Filmmaker Laurel Parmet always knew she wanted to make feature films. “But you start with shorts,” says Laurel. “For me, it was a great way for me to practice and make mistakes and learn what works just find my rhythm.” Those shorts – the equally stunning (and Staff-Picked!) “KIRA BURNING” and “SPRING” – helped define Laurel’s singular creative voice on the festival circuit beginning in 2016. Now, that voice is on full display in her feature debut, “The Starling Girl,” which hit theaters this spring.
“I know everyone says, ‘Just do it. Just go make your film.’ But it’s true,” she adds. “Self-doubt is huge and it’s really just such an energy suck. The time that you spend thinking, ‘Ah, I can’t do this, I’m never going to get it right.’ You could be using that, I could be using that to create.” We had a chance to sit down with Laurel to hear more about her process and her creative evolution. Read on for the full interview.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Laurel: I think the best advice I’ve ever gotten is to just when in doubt, always go back to what is exciting and what is meaningful to me as a storyteller. I think you can get kind of caught up in industry stuff and at the end of the day, I’m doing this because I love to tell stories and that’s just sort of my North star.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Laurel: Honestly, I get inspiration from my work from locations. Whenever I’m writing something, it really helps me to physically be in that location, even where a scene is set. My next project, I’m going to set it in the Oregon coast because I was there visiting and just fell in love with it and was like, “I need to write a movie for here.”
What was it like stepping on set for your first feature?
Laurel: Well, it was a really long process to get there. Writing the script, getting it to a good place, raising the money, finding your team. And it should take a long time because good things take a long time and good scripts take a long time to write, I think.
Day one on set of “The Starling Girl,” I thought I was going to be jittery and think I didn’t know what I was doing, but honestly it was such a joy and I felt so comfortable and I felt this is what I am meant to be doing. And it sort of felt like riding a bike. I just slid back into the job really easily and just loved it.
What keeps you going?
Laurel: First and foremost, it’s the work. I love being on set, it’s my favorite place to be. So, just having that image in my head of, “Oh, I’ll get there.” I think keeps me going. And I love the process of collaborating, I always want to feel I’m making something with my friends, it’s so fun.
Can you describe your Staff Pick experience?
Laurel: Staff Picks, that was very much everyone’s goal when I was making shorts and playing in festivals. It feels you’re being recognized for your work and you’re being invited into this community where so many other filmmakers are part of it that I admire.
How do you use Vimeo in your work?
Laurel: I use Vimeo for everything. Recently, we were using Vimeo when we were cutting “The Starling Girl,” uploading edits to share with everyone. It’s honestly the best quality video sharing platform that I’ve ever encountered, so that’s what I like to use.
