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

Hi Brittany, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

To try and narrow in one single event is challenging. There have been many moments of people rallying for me over the years – too many to notate here. But I love seemingly small acts of graciousness from strangers – they often leave the biggest impact.

I remember one such moment from when I was spending the summer studying filmmaking in New York. I was twenty years old, likely shy of fifty dollars in the bank, wide-eyed at the city and at my getting to be there. I had put all of the money I’d saved towards purchasing color film for my project and was making meals out of frozen edamame bags from Trader Joes.

Towards the end of my five weeks there, I was particularly low on funds (and edamame,) and remember taking the subway one afternoon to meet my filmmaking group. I had just ordered my last round of film and wasn’t sure how I was going to stretch the remaining funds I had to get me through my final project, let alone the rest of my time in New York.

I suppose I must have looked stressed and lost enough when I exited the subway station near the Met that a local vendor called me over to his stand and asked if I knew where I was going. He pointed me in the right direction before following up with “Hey, do you need anything? Why don’t you take something – it’s on me.”

I was taken aback to say the least and felt guilty for the granola bar I chose, continually asking him if he was sure. He kept encouraging me to pick another item but felt bad enough about selecting the one. “If you ever need anything, you come back here. You’ve got a friend in New York City”

It was a granola bar on the way to the Met steps, but it felt like the whole world at the time.
The kindness of this man that I’ll likely never see again made me feel like I wasn’t alone, that people do look out for one another and that somehow things would work out.

Those tiny moments add up into something bigger. I’m continually surprised by strangers. And so thankful.

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

Saying the unsaid in picture form is what I do. I love visually showcasing the secrets we don’t speak, the things we wouldn’t know how to say even if we wanted to. I love looking at what makes people move, choose – the chaos and conflict of how we break apart but then come back to one another.

Film is an amazing tool because of what it can do for audiences. It’s easier to sit in a dark room and watch a character that shares your way of thinking, your flaws, and to consider where you might be in the wrong, than it is to sit in a conversation with someone and do the very same thing. Film allows us to be vulnerable but connected – to sit in a room with strangers and begin to change. It’s why I love what I do.

My primary focus is on (writing & directing) narrative fiction however I have also taken on a variety of voice over projects which I love directing as well.

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

I think arriving in LA and wanting to work in entertainment can shake up an assumption that others have the answers. It can feel overwhelming discerning which steps to take on what feels like an endless chase to get into the right rooms.

I remember first getting to LA and taking every word anyone shared as truth – as if I thought a copy paste job from their journey would somehow lend itself to mine.

Jane Lynch has a great section in the intro of her book ‘Happy Accidents’ about releasing the fear of being behind. That’s where the great unlearn stemmed from for me.

It took a handful of years of trial and error and many fumbled attempts, but I eventually decided to double down on doing things that felt true, even if no one else was doing them – or even more challenging, even if others told me not to.

At the end of it all you’re really the only one who knows which move is the right next one for you. Be brave and do that.

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

Film is an examination of life reflected back through imagery. I couldn’t think of a more fortunate way to dialogue.

Contact Info:

• Website: brittanyfalardeau.com
• Instagram: brittanylatetotheparty
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyfalardeau/

Image Credits
Ericka Kreutz