The pitfalls of student filmmaking are numerous: how do you get funding? How do you get your work screened? Do you need to go to film school to even approach the world? At the end of the day, the main problem is simply a lack of initiative. Rather than going out and doing, most people seem content to just sit in and dream. For final-year English student Kate Haley, this is not the case. Haley has been a prolific filmmaker since the age of 16, with entries to three film festivals over the past few years. This year, one of her films is featured in the Silk Roads Film Festival and is to be screened in Trinity on March 11th.
Speaking on the film, Haley mentions her time in Prague living with a Trinity film student on Erasmus and the simple origins of the four-minute short which is “a poetic journey through the intricacies of a park bench”. Following a character who comes to the park in an effort to find some quiet time, Haley was inspired by the endless possibilities presented by the park benches that she passed every day while in Prague. She says that she finds value in storytellers who, rather than simply appealing to a wide, commercial audience, take a step in a more honest direction and explore what it means to be truly alone for a while. Citing Martin McDonagh as a major influence, Haley wants to explore the concept of modernity and examine a world “where it’s quite hard to be alone”. Themes like this seem to be a hot topic at the minute, and in Haley’s opinion, Irish writers explore them better than anyone. With literature that is rampant with typical small-town tropes and close-knit communities, Irish writers (like Haley) are forced to tackle imposing themes on small landscapes, from a town or a village to a park bench – a minuscule setting that forces you to use characters to their full extent.
While Haley has been making films from a young age, she has done it almost entirely independently. With a lack of film programs or outreach in her native wild Donegal, it was up to her to create and finance her own work. Haley said that “it’s a very personal thing if you don’t have support or a club” and mentioned how to her, filmmaking was always a group of friends messing around with a camera that she got for her birthday, purely for the genuine love of cinema. From this notion that film was something more than just a passing interest, she found herself at the Fresh film festival, and the rest is history.
Of course, there is a certain level of intimidation to be found in the fact that she has never actually studied film. “Unless you’re in film school in a competitive environment”, you can’t really prepare for the experience of being in a festival amongst hundreds of others with varying levels of experience, a sensation that made Haley sometimes feel like something of an outsider. Discussing the level of visibility for student filmmakers in the community, Haley mentioned that she feels somewhat cut off from others in the industry, mainly because of a lack of awareness beyond film schools and college-specific clubs.
Naturally, the conversation moved onto the topic of the current state of Hollywood and the recent revelations of abuse in the industry. While many were shocked at the accusations that came out, Haley found some optimism in the stories, hoping that women in film will finally be given the opportunities that have been reserved almost exclusively for men. Haley stated: “I found it depressing, but I think it’s important that it’s happening now.” She hopes that in future, the industry will make more room for representation in an extremely male-dominated sphere. Haley drew attention to the fact that despite the number of female directors working today, they still do not get as much recognition as their male counterparts. In the run-up to the 90th Academy Awards ceremony this month, it is important to note that after almost a century, Kathryn Bigelow remains the only woman to win an Oscar for Best Director. In the wake of the recent revelations, Haley remains optimistic that something good must come of it.
When asked what advice she would give to other aspiring filmmakers, Haley offered the most practical answer there is: make films. According to her, “it’s the only way you can properly learn”. While internships and the like are useful for building a network, the real experience lies in the actual doing of the thing. While it may seem like a daunting task to break into the film world, she speaks with a reassurance that could put anyone at ease. At the end of the day, to people like Haley, filmmaking has never really been a job – it is a place for young artists to express themselves and a passion that rewards creativity and dedication. And isn’t that exactly what it should be?
