We interviewed Kimberley Wells, an Australian artist who has been living in Canada for 7 years and whose lockdown short film is currently under the spotlight of a number of festivals.
Kimberley Wells is a multitalented artist. She defines herself as an actor, comedy writer, director, producer, musicmaker, improviser, and sketch comedian born and raised in Sydney, Australia. After traveling the world with some stints living in Dublin and Chicago, she made Toronto, Canada her home 7 years ago and became a Permanent Resident in 2019. A few months later, while under lockdown, Kimberley used her iPhone to create a short film called Lament, which was presented in official selection at the Toronto Online Film Festival, the Russian Short Shot Fest and the Social Distance Film Festival, to name but a few.
We were lucky to interview Kimberley about the process of creating this short piece in times of pandemic. Read on!
Hi Kimberley! Can you please introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Kimberley Wells, I’m an Australian ex-pat actor/writer/filmmaker, currently living in Toronto Canada.
“When you immigrate you can kinda reinvent yourself and experiment with how fearlessly you interact with the world.”
To what extent did leaving Australia and choosing Canada as a new home has enriched your artistic expression?
I always identified with that Joycean “Portrait of an Artist ” mindset, that one has to leave what they know and venture out to find and fully express one’s voice in an authentic way. It’s not that Australia is oppressive but certainly, for me, there was a feeling of self-consciousness and self-limitation. When you immigrate you can kinda reinvent yourself and experiment with how fearlessly you interact with the world. Plus Canada is a great place to live and I’ve made some wonderful friends and collaborators here.
How did the lockdown lead you to make your short film Lament? What did you want to tell with this film?
Just prior to the lockdown restrictions being imposed in Canada, I went back and forth about whether the right place to be was in Australia with my family. There was so much uncertainty and fear and in these situations, there’s always those thoughts like what if something bad was to happen and I’m not there. After talking with my family, we decided it was best I stay where I am and they would let me know if they needed me to come home.
This film was for me, a way to show the struggle of being away from your family during a worldwide crisis and a sense of being left in the dark because of that distance. The way the film is constructed is to be a meditation on a decision and all that goes along with that. The decision to stay and deal with anxiety, boredom, isolation, and then the decision to leave when it counts. I want my family to know that although I live on the other side of the world and that hurts them, that when it’s a matter of life or death, I’d be there.
What have you learnt about yourself as a filmmaker while making this film alone?
That it is possible! And sometimes you can have these thoughts and feelings for a long while and it’s just waiting for the right medium to express them.
Which piece of advice can you give to young, passionate, aspiring filmmakers on DIY filmmaking?
The filmmaker Robert Rodriguez has been a great personal influence for me, that I think everyone needs his wisdom in their life. If you have a chance to listen to him talk about filmmaking, you can’t help but feel inspired to go out and just make a film. He has a great attitude to the process and creativity in general. The second thing – just do it! You got nothing to lose and a cool film to gain.
Can you mention the festival selections your film has received? What have they brought to you?
Lament started its festival run in August and has been selected by 10 festivals so far but one I can’t announce yet. The festivals are AltFF Alternative Film Festival (Semi-Finalist), Kutaisi International Short Film Festival, Short Shot Fest, iSmartFilms Festival, First-Time Filmmaker Sessions, The Lift-Off Sessions, Toronto Online Film Festival, Social Distance Film Festival (Finalist – Runner Up), SF3 – SmartFone Flick Fest (Finalist). It’s my first time doing this, so it’s exciting when a festival wants to feature my film and it’s cool to know people appreciate it!
Can you tell us about The Boys Club which you founded?
Yeah so I knew a lot of talented actresses and there was a lot of cross-pollination of us being in the same productions. I found we had similar ambitions and similar struggles so why not team up and help each other. It started as a support group where we shared ideas, advice, frustrations and then we decided to make content. We did the 48 film project last year and then this year during lockdown we decided to make a zoom web series called Can You Hear Me. It spies into the therapy sessions of several Toronto women as they wrestle with their hopes and fears. It’s kinda cool because we meet each week on video messenger and collaborate together but create in isolation. So you have ten separate voices telling one unified story. You can catch the first few episodes here.
What input do you want to have in the entertainment industry?
I think the Geena Davis Institute among many others are doing great work to highlight the lack of representation and are coming up with ways to increase diversity on and behind the camera and I want to be a part of that.
I’ve also seen so many amazing films in the past few years directed by women like Lynn Ramsey, Lulu Wang, Grete Gerwig, Olivia Wilde, Lorene Scafaria, Ava DuVernay, Jennifer Kent, Chloe Zhao, Alma Har’el and that’s so inspiring. I hope to follow in their footsteps and make unique and challenging films.
Finally, what can we wish you for the coming months?
Well more festival selections for Lament and more eyeballs on Can You Hear Me. I also start shooting a new web series ‘Business Incorporated” in a couple of weeks and it’s gonna be the biggest project I’ve undertaken, so wish me luck!
Make sure to visit Kimberley’s website and connect with her on Instagram.
