Director Gabby Valdivieso arrived in Pittsburgh by way of Cleveland, Ohio, and Burlington, Vermont. While your Steelers pride might have raised your suspicions about Valdivieso because of where she grew up, fear not. She isn’t much of a sports fan and feels no need to pick football sides, but upon moving to Pittsburgh, they dove into everything the city has to offer. Her short film, Evan’s Hill, which is playing as part of the 2026 Three Rivers Film Festival, is an ode to the place she now calls home.
“I love the DIY scene in Pittsburgh. Everyone's humble, they're hard workers. People are getting down and dirty. They're making films and creative projects for no budget at all. Going after it, doing anything that comes up, or anything they can dream up here.”
Courtesy of Gabby Valdivieso
“One of the coolest things about Pittsburgh is how many neighborhoods there are and how different they all are, even if they're right next to each other. That's been one of my favorite things. Those little pockets of activity that are unique to certain areas.”
Valdivieso moved to Pittsburgh after living in Burlington, Vermont, for six years. She and her partner wanted a big, but not too big, city. There was always Cleveland, where Valdivieso grew up, but they wanted something new, not the place where they spent their childhood. After arriving, Valdivieso applied for and was accepted into the Warhol Academy Fellowship. It was there that they met the person who would become the subject of Evan’s Hill.
“Evan Fuccio’s awesome. We were paired together early on, one of our first days where we were just sent out with cameras to shoot whatever we wanted for little, tiny, one-minute films. That's when I first got to really hang out with him and talk to him. We clicked instantly. We’re both naturally quiet people, so we're on the same wavelength, the same vibe.”
Later, Fuccio and Valdivieso would be paired up again for their mini-documentary assignment. They were tasked with making a roughly three-minute documentary about their partner. Valdivieso wanted to make something that showcased Fuccio’s love for analog cameras and his neighborhood, Polish Hill. Thus, Evan’s Hill was born.
Valdivieso went along with Fuccio during one golden-hour walk through Polish Hill, watching the way he studiously observed the small details of his neighborhood. Chipped paint here, ironwork fence there, the sort of things we take for granted. These little attributes are thrilling for Fuccio, and his glee is evident as he tells Valdivieso, who’s behind the camera, about the framing he was able to capture.
Fuccio is a self-described introvert, so Valdivieso wanted to make sure he felt as at home as possible in front of the camera. Evan’s Hill is split between footage of their photo walk through Polish Hill and a sit-down interview conducted in Fuccio’s office, where he develops his own film. They shot the walk first, then the interview, a plan devised by Valdivieso to ease Fuccio into his role as documentary subject.
“I tried to figure out a way to get him in an environment where he was really comfortable. An environment where his personality could shine through. I suggested that I just follow him around on one of his photo walks because I knew he went on those all the time. It was a great way to break up the action in the film. A lot of movement, a lot of really interesting shots in that neighborhood. Naturally, he’s focused on his camera and focused on what he's doing, comfortable because he does it all the time, which allows him to let his guard down.”
Courtesy of Evan’s Hill
“He's not really even looking at me with the camera. That felt like a great way to get him to shine and show his passion for photography. His silly side came out on the walk. Then, after the walk, we did that sit-down portion.”
The interview portion lasted about an hour, which Valdivieso then cut down to the (roughly) three-minute mark. While some might be intimidated by these constraints, Valdivieso finds they enjoy having to find creative answers to the restrictions that have been posed. The same could be said for Fuccio working on film. Unlike digital, there are only so many attempts one person can have to get the shot or the scene. Valdivieso also notes that the almost-tangible nature of the film grain is warm and irreplicable.
“Every time I've watched something on film, the pops, crackles, lines, and light leaks…that's just something that has to come from film. You can tell when it's recreated or if they're trying to digitally manufacture that texture. The original stuff I feel is so different.”
In October, Valdivieso had their other film, Pittsburgh Is Freezing, play at the Mtn Craft and ReelQ Film Festivals. The short documentary’s title is a play on the famous documentary, Paris Is Burning, about the ballroom scene in New York City. When asked if Valdivieso saw themself as a documentarian, they explained that they’re interested in some sort of blend of documentarian and narrative filmmaker Valdivieso’s foray into documentary work was something she “fell” into, but it’s clear this is where she wants to be.
“I'm not too much of a writer, or at least I haven't been in a long time. I find it easy to find a subject, a person I'm really interested in, and shoot the documentary from there. Come up with a story along the way. I like that kind of storytelling ability where I don't need a script necessarily, or a direction even yet, until it sort of comes to me along the way.”
Courtesy of Gabby Valdivieso
It feels like an apt time to bring up Lance Oppenheim’s documentary and narrative work that has captured the zeitgeist over the course of the last two months. While Valdivieso hasn’t seen You Can See Everything (yet!), they are intrigued by the way the cultural conversation about documentaries is changing. There are still going to be information-heavy documentaries, but Valdivieso also sees a future where genre expectations grow and expand to a broader definition.
“When you break out of that tradition of documentary, you can really find some extraordinary things that blur the line, lean into narrative, lean into experimental footage. We watched Velvet Goldmine in the Warhol fellowship and that was inspiring because it's such a creatively done documentary.”
“I’m more excited by the blurred line. There can still be hardcore journalism, but making the content a little unsure is interesting to me.”
Evan’s Hill isn’t the only time you’ll be able to catch Valdivieso’s name in the credits of a Three Rivers Film Festival selection. She was an assistant camera operator on Second Skin, the documentary by Elyse Bell. Valdivieso points to the experience as a nice opportunity to be part of a larger crew again. Working so closely with Bell, Valdivieso was also able to see another director’s approach to pre-production, something they plan to carry over to their next project.
To screen a distinctly Pittsburgh story for a Pittsburgh audience as a Clevelander might intimidate some, but Valdivieso is more excited than anything else. They’ve only been living in the city for a year, but feel connected to what Pittsburgh has to offer.
“I feel very proud that I’ve highlighted a really beautiful part of the city and a neighborhood that I think is super interesting, super photogenic, obviously historic, and a place I've fallen in love with, just by going through it with Evan.”
“Pittsburgh has welcomed me with open arms since moving here. I could not have asked for a better experience to move to a new place. To have been here just for a year, and to have films in local festivals, film connections all around town, and a really great group of people who are rooting for me is incredible. It’s nice to kind of give back to the city in this way. Evan’s Hill and Pittsburgh Is Freezing showcase and celebrate Pittsburgh, and demonstrate my love of the city.”
Follow me on BlueSky, Instagram, Letterboxd, TikTok, YouTube, & Facebook. Check out Movies with My Dad, a podcast recorded on the car ride home from the movies.
Support your local film critic!
~
Support your local film critic! ~
Beyond the Cinerama Dome is run by one perpetually tired film critic
and her anxious emotional support chihuahua named Frankie.
Your kind donation means Frankie doesn’t need to get a job…yet.