the basis of disagreeing with them. And I think it’s that we have so much more in  common than we actually, like than we have different, that makes grammatical sense. And I think just the way society is evolving right now, I think conversations are less and less valued. And I would just like to bring us back to a place of civility and, you know, empathy.

TEM: Is there anything else you’d like to add to that, Abigail?

Abigail: No, honestly, I think that you really summed it up.

TEM:What does the extra mile mean to you, whether that be in your career or your personal life? Like, how do you interpret that meaning?

Ellen: Write the script you don’t, you’re too tired of thinking about.

Abigail: Do it tired. Do it scared.

American Baby was an official selection of the 2025 Austin Film Festival (AFF), premiering on October 24th. While an official public release date has not yet been announced, you can follow the film for updates.