Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Eaton.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kylie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a director and writer, I am passionate about genre storytelling and promoting unheard voices in film. My love of the medium started early in childhood.
Growing up in the Midwest, I was constantly seeking escape from real life – through books, movies, and TV. I was an obsessive kid who would watch the same movie over and over again, hundreds of times until I moved on to another film. Little did I know that was my very first film school.
At the same time, my brother and I were making home movies on our VHS camcorder, and I was teaching myself the basics of in-camera editing. Whether it was a short film starring my two dogs, or a knock-off Bill Nye style video for a school project, there was a deep love of seeing the world through a lens that started to grow.
I was involved in community theater growing up, early on as a kid in the chorus or a dancer in the production. By the time I got to high school I was more interested in the behind-the-scenes work, and could often be found after school building sets and rummaging through the wardrobe storage.
I received my first formal film training the summer before senior year of high school. I attended a camp at UCLA – my first time in Los Angeles – where we were tasked with writing, directing, and editing a short film in teams. This was my first time experiencing both the collaboration of filmmaking and the responsibility of heading up a team as a director.
After studying Film Production at Chapman University, I moved to Los Angeles and worked for three years as the assistant to the head of Post Production at 20th Century Fox Television. It was a dream first job out of college – I got to be on a studio backlot everyday, I attended scoring sessions at the legendary Newman Scoring Stage…all while learning the ins and outs of the studio production process.
After Fox, I began to freelance in post-production. When a dear friend of mine needed a music video for her band, I took on the challenge and directed my first music video, which led to many, many music videos. I loved my time directing that content; I was able to focus on learning as much as I could on set, creating stories and narratives visually, as well as honing my editing skills.
In 2018, my first narrative short film, 43 QUINTILLION, premiered at MidWest WeirdFest. A 5 minute magical-realism exploration of grief and loss, the film went on to play a dozen festivals in the US and internationally, and premiered online at DirectorsNotes.
My second narrative short, DISPEL, is a fantasy short film that stars Eris Baker from This Is Us and Gina Torres of Suits and Firefly fame. The film explores the nature of addiction through the dream-like lens of a twelve yearsold girl. DISPEL has played over twenty festivals and counting worldwide and has won multiple accolades, including Best Narrative Short at Comicpalooza 2019 and Best Alumni Film at LadyFilmmakers 2019. DISPEL can be viewed on the MILLION YOUTH MEDIA YouTube Channel.
In December of 2019, I was awarded the Mary Shelley Award from Other Worlds Film Festival. The award honors the best film that furthers the involvement and representation of women in genre filmmaking.
My feature screenplay, KINETIC, was a finalist in the 2019 ScreenCraft Sci-Fi + Fantasy Competition. The film explores the burgeoning telekinetic powers of a teenage girl who’s dealing with a small-town criminal family and an absent mother. A proof of concept for the film was completed in early 2020, and the trailer for that can be seen on my website.
My film work has been featured online at Film Daily, Backstage, Film&Video, boyish media, DirectorsNotes, and Film Shortage, among others, and in print in 3D World Magazine. As a woman and advocate for diverse voices in film, I am a proud member of Alliance of Women Directors.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Filmmaking can be an inherently challenging career choice. From the obstacles of money, time, and access, to the lack of control over the audience’s taste and reactions, all directors come up against challenges in their daily work life.
For me, the most challenging obstacle I’ve had to overcome is an internal one. For many years, I looked outward for permission to be a filmmaker. After my experiences in film school, I internalized a belief that directors have a certain outward image: loud, gregarious, outgoing, and, mostly, male. As a shy and introspective young woman, I thought perhaps I wouldn’t be allowed to take on this role. Instead of pursuing my dreams and following my talent, I turned to a different aspect of the film industry. While my time as an assistant and an editor provided me with many opportunities and an invaluable education in film, it was not my true calling. I could only start to work as a director, and as a narrative director when I gave myself the permission to use my voice.
There are still days when I’m uncertain whether I have the “permission” to work as a director. But the evidence of my previous work and dedication to my craft, along with the belief that all voices are valuable and necessary in the film industry, I’m able to push on and remind myself that to be here is a privilege, and to give back to the world with my craft is a responsibility.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There are so many things about my career that I’m proud of. I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve been given: every film festival I’ve been accepted to, every award my films have won, all the amazing actors I’ve had the chance to work with, and the incredible crew members I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with. These are all reminders that I am on the right path.
However, it’s always the small moments that are the most powerful to me. It’s the people who have reached out to me after seeing my short film DIPEL to share the story of how addiction has touched their lives. It’s the people who’ve told me how moved they were by the take on grief I presented in my film 43 QUINTILLION.
Most notably, a few weeks ago, I had coffee with a young woman who’s about to graduate from college and move to Los Angeles. I did my best to share my knowledge of the industry with her and ventured to give her the best possible advice. At the end of our conversation, she told me, “Seeing you do this makes me feel like I can do it, too.” It was a humbling reminder that just having the courage to chase your dreams can help others to achieve their goals as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kylieeatonfilm.com/
- Email: kylie24@gmail.com
- Instagram: @kylie109
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kylieeaton109
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