We were lucky to catch up with Kaelin and Tamar Lamberson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kaelin and Tamar, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
“My husband ran his own film festival in Buffalo for ten years. My daughter and I noticed that most of the films that screened there were directed by men. My husband is also a director, so we traveled to other film festivals screening his movies, and Kaelin and I noticed the same thing. Two years ago, I approached my daughter, who is a feminist, and asked her what she thought about creating a festival just focusing on films directed by women. We hoped to screen films with impactful topics that made people look at things from a different perspective. For the past two years, we have shown films directed by women from all backgrounds. We have shown films centered on reproductive rights, domestic abuse, chronic illness, LGBTQ+ rights, discrimination, self-image, immigration, the incarceration system in America, breaking stigma, and more. We have shown films not just directed by locals and Americans, but by women all around the world.” – Tamar Lamberson
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.
“I grew up on movie sets. My father is a director, screenwriter, and producer, and my mother produces his films. I have also been involved in the film festival circuit for at least half my life because of my father. When I was twelve, I co-starred in and sang the credits for one of my father’s films: WIDOW’S POINT. Playing Delaney Collins opposite Craig Sheffer of ONE TREE HILL in WIDOW’S POINT was my most prominent film role, as I had only made cameos in some of my father’s other films and was an extra in a couple of Fred Olen Ray’s films. I am a feminist and will attend Cornell University this fall. The Valkyrie International Film Festival (which I named because I am a fan of Norse mythology and fierce women who ride pegasi) shows films with empowering, political messages directed by women from all backgrounds. We want to make sure that every woman director, every Valkyrie, has the chance to tell her story in a male-dominated field. What sets our festival apart from others is that we focus on providing a safe space for women, we encourage women to network with one another, we provide a medley of films that all viewers can benefit from watching, we give each visiting director a personal, thought-provoking Q&A (we don’t group all the Q&As in one block together – each film gets its own Q&A), and my mother and I are the judges of the festival (a mother-daughter duo from two different generations with different upbringings but similar reactions to the films). We also have an amazing logo that captures our essence: fierce, independent, outspoken!” – Kaelin Lamberson
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
“The most important thing we did was choose our logo after running a contest, using hatchwise.com. We ended up choosing a great logo that screamed female empowerment. I created our website and social media sites. I had no graphic design experience so it was a challenge. I created graphics and reels that let people know about our festival. We needed to get the word out and convince filmmakers to submit their films to us. We weren’t sure how many submissions we would receive our first year, but were pleasantly surprised with the results. We received a good number of submissions, which meant that we successfully got the word out. A good number of filmmakers attended our first year, and they had a wonderful experience meeting other filmmakers and networking. They gave us glowing reviews and helped us spread the word, which resulted in an even better second year.” – Tamar Lamberson
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
“I met my mother after I was born, but met my business partner two years ago. Being in a family business has its perks, as it brings members closer together and forces them to learn how to cooperate. That is not to say it doesn’t come with challenges, though. If you’re not careful, your business life and personal life bleed into one another. My mom ensures that my academics and mental health come first, before the business, but as the co-founder of our film festival, she also ensures that we frequently post on social media, update our website, and stay up-to-date on submissions. I definitely developed more respect for my mom after working with her because I have seen her rise above many obstacles.” – Kaelin Lamberson
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.valkyriefilmfest.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valkyriefilmfest/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valkyriefilmfest/
- Twitter: https://x.com/valkyriefest
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ValkyrieFilmFest
