We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Hawkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on so far is a short film that I wrote and starred in called “Working Title”. It is about a frustrated screenwriter named Vida struggling to come up with something to put on the page. The characters she created come to life and begin to dictate what they want the story to be. Which in turn teaches our main character,Vida, to have confidence in her choices and take control. I would say this is my most meaningful project because it gave me the opportunity to get my feet wet and taught me a lot about the process that is film making. I didn’t realize this at the beginning but I was writing something I was struggling with myself as a new writer. Which was trusting my abilities and accepting that I will make mistakes, and that’s okay. I was also very fortunate to make this film with an amazing and talented group of friends who gave this project nothing but their best even when faced with difficult circumstances. I will forever be grateful for that experience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Kelly Hawkins. I am a 19 year old actress, screenwriter and filmmaker from Buffalo, New York. I am currently attending The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) for film/on camera acting, soon to receive a bachelors of fine arts degree. I have always carried a strong love for cinema and the art of storytelling. There is nothing like the memories I hold going to see a new movie with my family and friends, laughing, crying or jaw on the ground, it’s one of my favorite things. To be honest I didn’t know that I was going to pursue a path in film. My high school had very limited programs and I didn’t have much experience. I was very scared of being the one to risk it all for a dream. Sometimes I still am, but I am lucky enough to say that I have the most incredibly supportive family that keeps me going. I’ve also come to learn how important it is to do storytelling the right way. To me films are a collection of immersive windows that make it possible to have hard but ultimately significant conversations on a global scale. And that’s something I want to be a part of.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My long term and current goal is to insure proper storytelling and representation for people of color. I am a young African American woman. I’ve seen the results that can occur when an important story is mishandled at the hands of an undereducated mind. I read a report from 2019 showing that people of color only make up about 27.6% of filmmakers. My hope is to build something that brings creative minds from a variety of different background together to produce inclusive and culturally accurate work. My mission is to be an asset in the development of diversity in this feild.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Starting out, I had a really unhealthy relationship with validation. I would allow someone’s criticism, or praise, about my work influence the way I felt about myself. It was almost as if when my work was received well I felt amazing, like I was on cloud 9. On the other hand, just receiving constructive notes on what I could improve or what I was lacking seemed to launch me down a spiral. As you can imagine living like that just puts you on a never ending rollercoaster of fluctuating emotions. It wasn’t until I heard the wise words from an advisor saying “You should be excited to fail!” that it clicked. Never attach your self worth to your work or others opinions. It’s so easy to get caught up on the things you’ve done wrong that you don’t acknowledge your progress or improvements. Every “no” is just another step on your journey, nothing that is meant for you will pass you by.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Babykel44