londonbeautifullife
- Jun 23, 2020
- 6 min read

By Light of Desert Night - A @londonbeautifullife interview with Lara Pictet

Updated: Jun 30, 2020

With the release of By Light of Desert Night, @londonbeautifullife was extremely excited to interview one of the lead cast, Lara Pictet. We got all the gossip about her role April, what it was like during filming in Nevada, the wrap party and how lockdown has treated Lara.

@lara_pictet

By Light of Desert Night, OUT NOW on Sky Store, Prime Video, Virgin, Chili Cinema and Pluto TV.

Friendship can be as blind as love! When a camping trip goes horribly wrong, this dark thriller ‘By Light Of Desert Night’ brings together three best friends who head on a road trip into the desert for one final adventure, but twisted secrets are revealed that will change their lives forever.

Swiss Sensation Lara Pictet plays the lead star ‘April’ in this raw and destructive indie film about a school girl who re-unites with her two besties; Suzy (played by Meghan Carrasquillo) and Beth (played by Alexandra Bokova) and embark on a trip to Raven Rock, ahead of April’s small town ‘wedding of the year’ to high school sweetheart Richie (played by Max Grey Wilbur).

Shocking events unfold that expose their seemingly solid friendship as a warped web of jealousy, deceit and betrayal. Does Raven Rock hide a hidden evil within the desert or does the harsh reality behind the girls’ friendship set them on a path of destruction?

By Light Of Desert Night is the debut feature from writer/director David Stuart Snell and produced by Ashley Pugh (Life After Flash) & John D. Rakoff (A Street Cat Named Bob). Filmed in the valley of fire in Nevada desert, the film is designed to create a connection with the viewer and characters which deliberately eschews trickery where you will experience every shock and twist alongside them. This mysterious yet cunning film will have you watching your back for weeks.

Trailer for By Light Of Desert Night

Check the interview transcript with Lara Pictet below.

Meghan Carrasquillo (@themeghancarr), Lara Pictet (@lara_pictet) and Alexandra Bokova (@alexandrabokova_).

@londonbeautifullife - "So in short can you tell me what By Light of Desert Night is about?"

Lara Pictet - "The film is about three childhood best friends, who are about to embark there last trip before they set their on ways, set their own path to adult life and it also happens to be April's bachelorette party who is the role I play. The tension is already there because April is the first in her group of friends to get married to her long-time boyfriend. A lot of things happen, they happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. There is a bunch of secrets that are revealed and a lot of twists and turns. They have to be stronger together to be able to get out over to the next line".

Lara Pictet (@lara_pictet) as April.

@londonbeautifullife - "How did you prepare to play your character April?"

Lara Pictet - "I realised there was a lot of qualities that April and I had, so what I did was that I wrote an autobiography, I went to go see the similarities and qualities I had with April and then I went back to see those feelings we both had and related it back to my life which was great. I then watched a few movies to help me understand a little more with certain lines or moments in the film such as Hard Candy".

@londobeautifullife - "What are your top 3 moments on working on By Light of Desert Night?"

Lara Pictet - "There's so many, this is a hard question... Definitely the beginning part when the three girls are in the car together. We had worked really hard together to really bond and have that feeling that we had been best friends since childhood. So we worked a lot on our friendships, like finding little things that poke us as friends. In the car while we were filming, we had so much banter all three of us together when the camera was not rolling. We were blasting music loud, singing out loud at the top of our voices. It was a really, really wonderful memory".

Lara Pictet - "The second memory we were filming a really tough scene and without giving the story away too much we went back to the trailer for lunch, the crew had already set up for the next scene. I am in the trailer with my co-star Meghan Carrasquillo who plays Suzy, I go out from the trailer and suddenly see this massive puddle of what looks like blood and I look to see what looks like a 100 feet trail of blood. We are in the middle of nowhere and I am like 'what!'. So I go follow the trail of blood, for it to stop and vanish out of nowhere. So I ask the caterers if they threw anything in the bin...but it turns out it was fake blood for one of the scenes" (Without giving anymore information away, you have to watch the film to find out).

Alexandra Bokova (@alexandrabokova_), Meghan Carrasquillo (@themeghancarr) and Lara Pictet (@lara_pictet).

Lara Pictet - "My third favourite moment as weird as it might sound we were in a hole in the sand for about five hours with the sun blasting, but I can't say anymore as it will spoil the film so you have to watch it to see".

@londonbeautifullife - "The top two favourites were perfect. So what was it like filming in Nevada?"

Lara Pictet - "It was gorgeous. We were so lucky to film there. It took us one hour to drive through the canyon to arrive on our set. We kept on changing locations everyday, but what was beautiful was that because our call time was so early we would get there as the sun was rising. It was beautiful and everybody in Nevada was so nice and so helpful. It was a family environment. I was so grateful to experience that".

Film still in Nevada from By Light of Desert Night.

@londonbeautifullife - "Was the wrap party for By Light of Desert Night in Nevada?"

Lara Pictet - "We actually went to Vegas! Dave and the producers got the backside of a bar and it had a really cute little patio and we had way to many margarita's and the night became quite blurry very fast".

@londonbeautifullife - "What was it like working with Dave Snell?" (Director)

Lara Pictet - "He is such a sweet man, he is extremely soft. He made is adamant from the get go everybody needed to feel protected, felt safe and felt supportive in that kind of environment. He was really adamant about that every single minute to make sure everybody knew what was happening at all times. He would make sure we were all comfortable. He was also fun, even though we were on a time frame there was also room for improv so as long as the message stayed the same, if there was something that came up and felt natural and it stayed within the lines of the message of the situation, he was like sure go for it, if it was natural and looks right he would be like go for it. He was great".

David Stuart Snell (@davidstuartsnell) with the key cast, Meghan Carrasquillo (@themeghancarr), Lara Pictet (@lara_pictet) and Alexandra Bokova (@alexandrabokova_).

@londonbeautifullife - "I see you have produced before. What do you enjoy more producing or acting?"

Lara Pictet - "For me acting is my ride or die. It's my life. A dream since I was in my mum's womb. My father said if you want to be successful you need to know how every department works. I am fascinated how this industry works, writing one day, directing, producing. Seeing something come to life is breath-taking. As an actress we see the script and the story we bring to life to the world, but afterwards when it has wrapped it is done. But as a producer you are in the process of producing something from nothing and then you see it through after filming, from all the post production, for all the editing for the submissions for festivals. To see all that work whether it takes a year, 2 years, 3 years, 10 years is so rewarding".

Lara Pictet (@lara_pictet)

@londonbeautifullife - "Since COVID-19 the world has been hit with a world-wide lockdown. So since lockdown what new skill have you learnt?"

Lara Pictet - "I have been re-watching masterclasses online, I have been learning about screen writing. I have learnt a new language which is Italian and have learnt about plant based foods which I eat during the week".

@londonbeautifullife - "What is your favourite spot in London?"

Lara Pictet - "I love Bluebird in Chelsea or Hummingbird Bakery".

@londonbeautifullife - "Are you looking forward coming back to London after lockdown?"

Lara Pictet - "I love London , I can't wait to come back. I love Shoreditch, Camden, Soho, Notting Hill. I love London, there is so much to do".

By Light of Desert Night is now available to watch on Sky Store, Prime Video, Virgin, Chili Cinema and Pluto TV.