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

Ella, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

While every project I work on and create takes on a vast amount of meaning through every part of the process, my mind is first drawn to a film that I created when I was 16 years old called “Bloom.” This was a film that was deeply personal to me, both in theme and in process. In a claymation depiction of a sexual assault, a girl must face her past experiences and find a way to use them towards helping others heal. I set out with both a curiosity and in internal necessity to work through an experience I had as an early teenager, I approached “Bloom” with an immense amount of emotion to pour into the clay that I sculpted and animated with. This was my first time making a claymation film of this scope, and while I didn’t quite know what I was doing, the process of pushing past the initial roadblocks that come along with learning something was such a crucial skill that I continue to grow. I spent a month in my dad’s garage, shedding tears into the clay I worked with. Having this time to reflect, grieve, and create was not just meaningful for my own internal process, but for my connection with others as well. I used this film as a tool to have conversations in my life that needed to occur, as well as connecting with other sexual assault survivors to record voiceovers for the final line of the film- “It was not your fault.” Reflecting on an experience like this can feel isolating and confusing, but creating a film really allowed me to place a narrative to my experience as a step towards feeling through it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a filmmaker and artist of many mediums who tells stories of love, nature, and identity through surreal and fairytale-esque worlds. I have been directing short films since I was 11 years old, and had 2 films about gender and queerness go viral on Youtube, where I continue to share my work and provide a space of comfort, inspiration, and opportunity to young artists who are interested in learning more about the craft. I have continued studying and creating films throughout college (and graduate this coming May!) in which my curiosity has spanned across 16mm film production, screenwriting, gender studies, and American Sign Language. During my time in school, I am most proud of my thesis film, “Cauldrons & Kickflips,” that is currently in post production. It is a modern fairytale about a group of lesbian witches who take a skater boy into their coven to altogether cast a spell on his group of skater friends who are disrespecting the neighborhood. As perfect love and perfect trust become fractured, they must learn what it takes to confront abuse of power and be in community with one another. I draw a lot of inspiration from retellings of classic fairytales, of lessons from nature, and of representations of femininity and queerness in media throughout history. “Cauldrons & Kickflips” is a comedic and campy meditation on these themes, as well as what it means to practice care, keeping one another safe and allowing room for growth and change. While my heart lies with writing and directing films, I have also recently been excited by the collaborations that I’ve experienced with musicians in directing music videos and filming live concert performances. I feel that my multimedia approach to filmmaking with elements such as shadow puppets & animation is exciting to visualize and create alongside music!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is connection. Through a creative mindset, I am able to experience and feel the world in a way that allows me to learn so much about it, to feel emotions that make me feel alive! Beginning a creative project feels to me like tapping into an energy that is already existing, and taking on the duty to nurture it and bring it into the physical world. In the beginning stages of writing a film, I approach every day as research, absorbing the messages around me and taking note on how they may contribute to a story. This brings me a sense of presence and purpose, and that is rewarding! Being an artist also allows me the chance to connect with other people on a really beautiful level- whether that is meeting someone on a film set and growing to become best friends, or even just sitting next to someone in a movie theatre and getting to daydream together after the credits roll. It is a gift to have the potential to move through every day with creative energy, and even though it is not always easy- it is a muscle to exercise. I believe that everyone has the potential of creativity in them as a kid, but it is so easy to forget what that’s like. To create is truly both a radical and magical practice, to envision something and bring something into the physical world. While artists are not the end all be all solution to creating a more equitable and just world for all, imagining what that world might look like is a step, and the gift of being an artist.

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

The most prominent lessons I’ve had to unlearn are regarding the hierarchy of a film production and what it takes to be a good director. Many examples of talented and powerful directors growing up were people who were very loud, extraverted, demanding, and also almost entirely men. It wasn’t until I learned more about the power of both quiet and collaborative leadership that I felt as if I was really able to tap into my power as a director- power that looked different than I always thought it needed to. Directing for me isn’t about telling people what to do, but rather planting a seed and providing others with water to help grow it alongside you. I feel it is my job to help people on the crew feel excited, inspired, and cared for, creating a space to explore new ideas and to shine in their own individual talents. Film, out of any other art form I’ve experienced, can only come to life through community. After the first day of shooting “Cauldrons & Kickflips,” one of the producers & makeup artist Julia came up to me after spending most of the day in the makeup room, and said she was surprised she had hardly heard me talk. When on set, I am having conversations with people individually, trusting them to do their work, holding the vision of the project inside of me and adjusting if needed. Getting into that flow with others is so incredibly liberating. Leadership to me is allowing space for others to shine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ellafields.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellabeefields/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ella-fields-332357203/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCncXhZzBmCaDqfFzvXOjuIA?themeRefresh=1

Image Credits

Riva Vig, Jonah Hodari, Celeste Cannon, Julian Barahona Rhi