Artist Residency in France, Polyamorous Films, and Music Videos!

A photo I took of Wayne Culpepper during our adventure to Max Patch in NC- the weekend I turned 20.

Rabbit Holes

Whirlpools… tornados… blackholes… swish and you’re suddenly sucked into a parallel universe. But somehow your feet are still planted on this very earth. Your body is here but your mind is dancing elsewhere… far away… sorting through the directions to take and choices to make. I know logically that I have many amazing friends. Logically I can spend hours counting up all of them… could list them out by name. Logically I can tell stories about all the fun times I’ve shared with my many friends. But when you’re living in a separate universe, though your body exists on earth, sometimes you forget these things and you find yourself in an isolated world where you have no friends, no stories, no names to point to. No evidence that there’s anyone out there you can talk to. There are times where I swear I could yell out in to the world “I am the most loved girl in the universe” with confidence and no doubts, but as a human being with a brain that likes to frolic into lands of polarity, there are also times where I’m convinced I have no friends to talk to. I’ll start this blog post out as a reminder: remember to show your love to everyone you encounter during the day. The boy who is smiling brightly may be doing that to cover up his deep pain. Be present and soft with people. Reach out. It could be that you listening to that boy helps him get out of his rut. It could prevent him from falling down the rabbit hole. The rabbit hole is no fun. You see, it looks so magical and enticing, so seductive… but once you start falling into it… well, it’s hard to get out. Your vision points one way. Down. You fall, fall, fall. Deeper and darker. Till the life you had above ground is almost gone. You can’t remember what it looks like in the real world. You live in a mindset of obsession and circular thinking. Depression is a weird thing. But just as odd as the rabbit hole is, you may find yourself falling all the way through the bottom, back to the top! Depression starts. And then it stops. Simply put: I’m eating a delicious crepe. (It’s my 2nd crepe today… woohoo). And I’m drinking coffee. And life is okay. I know there is love in my life. I’m above ground, inching away from the hole. There are no crepes and cups of coffee in the rabbit hole. I like it up here much more. Much more indeed. In the rabbit hole when you hug someone you feel nothing because in the rabbit hole nobody else really exists. When people hug you up here it fills you up with the warmest of warmths… like rays of sunshine being produced due to the touching of two souls. I love sincere hugs. 

Artist Residency…

aka: Traveling to Europe… 

aka: Writing First Feature!

Two of my actors with me on the set of Wild Flowers. Yay for hugs.

So I applied for a grant. I was doing some research on artist residencies and I found one called Le Couvent. It’s in France. I found it 2 days before the grant application deadline! So in a fury of passion I got all the materials together, got 2 letters of recommendation made in 12 hours (thank you Lesley Tye and Brad Hoover for your unending support), wrote a 3 page summary of my feature film concept… and bam: I submitted. Weeks later while in Seattle for NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth where Tree Hugger screened, Really Looking premiered, and Abbey and I had our film Fix You workshopped) I awoke to a magical email stating that I had received their new grant  “The Emerging Artist to Watch” grant. So…. conclusively: at the end of August I fly to Paris where I’ll stay for a week. And then the month of September I’ll be living in a 17th century French convent located in Averyon, France. And guess what? My composer Nicolas Martin (who I’m currently collaborating on our fifth project with) is from AVERYON! Life is magical. Then in October I’ll spend a little over a month traveling via train all over Europe meeting up with my friends… living from couch to couch…. cafe to cafe… who knows what will happen!

By October 1st I will have a feature length screenplay. It’s nice to have firm deadlines for things you’ve been dreaming of for years…. Prepare for: polyamory (obviously), circuses (of course), and magic (yessss). 

If you live in Europe and want to be my tour guide and let me crash on your couch… let me know. My plans are flexible and ready for anything!

Wild Flowers

aka: Filming at a snake den….

First... some screenshots from the film!: 

A week ago I wrapped on shooting my second short film for Massada Eyewear. For this one I got to indulge in my desires…. as the whole film is about desire! Polyamory… waterfalls… paint… what a fun, adventurous weekend. I worked on editing all last week and sent a cut to my composer, Nicolas Martin, yesterday. So excited to hear what he comes up with for this one! This film has no dialogue… which is a first for me. A few crazy stories: 

Actress Liz and director Kira
taking a break to lay in the flowers.

While location scouting Wayne Culpepper (my assistant director / best friend / partner-in-crime / coolest person I’ve ever met) and I found a romantic bamboo forest on the French Broad River. Well, on set I have my actor Taylor sit on a tree that was over the water. Wanna hear something romantic? In between takes Taylor suddenly shouts out “I just saw a snake jump out of a tree!” A couple seconds later: “It’s attacking a fish! It’s eating a fish!” A couple more seconds later: “There’s another one! And another! There are snakes lining the ground!” So a few of my crew people went on a rescue mission to save Taylor from the tree-trap. Bill informs us that the snakes are Water Moccasins….?! So we finally get Taylor off the tree. And here’s the craziest part: a few seconds after rescuing him a Water Moccasin climbs up the tree Taylor was on!! So Wayne and I succeeded at finding an extremely “romantic” location… classic Kira and Wayne accidentally securing a Water Moccasin, poison ivy-infested snake den as a shooting location. Oh so romantic!

So my friend Garrett Meyers is an insanely talented photographer and drone cinematographer. I kept daydreaming about him doing the drone cinematography for the film… but, alas, he’s in Seattle, WA. So I’m in the car with Brad Hoover, my cinematographer, and I am naturally ranting about how I want Garrett to be on the crew. Half jokingly Brad says “why don’t you fly him in?” (You see… that Sunday I cast Taylor via Backstage.com… and I bought him a plane ticket… Taylor would be flying in Thursday, so the plane ticket was purchased only a few days before… now it’s Tuesday and we’re shooting starting Friday). So I smiled and sent Garrett a Facebook message. To make a long story short: the next morning Garrett was in SC and we were shooting some drone shots. The world can be a spontaneous and magical place if you will it. 

Music Videos

So I’m currently working on three music videos! Two are for Ian Ridenhour’s upcoming new album. Ian is seriously a prodigy. He is turning 16 this month. A year ago he was on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He’s super smart. Super talented. And super sweet! I’m so excited to direct 2 music videos for him. We’ll be shooting at the end of this month / beginning on next month- still determining shoot dates. Then next month I’ll be going to NYC to direct a music video for my amazing friend Rosie Rebel- aka: Typhoid Rosie! We’re making a video for her song Baby I Want You! Rosie is one of my favorite people. We met earlier this year while working together in art department on a feature film. We instantly hit it off and I felt like I had known her my whole life. Love creating art with my friends. 

Releasing Many Films!

I released both Tree Hugger and Really Looking online! Here they are!

.

Super excited to share with you "Footplant." I co-created this film with Wayne Culpepper for the Huntsville 48 Hour Film Project and we went on to win Best Film along with Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score, Best Sound Design, Best Costumes and Best Choreography. This is the 6th episode in our musical comedy web series Absurducopia! You can find the other episodes on the youtube channel. Enjoy (and subscribe if you'd like to see more musical comedy madness)!

Various Updates

On the alumni panel at the Future of Cinema Film Festival at Interlochen Arts Academy. 

Abbey and I having our film Fix You workshopped at NFFTY in Seattle.

New official logo for All Around Artsy!

I kind of want to leave this creperie / coffee shop before I buy more crepes & coffee… so I’ll keep this short and sweet:

-All Around Artsy finally has an official logo! Check it out!

-Here are two little tunes I recorded recently!:

https://soundcloud.com/misswhimsymusic/telephone-girl

https://soundcloud.com/misswhimsymusic/sudden-wave

-Sophie Magazine did an article on my film work and artistic adventures! http://sophiemagazine.com/homefeature/kira-bursky-all-around-artsy/

The inevitable annual NFFTY cuddle puddle.

-I traveled to Interlochen, MI to my old high school as an alumni speaker and gave a presentation at the Future of Cinema Film Festival. I also went to a gay dance club with my old screenwriting teacher Lesley and my life was suddenly complete in that moment. 

-I held a workshop on experimental filmmaking at the Blue Ridge Young Filmmakers Film Festival and served as a judge.

-I wrote an article for Matador Network about filmmaking: http://matadornetwork.com/tv/5-ways-jumpstart-career-filmmaker/

-Been PAing on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, a feature film being directed by Martin McDonagh, starring Woody Harrelson, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Peter Dinklage.

-I officially signed up to compete in the Asheville 48 Hour Film Project June 17th-19th! Prepare for something strange. Naturally. 

-Big Little Filmmaker is under-going some major site mantenience. But in the meantime I’ve been releasing more and more inspiring interviews! Hopefully we’ll resolve some of the issues on the site very soon!

-Edited / did motion graphics on some videos directed by Wayne Culpepper for GrowJourney. 

-I turned 20 last month. Oh my gosh. I’m no longer a teenager. But I still have to leave the country to legally drink. Oh America. 

-Asheville National 10 Minute Play Festival went super well! MountainX publicized it a bit: 

https://mountainx.com/arts/white-horse-hosts-asheville-national-10-minute-play-festival/

Oops. That wasn't too short and sweet. The coffee is pulsing through my veins!!

Film Festival Announcements

-Really Looking was an official selection at MayDay Film Festival and screened in Evansville, IN May 20th-21st. 

Poster for Sleepwalker, one of the plays I directed.
Art by lead actress 13 year old Savannah!

-Tree Hugger, Hello From Malaysia, Hattie, Girly and Demons in Disguise were all official selections of Festival Internacional de Cine y Audiovisual Infantil y Juvenil, FICAIJ taking place in Merida, Venezuela May 22nd-27th. Tree Hugger won for Best Film in the +13 Audio Visual category! 

-Hattie was an official selection and screened at the Take 21 Film Festival taking place in Toronto, Canada on May 27.

-Tree Hugger is an official selection of Ozark Shorts Film Festival. Screening info coming soon.

-Really Looking is an official selection for Cineyouth taking place May 5th-7th in Chicago, Illinois. It will actually be screening on my birthday, May 6th!

-Warm Rush is an official selection for CineAutopsia Bogotá Experimental Film Festival taking place April 20th-24th in Bogotá, Colombia.

-Hello from Malaysia is being screened at the Spring Family Film Night at ASTC (Asia Society Texas Center) taking place April 22nd in Houston, TX. 

In Conclusion...

Running without a destination. Max Patch, NC.

I need to get off this laptop and dance! I'm about to go see Wayne... so I'll see if I can convince him to have a 2-person dance party with me. I'll tempt him by giving him my delicious leftover crepe.

Stay hydrated, my friends. Water or carrot juice will do the trick. Or coffee. Mmmmm.... caffeine. 

Big hugs!

~Kira

Keeping Busy: Seventeen Magazine, Directing Plays & Judging for Film Fests!

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” 
-Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland

Reviewing the set for Really Looking.

Up, up and away! My first time riding the crane!

Kira the director (me) and lead actress Ioanna Chasta, snuggling on set.

I keep writing blog posts in my head. I’ve written so many! But writing in my head is not very effective. So here I am now, hazelnut milk by my side. Yes, you heard me correctly. After many years of waiting and searching, hazelnut milk is back on the market. I am celebrating and you should too. Cheers to long lost beverages that make a come back in marketplaces all across America.

These past few days I’ve gotten into a groove that I thought my soul had forgotten: it’s called the “somewhat-oddly-graceful despite juggling 5+ big projects” groove. It’s my favorite kind of groove. I’ve been working non-stop. But it’s not “work-work.” It feels like play, ya know? I find that taking a moment to reflect is always a healthy thing. Sometimes I lose track of where I am- who I am- what I’m doing- what I’ve done…. because I pack my plate with every delicious opportunity I see. So reflection is a necessity if I value my balance & sanity even just a little bit. 

Where to begin…

Seventeen Magazine

Over the past few months I’ve been in contact with Seventeen Magazine… they did about 5 interviews with me. Well just last week they released my article! I still can’t believe it. They featured me as the April edition Power Girl and did a two-page spread on me. Notice how we are still in March. Yeah, I thought it was coming out in 2 weeks or so. So I’m just coming out of the theater of the new Michael Moore film Where to Invade Next? (which I highly recommend- I’ve gone twice!) and I turn on my phone to discover that my friends have posted pictures of my Seventeen Magazine article. I’m a mixture of shocked, excited, and terrified. Why? I haven’t even read the article yet and it’s already in Walmarts all over the world! So my mom and I run out of the theater - we make a pit stop at the Chocolate Lounge and grab some delicious brownies for the car ride - and zoom on over to Barnes & Nobles. But they only have the March edition! We panic and zoom over to Walmart. BAM. I get my copy. I finally read it. I melt into a puddle made of rain-drops of surreal-ness. I’m making no sense. But apparently life makes no sense and crazy things happen. I can’t believe it! 

Big Little Filmmaker

Mentioned in the Seventeen Magazine article was my organization Big Little Filmmaker so viewership is on the rise! These past few days I’ve been working passionately on content for the site. Many interviews & articles are in the works. I just released a few interviews and will be releasing more in the next few days. You should check them out! The social media aspect of the site is currently being worked on but should be up and running very soon. I’m excited to be releasing a “Film Festival Cheat Sheet” of youth (middle school, high school, and college age) film festivals that are free to enter. If you want to check it out, click here.  The film festival database now has over 40 festival listings, all of which are geared towards young filmmakers. And over half of them are free to enter. I’m very excited for the direction Big Little Filmmaker is heading. Check out some of the articles under the “Film World” section!: www.biglittlefilmmaker.com 

Asheville National 10 Minute Play Festival

I was selected as 1 of 5 directors to direct for the Asheville National 10 Minute Play Festival. I am directing two 10 minute plays. Performances will be April 7-9th. This is my first time directing for stage. I’m in the midst of rehearsals and it’s been a really good experience thus far. It’s interesting adjusting to directing so much dialogue and not having the freedom to “cut into a close up.” I plan on incorporating video projection in one of the plays. One’s called Sleepwalker and is written by a local playwright. The other play is called Employee Assistance and is written by a playwright out in Seattle who I’ll meet next month when I head up that way. They are both tonally opposites: one’s dark and haunting & the other is humorous and whimsical. It’s a nice balance. (Side note: I’m living in a dream world where crazy things happen. Shout out to my best friend Katie Larson who a) is turning 20 today (!?!?) and b) is coming to Asheville to perform with her amazing band the Accidentals on April 6th… at the SAME VENUE as my plays?! One day before the play festival opens?! Can we just take a moment to let this sink in?)

Really Looking 

I completed Really Looking and it is now in its film festival run! It premieres next month on April 29th at NFFTY in Seattle, WA. NFFTY, as I’ll say time and time again, is one of my favorite film festivals. I absolutely can’t wait to go for the 3rd year in a row. I have over 15 friends that will be there. It’s gonna be a party like no other to say the least. Last year I ended up in a room cuddling with a bunch of people. That, my friend, is what I call the meaning of life. In the meantime, here are the videos to the trailer as well as the behind the scene music recording session (recorded in Majorca, Spain by my composer Nicolas Martin) for Really Looking:

Pre-Production for “Desire Film”

Really Looking was produced by Massada Eyewear’s Massada Art Project. I am excited to announce I’ll be doing a second film collaboration with Massada Eyewear. This next film will be exploring the themes of desire, polyamory and indulging in your fantasies through art. I absolutely cannot wait to make this film. More info soon… Will be casting this project in the next few months. 

Feature Films

Sorting through camera batteries
on the set of Aaah Roach!

I’ve said this a million times, but I am planning on making my first feature film very soon. I just need to write it! But I keep getting distracted by other projects and fun opportunities. So I decided that it’s time to commit myself to taking the next steps. First off, I’ve been getting involved with other filmmaker’s feature length productions so that I’m more prepared when I make my first one. A few months ago I went out to LA to work on a creature feature called “Aaah Roach!” where I at first was working as a PA (mostly in the art department) but then I was promoted to 2nd AC. My goodness. I loved working with the lenses. There is something so exhilarating about holding really expenses lenses. I hope to 2nd AC on more projects in the future! Anywho: on set I had the chance to pet cockroaches. They were… extremely cute. Yes, I said it.

Kira, Assistant Art Director (me), handing out the prop guns to the actors on the set of Obamaland.

My Donald Trump painting...

Last month I worked on the set of an absurd, satirical comedy called Obamaland. I served as Assistant Art Director. For one month I lived with the cast and crew in a lake house off of Lake Norman. I have so many fun stories about this set… let’s just say I had to rig fake rats to be milked, photoshop logos like “Jim Beam” to be “Obama Beam,” and paint Donald Trump. Yes, I painted a portrait of Donald Trump. It was disturbing staring into his eyes for so long. I’m still recovering. 

Obamabucks that I made!

So with these new experiences under my belt (and hopefully some more soon), the next step is locking in a committed date to write it. As of today I submitted an application for a grant to an artist residency in France. If I get it, I’ll be spending one month this summer in a 17th century French convent. I’ll be applying to some other residencies soon. But none-the-less: the plan is to indeed write my feature this summer. No. Matter. What. Prepare for a story of circus day dream worlds… creepy ringleaders… polyamory… fairytale romance… and quirkiness. 

Film Festivals & Traveling

So I’ve competed in over ten 48 Hour Film Projects, with the goal of not stopping until winning Best in City so that I could travel to Filmapalooza. Well, that win finally came with Adulthood (the Seattle 48 Hour Horror film that I co-directed with my bestie Abbey Sacks this past October). So I finally attended Filmapalooza after 6+ years of attempts. It was [lucky for me] in Atlanta, so I was able to drive to the festival. I met up with my lead actor, Dan Crisafulli, who traveled from Seattle. He’s actually moving to Atlanta next month (meaning: more creepy film collaborations between the two of us coming on up). I had such a fun time meeting teams from all over the world. I have a new batch of friends. Attending Filmapalooza has triggered inside of me a desire to compete in 48 Hour Film Projects forever. I can barely wait for the next one. I’m, without a doubt, addicted. We released Adulthood online! Here ya go!:

I traveled to Ruby Slipper Fringe Festival in Winston-Salem for a screening of Tree Hugger. A few cool things: 1) Ruby Slipper Fringe Festival is an all women’s art festival. 2) It’s in NC! 3) The lead of my film, Thatcher Johnson-Welden, is from Winston-Salem, so she was able to attend! It was a great night and I ate so much dessert with Thatcher and her family afterwards. Funny how I’m eating a butternut squash shortbread cookie now. I can’t resist the goods.

I was asked to be a juror for Scout Film Festival, a high school film festival taking place in June in Vermont. So far I’ve watched & judged the top docs and comedy films. I’m so impressed by the vulnerability in so many of the docs. A few of them had my mom and I in tears. There was one comedy in particular that had me cracking up. It’s so cool to see how much raw talent these young folks have. I may be attending the festival to be a speaker / be on a panel- will know for sure soon. I was also just asked [today] to judge for another high school film festival through Blue Ridge Community College. With this festival I may be a guest speaker as well. This festival takes play May 5th (the day before my birthday!) in Asheville, NC.

Next month I have three trips in the works: 

1) I have a freelance job for a self-tinting glass company. I will be flying up to Grand Rapids, MI to shoot it.

2) I have a separate, additional trip to Michigan! I have been asked by my old high school, Interlochen Arts Academy, to be on an alumni panel at their Future of Cinema Film Festival April 21-23rd. I cannot wait to return!

3) After the Future of Cinema Film Festival I’ll be flying to Seattle to attend NFFTY. I’ll be rooming in a 1 bedroom condo with 5 of the best girls I’ve ever met. I’m crying tears of joy just thinking about it.

Photography

In the past few months I’ve started experimenting with photography and lighting. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

Various Updates

-I taught a 3-day Teen Green Screening class through Asheville School of Film!
-Serving as Director of Photography on a music video for artist Tyler Mingo and director Keema Mingo next week in Charlotte, NC.

Kira (me) teaching After Effects to teens.

-In post-production on a short currently called “Fix You” (title TBD) that I co-directed with Abbey Sacks. 

-“It's Just You," a film I co-directed with Abbey Sacks, was accepted to ZOOM-ZBLIŻENIA Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmowy in Jelenia-Gora, Poland and took place from February 16-21. 

-“Hattie" was accepted to the Portland Women's Film Festival (aka POW Fest) in Portland, OR and screened at the festival March 3-6.

-Tree Hugger was accepted to the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival and screened March 3-5 in Florence, Alabama. It won for Best Youth Filmmaker!

-Tree Hugger was accepted to the Ruby Slipper Fringe Festival in Winston-Salem, NC where it screened February 18th.

-Tree Hugger and Really Looking will be screening at NFFTY in Seattle April 28th-May 1st.
-I acted as the role of a Newscaster in "Friends Like Me" directed by Sam Coppage.

In Conclusion...

Okay, I’m probably forgetting a bunch of big things happening in my life, but, I’m gonna stop reflecting for now and get back to work. I have a lot to plan, interviews to conduct, a laptop to buy (yeah… my laptop died off due to a heart attack and so I’ve been rendezvousing with my mother’s laptop in the secrecy of the shadows… shhhh…), plane tickets to purchase, plays to plan out… and so much more. And my coconut macaroon cookie patiently awaits my lips— that’s my gift to myself for finishing this blog post.

Lots of love, y’all. Remember to tell the people who are important to you that you love them. And stare them in the eyes when you do it. Maybe even take their hands. Just make sure it gets through to them. Oh, and remind them to stay hydrated of course! Water or coconut water or carrot juice or hazelnut milk. I'll leave that choice up to you.

xox
~Kira

Really Looking, Meditation, and Other Naturally Curious Updates...

“Because you are alive, everything is possible.” 

-Thích Nhất Hạnh

I’m listening to some gypsy jazz music. This stuff if truly the cats pajamas. And I’m drinking my current addiction-of-the-week: The Diablo. It’s an Americano with steamed half & half, salt, honey, cinnamon & cayenne. I have had one every day for the past week- yes, this is day numero 5.

Really Looking

A screenshot from Really Looking- in the coffee shop set we built!

Crazy opening crane shot...
so much motion-tracking...

I just sent off the most recent cut of my film Really Looking to my composer Nicolas Martin. This is one of my favorite steps in the filmmaking process. I absolutely cannot wait to see what he comes up with. My goal is to have the film finalized by January 1st. So many months of prep and and now we’re in the final weeks. Crazy.

The shoot went quite well! We had four shooting days. In three days time I designed and built a whole coffee shop. We shot all the scenes in it on a Friday- then that night we took it all apart. Then we built the “surreal installation room” set that night / the next morning. On Saturday we shot in that set. Then the next day we took down that set and built the final “exterior surreal installation room” set. Conclusively: 3 sets were built quicker than I had imagined to be possible. Also conclusively: I LOVE production design and shall pursue it full throttle! I plan on creating some ultra-whimsical, ultra-magical & ultra-strange sets in my lifetime. Isn’t it just so cool to know that we can truly build the worlds of our dreams in reality? We can!

Me (Kira Bursky) talking to cinematographer, Brad Hoover,
in the Surreal Installation Room set!

I was full of so much love and appreciation for my cast & crew. My lead actress, Ioanna, flew in from NYC. She was so lovely and immediately felt like a long lost sister. She brought such a warmth to set. My other lead, Ben, is a dear friend of mine. He is charismatic and always brings a smile to your face with his quick-witted puns and his deep thoughts about life. My crew… ahhhh. I love each and every one of them. Brad, my cinematographer… my goodness, I’m the luckiest gal to be able to work with him! He was my first film teacher about 6 years ago, and now he is my collaborator. He really understands me and my vision. The Monday after we wrapped Ioanna and I had a few hours to adventure around Asheville before she flew back to NYC. Believe me when I say this: we spent almost the full time (probably around 5 or 6 hours) sharing our thoughts of appreciation and gratitude about every single individual who was a part of the production- including the extras! So much love. Gosh I love love.

Post-production has been… eye-opening! I have many green screen shots in the film. This is my first time working with SO much SFX. It was daunting at first… but after diving right into it I discovered that motion tracking & creating worlds within my computer is not all that difficult… it just takes a lot of render time. Ha.

For full behind the scenes pictures, check out the All Around Artsy Facebook page!

Big Little Filmmaker

There are too many things I want to pursue… too many projects that I can’t wait to jump right into. Upon reflection, this is my normal way of being: constantly drowning in inspiration. Big Little Filmmaker is one of the big projects. I launched the site a month or so ago. One week into it’s launch, about 25 registered members in, the site was infiltrated and attacked by hackers. Oh the joys of learning the hard way. We had to take the social media aspect of it down, and the site is currently under-going a revamp so that it is strong and muscly against confused hackers! In the meantime I’ll be posting more interviews & articles (the main site is still up). If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, here’s the website: www.biglittlefilmmaker.com

Thich Nhat Hanh & Meditation

“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.” 

-Thích Nhất Hạnh

Me on the first shooting day of Really Looking. This is my home. The Blue Ridge Parkway is so peaceful.

I kept reading these inspiring quotes by Thich Nhat Hanh (you should look him up- he’s marvelous)… so then I decided it’s time I read his books! I’ve been reading “How to Love,” “How to Relax,” and “Peace is Every Step.” I highly recommend any / all of them if you want to live a more fulfilling, present life. I already feel differences in the way I am perceiving things. I, like many, constantly get caught up in projected fears & anxieties of the future, or replaying scenes of my past… but I don’t want to live the rest of my life that way. I simply can’t allow that. I want to embrace the only thing that is real: right now. So last night I went to my first group meditation. It was so wonderful. Difficult at moments (when my brain started drifting into Kira-La-La-Land…), but wonderful overall. I have a lot to learn. We had tea, cookies, and a nice discussion afterwards.

Friends Visiting Me!

Screenshot from Adulthood~ Abbey Sacks and I in a trance!

Guess what! I have friends visiting me! In a little over a week my mind-blowingly fantastic friend Katie Larson is visiting me for a few days! She is a talented musician / songwriter and her band, The Accidentals, is MAGIC. Every time I hear about The Accidentals, I find out that they are blowing up even more. Katie Larson and her band The Accidentals are ones to watch. Trust me. Anything is possible with her. She’s such a lovely person and on top of that she has explosive talent. Look up her music! Anyways, I miss her. I briefly saw her for like 45 minutes in May…. but aside from that, I haven’t seen her since 1 year before this past May! It’s about time we see each other again!

And then a week after that: my bestie, collaborator, and the-spontaneous-art-maker-extraordinaire, Abbey Sacks comes to visit me! Naturally we will be adventuring into the moment, making art as much as we breathe, and having two-person dance parties every morning/night. Nick Ramey (a SUPER DUPER talented cinematographer and lovely guy!) will be coming to visit us and DP a film that Abbey and I will be co-directing! Collaborations… ahhhh. Love it. I feel so lucky to be spending the first day of the new year with my best friend. I will never be able to fully express how grateful I am to have her in my life. You should look up her film work. It’s prolific, experimental, and meaningful.

Screenshot of Abbey and I blind-folded in our film Adulthood.

Reviewing the crazy shot...

I was about to post this blog post... but then I realized: I haven't talked about Adulthood! Abbey and I co-directed for the Seattle Horror 48 Hour Film Project. Our film Adulthood won Best in City, Best Directing, Best Actor (Dan Crisafulli), Best Writing, Best Sound Design, and Audience Favorite!  It was my goal to keep on competing in the 48 Hour until a film of mine won Best in the City... and it happened! We will be screened at the Filmapalooza in March, I believe. It's taking place in Atlanta this year, so I should be there! ...But don't think this means I am done making 48 Hour films... I'm addicted! There's no stopping me!









In Conclusion…

…I have many more things to say, but I’ll leave those other topics, thoughts, and projects for when we talk in person. Up next: working on my actual website, planning potential photoshoots, editing some articles for Big Little Filmmaker… and much more. LIFE!

Lots of love,
Kira

Launching a new company, travel, and pre-production!

D r i n k i n g  J u i c e

My best friend Abbey Sacks and I drinking juice in San Diego a few weeks ago.

I'm drinking juice. Guess what kind of juice? Yes, you are right. Carrot juice. But the twist? It is carrot, orange, lemon, and ginger. AKA: My favorite kind of juice. It's my current addiction. I scout it out everywhere I go.

Where am I now? Where have I been?

Navigating NYC with some film friends at AAHSFF!

Kings Theater in Brooklyn @ AAHSFF Awards!

I'm in Laguna Beach, California. I didn't know I was gonna be here until the day before I arrived. Spontaneity seems to be the current theme of my life. Fortunately spontaneity and adventures are the goal! Tonight is the start of the Laguna Film Festival. I actually have 3 films screening here!: Tree Hugger, Demons in Disguise & Warm Rush. (Oh, and tonight Tree Hugger is screening in Greenville, SC at the Reedy Reels Film Festival!) My best friend Abbey Sacks has two films and she is train'ing on in to town! Though we thought we would not be seeing each other all that often now that she goes to CalArts and I go to.... well, all over the place -- we have been seeing each other most weekends! In fact next weekend we are both flying out to Seattle, WA to co-direct a Horror 48 Hour film! And two weekends ago we met up in San Diego for San Diego Film Festival!


2 weeks ago I was in California. Then I was in South Carolina. Then North Carolina. On Wednesday I was in NYC. Yesterday I was in NC. Today I'm in California. Monday I'll be back in NC. Then Thursday I'll be in SC. Then Friday I'll be Seattle. Then the Monday after this coming Monday I'll be in Atlanta. Let that all sink in...... it's insanity... but I LOVE IT.

Big Little Filmmaker

Big Little Filmmaker! Don't miss out on this, young filmmakers!

Me (Kira Bursky) at AAHSFF Opening Night
announcing Big Little Filmmaker in front of 500+
amazingly talented young filmmakers!

I had an epiphany a couple months ago. All of my passions came colliding together... filmmaking, supporting other young filmmakers, blogging, meeting inspiring filmmakers, etc. I have been working on building the site for my new company Big Little Filmmaker and it will be launched November
1st! Here is more information:

Are you a young filmmaker between the ages of 12-22? We're excited to launch the sign up & countdown for the official Big Little Filmmaker site! Sign up today to stay notified on the official launch of this exciting online community! This will be your one-stop hub for networking, jobs & opportunities, advice and inspiration, all geared towards you: the young filmmaker! Check it out and tell your friends. Let's support each other and the future of film!

For more information and to stay updated on the launch, please sign up here!: www.biglittlefilmmaker.com

Also, if you know of young filmmakers, or organizations / film festivals geared around young filmmakers, please please please pass the word along! I want to really build up the community so that young filmmakers can have a ton of support!

New Sizzle Reel

Here is a new sizzle reel of my directing work! 

Film Festivals & Jobs & Various Updates:

-"It's Just You," the film I co-directed with Abbey Sacks for the 24 Hour world-wide Film Racing competition took 3rd Place overall as well as Best Editing and Best Sound Design!
-Hattie won Best International Short Film at the Brighton Youth Film Festival in Brighton, England!

Crew of all girls for the Tesla shoot! #femalefilmmakers

-Massada Fashion Eyewear Film: I have officially casted the two lead roles in the film. Now I'm in pre-production, scouting out locations, working on the shots with my cinematographer, etc. I will be shooting next month!
-I co-directed an instructional video for Tesla Motors out in San Francisco a few weeks ago!
-This past weekend I was a guest speaker at the All American High School Film Festival in NYC (my film We're Okay won Best Film last year)
-I made some After Effect graphics intros / outros for SOCAP (a conference in San Francisco)
-August 24th I spoke on Adrenaline Radio show "Behind the Lens" about my Los Angeles Film Festival accepted film Hello From Malaysia, as well as my other film projects!
-Girly has been accepted to the Made-In-Michigan Film Festival which takes place in Frankenmuth, MI October 16-18.
-New directing reel for 2015! Features clips & scenes from 10 films-- including Tree Hugger! Cheers to many more films to come. https://vimeo.com/137892967
-Tree Hugger Festival Acceptances:

• Queen City Film Festival (QCFF) Oct. 1-4th, Cumberland, Maryland
• Reedy Reels Film Festival - Oct. 16 & 17 at Clemson University in Greenville, SC 
• Citizen Jane Film Festival - Oct. 22-25th in downtown Columbia, Missouri.
• Qabila's 3rd Annual Short Film Festival taking place October 8-10th in Cairo, Egypt
• Laguna Film Festival taking place October 16-18th in Laguna Niguel, CA (that's where I am now)

Me (Kira Bursky) with Andrew Jenks,
the founder of AAHSFF.

-Tree Hugger, Demons in Disguise, & Warm Rush have been accepted into the Laguna Film Festival taking place October 16-18th in Laguna Niguel, CA.

-Warm Rush has been accepted to the Bideodromo Festival 2015 taking place in September 11-28 in
Bilbao, Spain.

-We're Okay is an official selection at the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, Kansas October 14-18 as a part of the Spotlight on Emerging Young Filmmakers!

-Hattie is an official selection of Cucalorus Film Festivall in Wilmington, NC from November 11th-15th! 

-San Diego Asian Film Festival! Hello From Malaysia is playing November 7th at 11:00am! Here are the details!: http://festival.sdaff.org/2015/films/hello-from-malaysia/

-Hattie has been accepted to the OutWest Film Fest in Reno, Nevada for the “Fountain of Youth block October 18th at 11:30pm!

---

Okay, well, I'm gonna get changed for the Opening Night of Laguna Film Festival! ...I'm still not done with my carrot-lemon-orange-ginger juice! I guess I better chug it.

Hopefully my next blog post will be more comprehensive. I haven't had much time these past few months... just trying to embrace the moment!

Sending lots of love out to you, the universe, juicers, and young filmmakers!
xox
~Kira