Vagabonding Full Speed Ahead & Starting a New Organization!

A drawing I made inspired by my friend Ben Hinton
who biked all the way from NC to San Diego.

"What I find is that you can do almost anything or go almost anywhere, if you're not in a hurry." 

-Paul Theroux

Right Now

My Joshua Tree goat friend. Oh, and my Caleb-friend in the background.

The chicken creeped on me as I worked on my screenplay.

At this very moment I am sitting in a cute Airbnb rental place in the desert of Joshua Tree, CA. The goats like to eat my shorts and lick my kneecaps and the three chickens all have very distinct personalities. I've been here for the weekend with  one of the most talented, dedicated filmmakers I know- his name is Caleb. I met him in Seattle at NFFTY about a year and a half ago. All of his work is truly inspirational. We've spent the weekend like a writing/working retreat. I've been focused in on writing new drafts for my Massada Fashion Eyewear film. (I was hired by Massada to make them a short film. I'm shooting in October. Pretty excited.) In a few hours we will be heading to Los Angeles where I'll be staying till the end of the month.

A few weeks ago my grandmother passed away. My mind is drawing a blank on how to appropriately form sentences reflective of what I truly want to say... but simply put: since the news, I have restructured my priorities. I realized how important it is to express your gratitude and appreciation for those in your life. Embrace the moment and embrace the people you are with in the moment. Let them know how much you love them. Keep on letting them know. And love them fully. Now is the most important moment of your whole entire life.

Okay.... time jump: I paused on writing and next thing you know: I'm in L.A.! I'm at this cute coffee shop in Silverlake called Casbah. I'm drinking an iced chai and waiting on a chicken empanada. I'm so hungry.

Time passed again. I just ate TWO chicken empanadas... I think I overdid it. None-the-less:

Various Travels & Adventures Up Until This Current Moment

Snuggling with my friend's cat in Vancouver!

My first Canada Day!

So in my last blog post I was sitting in a coffee shop (ha) in Seattle. I had just arrived after my two week train trip with my wonderfully amazing best friend Abbey Sacks. (She truly is the bees knees and I reserve that word for only the jazziest of the cats). Since then, the traveling and adventuring and exploring has just sky rocketed. While in Seattle Abbey and I went to our first Pride parade. I had one of the most freeing moments ever: in front of probably at least a thousand people, Abbey and I took our shirts off and danced around in a massive water fountain alongside about 15 other shirtless/nude individuals. I don't want to get too personal here, but the past 2 months my sense of body image and self has positively blossomed.  I traveled to Vancouver to reunite with a cinematographer friend named Sean (and while at the border control passport check I freaked out and forgot his name, to which the security lady started drilling me and doubting my viability-- it was intense!) who I met at The George Lindsey Film Festival in Alabama. The film (Dead Hearts) he DPed actually won Best Film... and it's one of my favorite short films ever. Anyways, he had mentioned to a bunch of the filmmakers that if we ever needed a couch to crash on in Vancouver we had one. And so naturally I took him up on the offer. While in Canada I got to celebrate Canada Day! Woohoo!

Then I went back to Seattle. During this time around Abbey and I co-directed a film for the 48 Hour Film Project. We actually ended up acting in it as well! I'm very happy with what we created because the vibe and feeling we captured is the kind of vibe I want to continue to explore and capture in my work. I love off, is this real or is this fantasy?, creepy but enticing feelings.  Here's the film we made:

My new WWOOFing friends!

So then I left Seattle and had my first WWOOFing experience. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. So I volunteered for 5 days on a farm in Boring, OR. Yes, it is indeed pronounced 'boring.' But the farm was so much fun! And so exciting! I learned to prepare soil beds, to plant beets, to harvest carrots, to pasteurize milk, to feed pigs & ducks and much more! I made some awesome new friends and I finally had the chance to make caramelized carrots... they were delicious. While there I was provided with my own cabin & all meals. Super cool experience. I highly recommend looking into it for yourself.

An adorable exotic chicken that wandered on to the farm!

The caramelized carrot dish I finally made! I will surely be making this again!

Then I took a bus to Portland! Because of how amazing she is, Abbey took a train to Portland so that she could spend the weekend with me. We rented two different AirBnb places during our stay-- both were wonderful. Abbey and I had some unique experiences... too edgy for me to type here. Just ask me about it and maybe I'll tell you. Ha! I bought a new sketch book and have gotten back into drawing again. Thank goodness. I feel more free when I'm drawing. I also purchased a tiny book called  "Mindfulness on the Go." I would like to share with you a passage of this book that really resonated with me (pg. 97-98):

I drew the head, Abbey drew the body.
We had no clue we were drawing elements that would fit together!

"Many of us have a mind that measures self-worth in terms of productivity. If I did not produce anything today, if I did not write a book, give a speech, bake bread, earn money, sell something, buy something, get a good grade on a test, or find my soul mate, then my day was wasted and I am a failure. We give ourselves no credit for taking "being" time, for just being present. "Waiting" is thus a source of frustration. Think of the things I could be getting done!

And yet, if you asked the people that you care about what they would like most from you, their answer is likely to be some version of "your presence" or "your loving attention." Presence has no measurable product except positive feelings, feelings of support, intimacy, and happiness. When we stop being busy and productive and switch to just being still and aware, we ourselves will also feel support, intimacy, and happiness, even if no one else is around. These positive feelings are a "product" that is much desired but that cannot be bought. They are the natural result of presence. They are a birthright that we have forgotten we have."

I think the most important thing to me in life right now is to be fully present with each moment. I am focusing a lot of my time practicing this. It is becoming more and more natural, but I have a lot to learn.

My new Portland to SF road-mates.
I think she referred to us as the Babe-Wagon.

Also while in Portland I stayed 2 nights with my friend Kendra. She was one of my first friends when I went to Interlochen (the high school boarding school I went to) and she also starred in my film We're Okay. We had some wonderful beatboxing / singing improv sessions as well as nice conversations about life. We spent one day at a beautiful river and I got over a fear of mine: I swam down the river! On the final night with Kendra I found out that Abbey and my 48 Hour film Togetherness has made it to the awards screening! So out of 80+ teams we were going to receive an award! So although I was planning on going to LA for the rest of the month, I decided to buy a plane ticket to Seattle... but first things first:


I took a roadtrip to San Francisco! And when I say "roadtrip" -- well, let me elaborate: I posted on Craigslist that I was looking for this elusive thing called a "ride share." Did ride shares even exist? According to a couple Portland-people: yes, yes they did. So at 5pm while I was completely submerged in the river I received a text from a mysterious lady saying that "tonight she was leaving for San Francisco and she would be picking up another girl and a dog." I thought it through for about an hour or so... and then bam: less than 4 hours later I was on my way. The drive was an adventure in it of itself... oh yes. After almost 12 hours of overnight driving, we stopped by Mount Shasta Park where we all drank the "magical" water. I drank it and then google searched to make sure it was safe... it was.

One of my adorable cousins!

Anyways: it's now 10am and we're just reaching San Francisco.... I literally had no plans of where I was staying, so I contacted some friends... and then bam: my plans for my San Fransisco trip were made. The first night I stayed with Ruby, a talented film friend I met at NFFTY. Then the next night I stayed with Ben-- he is FANTASTIC! Such a loving soul. He biked all the way from NC to San Diego... what?! Then for one night I posed as an Airbnb ladies niece and she hid me in her garage. But that's another story.... And then for 2 nights I stayed with my cousins and their three adorable children. On the first day with them we went to a park and met up with some of their friends. For about 20 minutes I pushed THREE children on swings at once. I ran between them all as they shouted "I want to go higher!" - "No! Push me!" It was crazy, but amazing. We took a trip to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. I road some rides, ate some fried zucchini, and watched Dip & Dots spill everywhere. On my last night in San Fransico I stayed with another NFFTY filmmaker friend: her name is Rachel. She's fantastic and we did the "7D Experience" where we shot down zombies together and screamed until our voices were in pain. We soothed the pain with funnel cake fries. The next day I boarded the plane to Seattle.

Happy Team Favorite Flannel after receiving the awards
(minus our cinematographer Noah Martin)

So now it's time for the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project Awards! A dream scenario occurred, yes indeed. First we won Best Sound Design. We were both ecstatic, but of course we were both thinking: oh gosh, is that it? But then!: we tie for Best Ensemble Cast! Abbey and I were two of the three actors?! We are in disbelief! AND THEN..... wait for it..... We win Best Direction?!? Abbey and I freak out with happiness. I am flooded with love. It is 10 times more amazing to win an award with your best friend then on your own. Seriously.


So I had about a week more in Seattle after that night. While in town Abbey and I adventured...
and we started making this animation thing based around some of our nude drawings we both had been making the past few weeks. We shot some pretty cool drone footage as well. Anyways: on Friday (so 3 days ago) I flew out to Palm Springs-- Caleb picked me up-- we stayed in Joshua Tree-- now i'm here in a coffee shop in LA.

A screenshot from the drone footage-- Abbey and I floating in Seattle.

So this concludes a [not really] brief recap of the past two months. And now for some future plans...


Future Travel Plans 

So while I'm in LA I will be meeting up with a ton of amazing people who I've met in the past- most are film friends. I also have a couple meetings set up. Around September 1st I will be heading back to the Carolinas. Tomorrow it will be exactly 7 months since the first day of my internship at Morgan Spurlock's production company Warrior Poets in NYC. Since then I've only been home for 4 days. This is the longest I've been away from home! I can't wait to return... especially because our house is for sale... so I kinda want to say goodbye to my house. And right when I get home I will go into hardcore pre-production for my Massada film project. 

Speaking at the AAHSFF after receiving my
award last year. What a happy moment!

So I just got a freelance job to work as a camera operator on a shoot for the car company Tesla. I will be flown out to San Francisco for a 2 day shoot at the end of the October. Then after that I will be traveling to San Diego to visit my 2 brothers and sister in law. I haven't seen my brother Jeremy and his wife for probably 3 or 4 years now. I can't wait. I will also be going to the San Diego Film Festival where my film Hattie is being screened. Should be fun!

Then three days after I get back home I will be flying out to NYC October 9th to be a guest speaker at the All American High School Film Festival. Last year my film We're Okay won Best Overall Film. So many amazing things have happened because of that. I'm really excited to go, as a lot of filmmaker friends of mine will be in attendance. I love reuniting with film friends at film festivals- it's one of my favorite things. While in NYC I will also be conducting some interviews with inspiring filmmakers-- I'll elaborate on this in the next section...

When I get back to the Carolinas I will be going into production for the Massada film project. Then at the end of October I will be returning to Seattle for the Seattle Horror 48 Hour Film Project! Abbey and I had such a fun time with the 48 Hour that we decided we needed to reunite and do it again... but this time horror! Wooohoo!

And the most far out of my future plans.... I may head out to Europe in the winter to start taking polyphonic throat singing lessons.... but more on that later. (Yes, I am currently teaching myself to throat sing-- and yes, I love it!)


Starting a New Organization!
Big Little Filmmaker

Yes that is truly Obama and I, Kira Bursky.

So while reading the amazing book "The 4-Hour Work Week" (which I'm still reading and still in complete awe of) I had en epiphany of something I want to create. I realized there is no central hub for young filmmakers. Yes, there are tons of fantastic opportunities and film festivals geared towards young filmmakers, but there is no one place to find all of that-- there is no real central community. So with that in mind many of my passions came colliding together: blogging, filmmaking, meeting inspiring filmmakers, inspiring young filmmakers, and helping young filmmakers make the most of being a young filmmaker! I've gotta say, my experiences with being a young filmmaker have been nothing less than unbelievable and unexpected. Being a young filmmaker brought me to the White House where I met Obama and Neil Degrasse Tyson and was interviewed by Bill Nye the Science Guy. Being a young filmmaker gave me many FREE trips to all over the U.S.! Being a young filmmaker has connected me up to tons of unbelievable other young filmmakers. My dream is to SHARE this! I want other young filmmakers to get all of these incredible opportunities and experiences and connections. And there you have it: Big Little Filmmaker is born. More on this soon. Planning on launching the website in early October.


Film Festival & Various Updates

June 19th my films Hattie and We're Okay opened up the Up and Out Film Festival in Minneapolis, MN alongside my best friend Miles' film Borderwoods!

Hello From Malaysia has been accepted into the kids shorts program for the San Diego Asian Film Festival which runs November 5th to 14th.

Hello from Malaysia has also been accepted into the International Peace & Film Festival which will be taking place in Orlando, FL November 12th to 15th.

Abbey and I with our awards at the
Seattle 48 Hour Film Project Awards!

Demons in Disguise has been accepted to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival which takes place August 4th-9th in Walhalla, MI.

“It’s Just You,” the film I co-directed with Abbey Sacks, made it to the top 24 in the 24 Hour Film Racing and will be screened at the Gala Screening and Awards Ceremony in New York City on Saturday, August 29th at SVA Theater.

Warm Rush is an official selection at the Heart of the Pines Film Festival and will screen July 25-26th at the Civic Center in downtown Minden, Louisiana.

My film Hattie (which was the short I shot entirely on a cellphone) has made it as a top 3 finalist in the International 16 - 19 Short Film category at the Brighton Youth Film Festival. Hattie will be screened at the Award Ceremony on September 19th in Brighton, England. Girly was also accepted to this festival.

At the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project Awards, Togetherness, the film I co-directed with my best friend Abbey Sacks, won Best Direction, Best Ensemble Cast, and Best Sound Design!

In Conclusion... 

I'm hungry again and I think I'm gonna buy a pastry. And then I need to shift gears into writing another draft for my Massada Eyewear film. Full speed ahead!

Oh, and please remember: stay hydrated! (especially if you're in a desert getting lick-attacked by some spunky goats)

xoxo
~Kira

Cannes Film Festival, Train Trip, and Discovering Life Purpose

 “Run from what's comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious. I have tried prudent planning long enough. From now on I'll be mad.”
-Rumi

 

"And still, after all this time,

the Sun has never said to the Earth,

“You owe me."

Look what happens with love like that.

It lights up the sky.” 

-Rumi

 

 Where am I? 
 

What a good question. Once upon a time I wanted to travel, but I was timid. I thought that I wasn’t the “kind of person who was able to travel.” I thought I wouldn’t travel for a very long time. This all seemed obvious and unchangeable. But now… well, I’ve re-written my story, naturally. And life is limitless. I’m so excited to be alive. I’m sitting in a coffee shop (big surprise, no?) and I want to jump up on the table, do a dance that makes everyone in the room uncomfortable, and scream at the top of my lungs “we’re all free!” Because we are. And someone needs to declare it!

Let’s start off with a quick summary 


— side note: Danish music is so good. Look up: “Balstyrko.” Thanks Adrian. —
-I finished my internship at Morgan Spurlock’s production company Warrior Poets in NYC.
-I went to NFFTY Film Fest in Seattle for the second time. I won Best Emerging Female Filmmaker.
-I visited my awesome brother in a super cool Buddhist retreat place in upstate NY.

At the private cast & crew premiere of Tree Hugger with my three lead actors.

-I became a finalist in a competition through San Diego Film Festival and shot them a movie in 4K all on a phone.
-I had the cast & crew private premiere of Tree Hugger back home.
-I turned 19.
-Tree Hugger got into the Short Film Corner at Cannes.
-CANNES.
-I went to Cannes Film Festival… my first time in Europe.
-Went to Italy for 45 minutes.
-I finally met my composer Nicolas Martin (he did music for both Girly and Tree Hugger) after 3 years of first working together. I stayed with his family in Mallorca, Spain.
-I got my first paid short film job. In pre-production now.
-Visited my old high school Interlochen for their graduation.
-Went on a 2 week train trip from Michigan to Seattle with my best friend, filmmaker Abbey Sacks.
-We stopped in Minneapolis (MI), Minot (ND), & West Glacier (MT) - each for 4 days.
-We couchsurfed for the first time together… with a total of 3 couch surfing experiences.
-We hitchhiked for the first time together… with a total of 5 hitchhiking experiences.
-Now I’m in Seattle sitting in a coffee shop. Oh! Abbey just arrived. She was at her house playing with her dogs. Oh Abbey.

Cannes Film Festival

Me and my friend Guillermo Del Toro... ;)

On the Red Carpet at the opening night screening.

I “cannes’t” believe I went to Cannes. Ha. Anyways: It was truly surreal. When we talk in person I’ll tell you about all of the cool people I met. Made some great connections and wonderful new friendships. Had some meetings that could lead to some exciting things. I met my favorite filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro.



 I went to a panel on the new Pixar film Inside Out. The lead cast (which includes one of my heroes: Amy Poehler) and director were there. I touched Amy’s shoulder. I plan on returning to Europe so I can meet back up & collaborate with these new connections. This has given me a whole new perspective on the world of filmmaking and has made my drive to create even greater. Who knew that was possible. And none of this could of happened without the graciousness of my Gofundme supporters. So much thanks and gratitude to you all.




Here’s a short VLOG of my trip to Cannes:

Mindset 

Snuggle fest at NFFTY.

During my train trip I had a lot of time to think. As usual I had some life altering epiphanies. I discovered something really big. I discovered my life purpose. I want to live a life of helping people live magical lives. I realized that since childhood I’ve always been making decisions based off of the following thought process: will this lead me to magic? I wasn’t even aware of this until recently. But really, truly, I have lakes of magical memories. Baptisms in tubs at film festivals at 3 in the morning with Jewish folk, love letters to people I’m forbidden to profess my love to, skipping flights in order to sneak new friends into my Airbnb room so that we can have a couple more hours together, seeing a crazy-flaming-orange shooting star with the biggest crush I’ve ever had, snuggling with two lovely guys platonically and feeling infinite, screaming “we’re alive” on a bike in Minneapolis by the side of the sweetest girl I’ve ever known and basking in the cliched-nature of it all realizing that it feels good to embrace the cliches… these unique moments are full of vibrancy. These moments fill me up with a sense of meaning. I pursue a life of magic because I won’t settle for anything less. My purpose in life is to help other people achieve this magic.

My train mate Abbey Sacks drawing away.

On the train I realized I need to spend my days learning to truly love myself so that I can love and help others. A wise gal once told me [aka my first girlfriend and first heartbreak] that “you can’t love anyone else until you love yourself.” This phrase really upset me at that time… I thought “why would she say something like this? I LOVE her.” But then after years of dealing with depression and finally starting to float and breathe, I’ve discovered the difference in how it feels to love when you don’t love yourself versus to love when you do love yourself. When you love yourself, you are not seeking out other people to fill you up. The love you give out is not because you expect something in return. The love you give out is honest love. It is the kind of love that just is. It feels warm to give out… not scary. It feels magical. So yes. Every day I’m learning to be softer to myself. The way I dress, the way I look, the way I talk, the way I think, the depth I love… I’m learning to stop judging myself. I have a lot of love to give. I want to make it pure & sweet & magical… because the people I love deserve that and nothing less. Man, I love them.

Hattie

On the set of Hattie.

Here’s the film “Hattie” I shot entirely on a 4K shooting mobile phone for the San Diego Film Festival. I sent in a proposal video to the competition and was then selected as one of fifteen finalists. They sent every finalist a Qualcomm mobile phone to shoot the film on. It will have it's film festival premiere there in a few months.
 

Various Media Coverage:

Different media sources covered the news about Cannes! Exciting times.
Citizen Times: http://www.citizen-times.com/story/entertainment/2015/04/14/asheville-high-grad-selected-cannes-film-festival/25757947/
Greenville Online: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2015/04/15/film-upstate-ties-headed-cannes-film-festival/25821059/
Mountain Xpress: https://mountainx.com/blogwire/tree-hugger-by-ashevilles-kira-bursky-selected-as-short-for-cannes-film-festival/
Was featured on a TV Channel in Greenville, SC! Here's the segment.
http://www.wspa.com/story/28850691/local-filmmaker-showing-short-film-at-cannes-film-festival

indieWIRE made a post about the screening group that my film We're Okay screened in at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY)! My best friend Miles Carey's film was also screened in the group with his film "Border Woods." 

blogs.indiewire.com/bent/6-teenage-made-lgbt-films-premiering-at-worlds-largest-youth-film-festival-20150420


Film festival updates / screenings / awards:

At the private premiere screening of Tree Hugger.

-We're Okay and Warm Rush were official selections at the West Chester International Film Festival located in West Chester, PA which took place April 24-26. Girly was an official selection last year.
-Demons in Disguise played at the first ever SC Comicon Film Fest in Greenville, SC. March 22nd. Wayne Culpepper, my assistant director and producer, represented the film.

At NFFTY talking about my film Demons in Disguise.

-Warm Rush was accepted to Heart of the Pines Film Festival and will have three screenings in three different places! The first screening will be in Minden, Louisiana (just outside Shreveport) on Saturday, July 25th, 2015. The other two screenings will be announced soon.
-We're Okay and Demons in Disguise have been accepted to the Three Cities Film Festival- more details in regards to potential live screening locations will be announced soon- for now it is taking part in the online film festival… and the festival is going to make We're Okay Spanish subtitles! Yay!
-I sent in a proposal video to a contest and was selected as 1 of 15 finalists for the San Diego Film Festival Qualcomm UltraHD 4K Mobile Challenge. I received a phone that shoots 4K and shot my film Hattie. It will be screened at the San Diego Film Festival.
-We're Okay was accepted to the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival held May 27th to 31st, 2015 in Mumbai, India and was screened in the Keep Calm! Live & Let Live screening group! KASHISH was voted as one of the top 5 coolest LGBT film festivals in the world by a worldwide poll conducted by MovieMaker Magazine in 2013.
-What Are You? and Warm Rush were accepted to CineYouth at the Chicago International Film Festival held May 7-9 in Chicago, IL. What Are You? screened Friday May 8th at 8pm and Warm Rush screened Saturday May 9th at 12pm.
-Warm Rush has been accepted to the Lovett School High School Film Fest held May 2nd in Atlanta, GA. and won Best U.S. Animation.

With the fabulous filmmaker Iver from Norway!

-We're Okay and Warm Rush were accepted to the West Chester Film Festival which took place April 24th-26th in West Chester, PA.
-My video for the Grammy winning Eighth Blackbird Ensemble's piece "Counting Duet 4" premiered at Interlochen Arts Academy April 9th.
-We’re Okay and Demons in Disguise screened at NFFTY. And then I won Best Emerging Female Filmmaker.
-Girly was screened as a part of the Santa Monica International Teen Film Festival in Santa Monica, CA June 6th.
-Hello From Malaysia was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) on June 13th as a part of the Future Filmmakers Showcase.
-Hello from Malaysia will be screening at the The Lawrence Arts Center's Free State Film Festival, June 22-28, 2015 (Lawrence, KS).
-Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) accepted and screened Girly and Warm Rush as a part of the teen video showcase on May 30th in Miami, Fl.
-I acted in the short film "Li Chi Slays the Serpent" that was made for the The Sparrow Film Project and premiered June 6th at the Museum of the Moving Image in Brooklyn, NY.
-I Competed in the 24 Hour Film Race June 12th. I co-directed with my best friend Abbey Sacks.



----


OKAY. Well, I gotta go do a lot of other things now. This includes finally going on the Space Needle in Seattle, eating an Indian food lunch, and lots of film related things. Ta ta for now! And remember: stay hydrated.

xoxox

Writing a Feature! Tree Hugger Updates! Alabama!

Why hello there!

My breakfast from the Butcher's Daughter... oh yes. Oh yes indeed.

I just ate a steamed pork bun and finished my milk bubble tea. I still have 3 Chinese pastries to eat. Oops. I just ate half of one. And guess what? It's a dessert I've been searching for for 4 years! I ate it when I went to China and have been craving one ever since. It's a coconut rice cake thing-- this one was filled with peanut. I'm literally passed out on the floor with happiness & love right now. (Okay, I lied, I'm sitting on a chair typing... but in my head I'm passed out on the floor). Oh, and yesterday I ate at a Kosher Vegan Chinese restaurant?! And then today I ate at a Vegan restaurant called the Butcher's Daughter (what an amazing name for a Vegan restaurant). I'm not Vegan... but I've been obsessed with finding Vegan restaurants this week! Ha. Yum yum.


Tree Hugger Updates

So the picture is locked for Tree Hugger! My sound designer will be working on the film this weekend and tomorrow morning I meet with my colorist who will begin working on color grading this weekend as well! So a few weeks ago Nicolas Martin sent me back the score for the film... and let me just say... I am once again in awe of his musical genius. He perfectly captured the whimsy, magic, and dark fairytale vibe I was going for. He scored my film Girly 2 years ago and since then I've been dying to work with him again. So grateful that I had the chance!

These past couple of weeks I've been researching all of the festivals I want to enter. Let me know if you have any suggestions! I've become quite addicted to film festivals. It's this amazing phenomenon of creative people, filmmaking, eating, bonding & travel.... all my favorite things in one! Can't wait to do more of that... and speaking of which:


George Lindsey UNA Film Festival Trip 

Last Wednesday I left for the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival based in Florence, Alabama. My film Girly was selected as one of 30 films from 3,000 entries! They paid for my travels & accommodations and I stayed till Sunday. I met filmmakers from all over the world: Germany, Canada, Spain, Santa Fe, L.A., etc. This film festival really focused on making the experience amazing for the filmmakers. I miss my new friends so much already. But I know we will all stay in touch and cross paths again! That I will make sure of.


First Feature

On a plane heading to LA... while on the plane I day dreamed about the feature film screenplay.

During Valentine's Day weekend I had a breakthrough: it hit me all at once what feature film I wanted to make. I knew which story I had to tell. Here's the pitch (as quoted by my boss after telling him the concept): "You're writing the Disney Channel Polygamist movie." Yeah... something like that.... But in all seriousness: I don't have a logline yet (as I'm still fleshing out the plot) but here's one I came up with earlier today: A girl searches for a classical, fairytale romance but unexpectedly falls in love with a couple.

Prepare for magic! And love! And passion! And whimsicality! The past 2 or 3 weeks I've been fleshing out the plot, characters, etc. Alongside this I've been reading books on producing & financing films. I plan on utilizing my Tree Hugger film festival tour as a financing tour for my feature. In the next few months I will start looking for a producer for my film. If you are a female film producer with some experience and are reading this or if you know of a female producer with some experience, please contact me! Or if you are an investor or know an investor who may be interested, once again, please do contact me! In the next couple of months I will be writing up the business plan for the feature.



Film Festival & Various Updates

Demons in Disguise & Girly are official selections at Starlite Film Festival which took place in Winter Garden, Florida from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1 2015. Demons in Disguise won Best Domestic Student Short.

We're Okay and Demons in Disguise are official selections at National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) located in Seattle, WA taking place from April 23rd to 26th.

Girly was named 1 of 30 finalist films in the 2015 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival in Florence, Alabama from March 5-7.

What Are You? has been accepted to the Boomtown Film & Music Festival which takes places in Beaumont, Texas from February 25th-28th!

I finished and turned in my short film for Sony! A few months ago my film We're Okay won a the All American High School Film Festival in NYC and one of the prizes was a new Sony camera-- in return I made Sony a short film.

Working on a collaboration with the awesome Grammy winning Eighth Blackbird Ensemble. Making a video to one of their songs for a live performance!

I finally got to go to LA. It's a crazy story... but 10 minutes into my Monday a couple weeks ago my job sent me on a random trip to LA?! It was so surreal. I had 30 minutes before a car picked me up and whisked me away to the airport. I was on a mission to get Morgan Spurlock his passport that very night! They put me up in an amazing hotel in Santa Monica. And then the next day I came back to NYC. Life is amazing.

About to start composing for my best friend Abbey Sacks' thesis film. It is so surreal and dreamy and magical. Cannot wait to create music for her!


--

Well, I guess I better go eat the rest of my Asian snacks & day dream some more about the world of my screenplay. Sending magic, hugs, and smiles to you!
Remember: stay hydrated!

xoxo
Kira

Internship in NYC and Editing Tree Hugger!

Screenshot from Tree Hugger.

New York City 

Standing in the home I'll be living in for 3 months!

Right now I'm sitting in a nice coffee shop in Brooklyn called Konditori. How did I end up here? Well, a few months ago I interviewed for a paid post-production internship at Morgan Spurlock's production company Warrior Poets... and, well, I got the internship! Today marks a complete week of living on my own in NYC. My home (which is a crazy story that I'll have to tell you sometime in person) is located in Harlem. But, long story short about my living situation: I'm living alone in a beautiful, large Brownstone owned by some awesome actors. It is simply amazing. I am still in shock of my luck and good fortune!

So every day I explore the city a little more. Let me be honest with you: a week ago (although I was born and raised in New York... but bare in mind I lived in Nyack, NY... not Manhattan) I was 100% NYC-geographically lost, impaired, and distressed. But little by little I have learned to actually understand the Subway system...! By getting lost many times (sometimes multiple times in one day!) and by floating from coffee shop to coffee shop, downtown to uptown, I have started to actually feel increasingly confident with my travels. Can you believe it!?

It's awesome to be in a big city because already I have so many friends who either a) live here or b) are, will or plan to visit! Yesterday my wonderful friend Eden (who is an amazing jazz vocalist & is studying at Harvard) came into town and we went to the most amazing event ever: we saw a special screening of Beasts of the Southern Wild (which is one of my favorite films) where they had a 25 piece orchestra playing the score (which is one of my favorite scores!) live during the film. We were both in a state of delirious happiness afterwards because of how inspiring it was. So, simply put: NYC truly is the land of inspiring places, inspiring events, inspiring people, inspiring food.


The Internship


So my job is located in Soho right at Little Italy & China Town. When it comes to food... let's just say I'm more than happy. It's been pretty amazing to see how a large production company operates. There are so many people involved. I'd say maybe 60 people work in the office? I love knowing that everyone there is taking part in the creation of film. I've started learning how to use Avid (which has been a goal of mine for a few years now), I've done transcriptions for some of the episodes, looked for and documented archival footage, organized files, made a powerpoint for a business pitch look sleeker,  learned how to script sync... and much more. It's refreshing to jump from task to task. The hours fluctuate each days, which is also kinda fun! I think I'm looking most forward to making bonds and friendships with some of my co-workers, honestly.  Friendships are so important to me.

Tree Hugger Updates

Thatcher (the lead of the film) and I along with all of the extras!

So last Wednesday I finished shooting Tree Hugger. In total I had 5 days of production. (Well, technically 6 if you count the first day that started at 2pm and went till.... 6am... oh my goodness what a tiring, cold, snowy night!). This was actually the most amount of time I've spent in the production phase for one of my films. Three or so months of pre-production, a $4,000 Kickstarter campaign, and 5 (or 6) shooting days. It's been fun. There were some curve balls thrown in, but, hey, that's part of the excitement of making movies!

On the last shooting night of  Tree Hugger!

One curveball that was particularly crazy was the final shooting night; we were supposed to wrap on a Sunday night, but we got rained out! And the scenes that were left were all exteriors! And I was going to be moving to NYC Thursday morning! And the only night that was forecasted to not have rain was Wednesday night! So we shot Wednesday night. And after we wrapped, I got home at 5:30am. And then a few hours later... I was on my way to NYC. I truly had no time to experience the "oh my gosh, I'm moving to NYC!" feelings. For a brief window of time, everything felt so surreal. Who am I kidding- everything still feels surreal!

A screenshot from Tree Hugger.

A screenshot from Tree Hugger.

So I'm really happy with the footage we got! My crew & cast really came together to create something great. Some of the content of the film is pretty tough, but everyone was very professional so the environment on set always felt safe. The lead of my film, Thatcher Johnson-Welden, did such a fantastic job with such a hard role. Very proud of her. She's also so fun to have on set. I've been editing and I already have a rough cut. I'm fine tuning the rough cut a bit more and then I'll be sending it out to Nicolas Martin, my amazing French Composer! You should check out his work. I'm in love with everything he creates. He has scored a TV series, features, shorts, theater productions... and it's all so lovely! I worked with him once before on my film Girly. The music he created for my film... was even more magical than I had imagined! So grateful to be working with him again.

A screenshot from Tree Hugger.

A screenshot from Tree Hugger.

A screenshot from Tree Hugger.

Other Various Updates...

On December 9th I was on the National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse's "Stop Child Abuse Now" talk show where we discussed my film Tree Hugger and making art that deals with topics (i.e.: sexual assault) that people are afraid to talk about. 

Asheville's Mountain Xpress featured the Tree Hugger Kickstarter Campaign in an article.

https://mountainx.com/arts/faces-in-the-crowd-wnc-crowdfunding-initiatives-19/

Tree Hugger Kickstarter became a Staff Pick! And the Tree Hugger Kickstarter was fully funded/

Demons in Disguise has been accepted to its first festival!: MiCe Film Festival which takes place in Valencia, Spain March 27th-29th.  Thank you to my friend Claudia for making Spanish subtitles for the film! 

Demons in Disguise, Girly, and Hello From Malaysia are official selections at the StarLite Film Festival which takes place in Winter Garden, Florida February 26th to March 1st. On top of this, Demons in Disguise has been nominated as a finalist for the jury prize in it's category and will receive an additional screening in the Best of Shorts program to be held in the historic Garden Theatre. 

My 1 page screenplay "The Cycle of Sneezes" has been accepted into the One Minute Story category at The Hollywood Festival of New Cinema in Hollywood, CA from February 22nd to 25th. Unexpected news!

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Well, this concludes my blog post! Tonight I'm going to watch the SAG Awards! Should be fun! Right now I'm overly caffeinated and I'm ready to dance and meet new people and stare at the sky and make a spontaneous film. Oh caffeine. Which reminds me:

Stay hydrated!

xo
Kira

Film festival wins and pre-production for Tree Hugger!

Me as a 5 inch tall voice coach genie in the first episode "Big" of my co-directed web series Absurducopia.

Hello readers. So let me preface this with a word of wisdom to you all: this is not information generally given to the public, but an amazing thing has been hidden from us all... that amazing thing is the beverage of carrot juice. I just discovered a few days ago that carrot juice is not only delicious, but is jam packed with Vitamin A. Oh, and in one thing of carrot juice there are 39.5 carrots?! Now that I've shared that with you, let me move on to some news!

The Mini-Film-Fest-Tour

Me accepting my award. So classic of me to be covering my face because my smile is about to fall of my cheeks.

All American High School Film Festival (October 23rd-26th)

So I just went on my first mini-film-fest-tour as I've been calling it. Let me tell you the story of how that all went down... So the night of October 23rd I arrived in NYC for the All American High School Film Festival. I am originally a New Yorker (I was born and raised in Upper Nyack, NY... it's maybe a 45 minute ride away from the city?) so it was lovely to be back. The next day I interviewed for a paid internship at Warrior Poets, the production company of the amazing documentarian Morgan Spurlock. Super cool energy in that building. Hours later I reunited with my best friend, amazing filmmaker, and back-up vocalist Abbey Sacks. I hadn't seen her for 5 or 6 months... and yet that night we sang my original song "Warm Rush" in front of almost a thousand people. Cool story: my first live performance was about a year before with the same song alongside Abbey... it was surreal to go from an on campus talent show to the New York Hilton's Grand Ballroom in front of so many talented people. Here's a 15 second clip of the performance: http://www.enjoygram.com/m/838691044556180997_261366186

On the red carpet at AAHSFF!

The next day 5 of my films were screened (We're Okay, Girly, Hello from Malaysia, & my music videos Warm Rush and Beautiful Creature). That night I was nominated for six Finalist nominations including Best Directing and Best Drama for We're Okay; two nominations for Best Music Video for my films Warm Rush and Beautiful Creature (from my recently debuted CD, Confused Travels); Best Special Effects for Warm Rush; and Best Female Rising Star. So they were about to announce the final award for Best Overall Film... and at this point I whole-heartedly believed that I wasn't going to win because I had already been nominated so many times. So they call up the first 5 nominations... none of them are me. Then they announce the final nomination: they say "We're Okay" by Kira Bursky. I get slight butterflies, but still believe I won't win. But then.... I WON!!! Crazy moment. I went up there in front of more than a thousand people, accepted my award, and then the crowd requested I give a speech! I won $1,000, a new camera, a trip to work on a Relativity Media set for a week, lots of softwares, and some other things. So that was that. All high school filmmakers should enter this festival. It is one of the fanciest, most exciting festivals I've had the pleasure to attend. Plus everyone is so supportive and kind.

Mosaic Film Experience Film Festival (November 7th-8th)

Standing next to my talented best friend Abbey Sacks!

Two weeks later November 7-8th I arrived at the Mosaic Film Experience Film Festival in Grand Rapids, MI. The year before my film Girly had one 1st place. This year they paid for me to travel up to the festival to be a guest speaker! And to make life even more amazing, Abbey Sacks came to the festival as well! So we got to reunite again. AND the head of my film program back at Interlochen, Michael Mittelstaedt, decided to make a trip to the festival to support us. I hadn't seen him for more than 6 months since graduation. So they both supported me as I gave my presentation on my work since making Girly. I showed Girly as well as 4 other films (Hello From Malaysia, Warm Rush, Demons in Disguise, and Halfway). I talked about how with each film I learned so many things and I really tried to emphasize how all young filmmakers should not feel afraid.... you just need to go for it! There is no such thing as "failing." All of these "failures" should really be thought of as AWESOME LESSONS! The glass is half full, folks. So side note: this year my film We're Okay was in the competition- but I assumed since I had won last year that there was no way I could win again. So the next day, sure enough, We're Okay won first place!! So I won $1,000 again! AND Abbey won this Made-in-Michigan award plus 3rd place! So we both celebrated by stuffing ourselves with soup from the soup place across the street. It was a glorious occasion of smiles and friendly familiar faces (of whom I had met one year prior).

Cucalorus Film Festival (November 12th-16th)

Why are we all unicorns? Well the woman on the righthand side is named Leah Meyerhoff. She directed a fantastic feature film called "I Believe in Unicorns." I had the pleasure and honor of meeting her- she is truly inspirational!

Three days later November 12th to 16th I was at the craziest (in the best way imaginable) festival ever: Cucalorus Film Festival. So the past two years Filmmaker Magazine has named Cucalorus one of the Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World! Instead of focusing on prizes, they focus on making the experience for the filmmakers A-mazing. There are parties, events, and screenings non-stop. So they paid for my airfare and accommodations, making this trip like a retreat! I seriously met so many unique individuals and really felt like I had a chance to truly bond with them. Cool story: one night I was "baptized" in a tub of ice water. The guy who "baptized" me is Jewish. I am Jewish. And this ritual was in order to awaken me. It was 3 in the morning. What followed this was dancing and sharing ridiculous old films we had made long ago... what a beautiful night that was. I'm addicted to the vibe of this festival. It is definitely a goal of mine to get back to this fest. It is something I do not want to miss.

Tree Hugger... Kickstarter and updates!

So I'm currently in pre-production for my short dark fantasy film Tree Hugger. Before I say anything more about this project, here is the link to the Kickstarter where any contributions are more appreciated than you know:

Tree Hugger Kickstarter!

If you are inspired by this project and are interested in helping me bring this film to life, please feel free to help me in spreading this Kickstarter around. 

I'm currently in the midst of rewrites for the script as I have discovered that this topic is very hard to write about. But, alas, I am drawn towards things that are hard to express because I feel like that will help stretch me as a person and has the greatest chance at stretching and touching my future audience. Vulnerability + honesty = a more truthful film. I value truth. So if you are reading this and you happen to be or know someone who has dealt with sexual assault or abusive relationships, I am currently looking for individuals who can relate to this topic to read my screenplay and let me know if the screenplay is doing a justice to your experience and mindset of these topics. Feel free to contact me if you are interested or know of someone who is interested in giving me feedback. 

I'm scheduling meetings and rehearsals with my cast and crew. I have a really awesome group of people I'm working with. I love how each time I make a film my crew and cast quickly start to feel like a family. I'm also currently in the process of location scouting. Trying to find a magical woods has proven to be slightly harder than I had imagined... but I have not lost faith! 

Absurducopia

Since my last post, Wayne and I have created three more Absurducopia episodes! For those of you who do not know, Wayne Culpepper and I have a co-directed, co-starring musical comedy web series! Big was accepted to TOFF The Online Film Festival (November edition) and Novella Showcase which is a TV Station in Lansing, MI and Jackson, MI. Halfway was also accepted to the Novella Showcase and additionally was selected for the Colchester International 60 Hour Film Challenge Top 10 which screened in the UK, October 26th, 2014. Here are the most recent three episodes: 

Episode 3: Halfway - dissatisfied with their life, a couple orders a guru in a box. Unfortunately, he is not the guru they expect him to be.

 


Episode 4: The Antidote - a scientist tries to convince the world of a zombie epidemic on a live talk show, but soon discovers that he doesn't have as much power as he thinks.



Episode 5: Use That Talent - the owners of a "famous" cat try to make a new hit video, but the cat has decided to pursue her own dreams...

Various Film Festival Acceptances and Updates!

Girly has been accepted to the Grace Film Festival 2015. The film festival takes place April 23rd-25th in San Francisco, CA. Girly was also accepted to Embarras Valley Film Festival and screened November 6, 2014, at 7:00 in Doudna Fine Arts Lecture Hall in Charleston, Illinois.

Hello From Malaysia took 2nd place for the High School Narrative category at the The MY HERO Project International Film Festival! The film fest takes place November 22nd in Santa Monica, CA #MYHEROIFF14

We're Okay had a screening in St. Louis, Missouri November 26th. October 21st at 8:00pm there was a local screening of my film We're Okay at the Bebe Theater in Asheville, NC. We're Okay took second place in the student category at Highway 61 Film Festival (Pine City, MN)! 

Bye Bye Lullaby and Hello From Malaysia (ha, Bye Bye and Hello....) screened at the Citizen Jane Film Festival November 7th to 9th in Columbia, Missouri. This film festival is awesome- their mission is to empower women filmmakers! High five to all kinds of filmmakers of all different backgrounds, ages, genders, orientations, races, perspectives and all that jazz! The more stories the merrier.

Warm Rush was National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY)'s Film of the Week- sponsored by Volvo. Also, Warm Rush was accepted in the Music Malt Online Fest (October 18th, online). Warm Rush was named a semifinalist at the Highway 61 Film Festival (Pine City, MN).

October 13th I was interviewed about my movies and music on Living Well on Asheville Free Media (www.ashevillefm.org) from 12-1PMEST. The podcast should also be available on the website www.bobhannaphd.com.

I've been doing some freelance work. Here's a BTS video of a 9 day photoshoot that I edited together for FishEye Studios. I also have been photo assisting for them on various shoots.
https://vimeo.com/104549629

I additionally made a music video for music artist Jonathan Brown. Here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ9D1oYmqlY

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So I better go back to working on Tree Hugger related things! Oh, and tonight at 3 in the morning I'm helping a good friend of mine film something.... the things you do for filmmaking! Goodness! Ha.

Thanks for reading. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of pies, pies, and more pies. Remember: stay hydrated! 

Love,

Kira

Starting a web series! Touring acting job! Film festivals!

So since my last post I've completed 3 film projects: Demons in Disguise (shown above), a children's dark comedy, plus the first two episodes of my new co-directed, co-starring, musical comedy series called Absurducopia. Wayne Culpepper and I both have many random musical comedy ideas and are both interested in acting- so the logical conclusion was to start our own web series. Additionally, lately I've been experimenting with making electronic music, so I have a lot of new tracks that need vocals... or better yet, I have a lot of tracks that want to be in some movies! Ha. We are about to start shooting the third episode starting tomorrow. This episode involves zombies. Of course. Well, it involves tubing-zombies floating down the French Broad River in Asheville... Before I give too much away, here is the first episode (originally made for the Charlotte 48 Hour Film Fest a few months ago).

Episode 1- Big: Chris tries to find his voice with a little help from Indigo the voice coach genie... but Indigo has big plans of her own.



Episode 2- ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Fail - The Musical: In the second episode Wayne gets nominated to do the ALS ice bucket challenge, amps it up by locking himself in a vat of ice at the gas station, and, well, has an epic fail: he dies.



If you're interested in seeing more and want to show us your support of Absurducopia, feel free to subscribe to our channel on Youtube!

My caterpillar costume!

So I got the coolest job ever: I am acting for Brightstar Touring Theater. I am touring all over the U.S. doing two 45 minute anti-bullying shows for children. So far I've had shows in NC, MI, KY, NJ, and PA. October 1st I go to OH for some more shows! It's been a great experience and has really stretched me. I did not know I had the capacity to memorize as much as I did as quickly as I had too! Normally I would assume that that sort of thing would be impossible for me, but I proved myself wrong. And although the process was very difficult, it has been such a rewarding experience spreading the anti-bullying message. I have been bullied and I know many children have been as well. It's important they know how to protect themselves and that they do not need to accept mistreatment.






Film Festival Travels:

I am going to be traveling to three festivals starting at the end of October. October 24th-26th I will be at the All American High School Film Festival in NYC where 5 of my films will be shown and I will be performing my song Warm Rush live at the opening night party. My best friend Abbey Sacks also got two films into the festival and is actually my backup vocalist for Warm Rush. As of a few days ago we are officially going to be staying together in NYC and performing together! I haven't seen her since graduation so it will be a fun reunion. After this fest I will be traveling to Grand Rapids, MI for the Mosaic Film Experience Film Festival around November 7th and 8th. I won 1st place at the film fest last year with my film Girly and they have asked me to be a guest speaker at the fest. They are paying for my travel & accommodations! I feel like I'm living the dream. And then November 12th-16th I will be in Wilmington, NC for the Cucalorus Film Festival where We're Okay will be screening. They are paying for my plane ticket, accommodations, and food! Again: I feel like I am living the dream. I am in awe! So happy.

Film Festival Acceptances and Various Updates:

"We're Okay", "Girly", "Hello From Malaysia", "Beautiful Creature" and "Warm Rush" are Official Selections for the 2014 All-American High School Film Festival! The festival takes place October 24­27th at the AMC Empire Theaters in New York City's Times Square.

Warm Rush is an official selection at the Grenada Afterglow Film Festival in Grenada, MS October 18th.

We're Okay and Warm Rush are official selections for the Highway 61 Film Festival in Pine City, MN, October 3rd-5th.

Hello From Malaysia has been accepted to the 2014 Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (CICFF). It is the largest annual festival of films for children ages 2-18 in the world. Hello from Malaysia has also been accepted to Guam International Film Festival (Guam, September 23rd-28th) and The International Children’s Television Festival “Dytiatko” (Kharkiv, Ukraine, September 24th-27th)!

We're Okay has been chosen as an early selection for the 20th annual Cucalorus Film Festival, November 12-16 in Wilmington, NC.

What Are You? has been accepted into Cine Probe 2015, May 5-7 in La Paz, Mexico

“Big” won for Best Special Effects after being screened to a nearly sold out audience of 650 people at the Charlotte 48 Hour Film Project Premiere.

Here is an interview Dan Thornton did with me about "Big" and "Demons in Disguise."
http://www.gigspotting.net/this-is-big.html

I have decided to start writing one of my feature ideas. Everyday my craving to make my first feature film grows stronger and stronger. Additionally I have a short film that I would like to shoot in the next 2 months. It has to do with the messed up romance between a girl... and a tree. I'll leave it at that!

I am thinking about going to a Buddhist retreat in upstate NY sometime in December for 1 week and then traveling to NYC to do some film work. We will see if I can solidify these plans!

Until then: everybody remember to stay hydrated! Woo hoo!