We were lucky to catch up with Julie Bruns recently and have shared our conversation below.

Julie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Each project that I take on has its own special meaning and impact, but currently, I’ve mostly been focused on my latest project to release, a short film called Ada. It’s based on a true story, and I play Ada Lovelace, who was the world’s first computer programmer back in the mid 1800s. Getting to portray such an incredible person and bring a bit of her life story to the screen has truly been an honor.

The film highlights the last years of Ada’s life, as she’s dying of cancer and struggling against Victorian-era sexism to try to raise the funds to build what would have been the world’s first computer. Coming up against nothing but dead ends, she finally resorts to desperate measures and risks a massive gamble on a horse race to raise the money to basically change the world as we would have known it.

When I first learned about her story, I was shocked that I hadn’t heard of her before, and honestly, that she’s not more of a household name, the way Alan Turing is. In fact, her notes were one of Turing’s inspirations when he succeeded in building the first computer 100 years later.

This film means so much to me because I truly hope that people see it and learn about this iconic woman’s work. She’s a huge inspiration, not only to young women going into STEM fields, but also anyone who’s been up against impossible odds, trying to achieve something they fully believe in. She was a breathtakingly resilient person, and having the opportunity to try to embody her for this film has meant a great deal.

(The film is now available to rent or purchase on Reel Women’s Network – the link to it is https://watch.reelwomensnetwork.com/products/ada-film)

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

I’ve always loved to perform, I think I first found my way onto a stage when I was 6 for a school performance of ‘I’m a Little Teapot’. I was home-schooled my entire childhood, but the curriculum often had extra-curricular activities you could sign up for, and anything performance-related was a hit for me. I remember stand-up poetry sets and the like, anything with storytelling and an audience just drew me right in.

I really committed to pursuing acting as a profession when I was a bit older, around 20. I was living in a small town in Baja California, Mexico at the time, and made the decision to move to Vancouver, aka Hollywood North, and just go for it. I got into classes, got an agent, started out with a lot of indie work, booked some smaller things, and at a certain point, I started to get intrigued by the idea of producing films myself.

I ended up working for a couple of season as an associate producer at Crazy8s, which is this film competition in Vancouver that produces 6 short films a year, and that really acted as a kind of immersion film school for me. Very quickly, I learned a lot about production and what it takes to get a project made.

From there, I started working on my own projects. It’s an addictive way to work, because as an actor, it allows you to immediately focus on the kinds of roles you really want to play, rather than just counting on auditioning and waiting to be chosen for a role.

These days, I love both opportunities – When you’re cast in an amazing project, the collaboration that happens is so much fun and so fulfilling as an actor. And getting the chance to write, produce and sometimes even direct my own projects lets me really discover the stories that I’m so excited to tell and work with brilliant teams to create something from the ground up.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Support their art. For film, that’s watching indie films, supporting up-and-coming filmmakers and actors. Talk about their work when it affects you, tell your friends about films and shows you love, share posts about it.

That means so much to artists who are trying to make an impact, and also, trying to show that their work has made an impact, because that may be what helps them to create the next film or piece of art.

So many artists, even the ones we think of as successful, have a day job just to support themselves while still trying to create. When you’re invested in following their work because it’s affected you, that is a huge inspiration to keep going.

And it’s important to support indie films, because it’s a space where filmmakers take risks and that can be so powerful. It’s also so often where new filmmakers and voices start, so you get to be a part of a creative’s journey from the beginning.

Also everything in Cord Jefferson’s Oscar speech – that was a great speech.

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

Getting to tell stories that connect to people. Whether that’s inspiring someone, letting them see themselves in a story, or just letting them escape into a world on the screen and enjoy that journey.

There’s a quote about how art lets us find and lose ourselves, and I think a good movie really does that in such a memorable way. The idea that I could be a part of a film or show that has that kind of impact on someone, where they’re cheering along with the characters, or crying for them, or feeling their injustice, and feeling seen through that, or feeling like they’ve found an old friend in a story, there’s a kind of magic in that. And I feel unbelievably lucky to have the chance to work towards doing that in my career.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julie.bruns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieBrunsOfficial/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatJulieBruns
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@meepproductions/
• Other: Where to watch Ada: https://watch.reelwomensnetwork.com/products/ada-film

Image Credits
Wendy D and Natalie Farrow