Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katelyn McCulloch. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Katelyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I was sitting with a friend having beers and chatting about art and acting and film. I was explaining how I feel there is so much noise and ick from the entertainment industry and I wanted my work life to be full of ease and patience and to feel more like coming back to an old friend; “Like, hey old friend lets play.” His eyes perked up and he said that’s your name. He was right.

I first named my studio space Hey Old Friend and then when I incorporated the business I kept the name. I am now so proud to be building the Hey Old Friend brand from film productions, clothing, community collaborations and beyond. The name has helped set the tone for everything we do. From pitching to writing emails, beginning with “Hey Old Friend” brings a sense of calm and openness to every interaction and immediately lets the other person know that we are approaching things differently.

Katelyn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I believe that the most important friendship in our lives is the one we have with ourselves. It takes devotion to cultivate that friendship and to listen to your intuition but it is worth fighting for. My journey to creating Hey Old Friend didn’t make a lot of sense to people along the way but I always followed my instincts and looking back it all has happened exactly as it was meant to. You see;

I began my journey as a dancer who got a degree in acting and then ran away to join the circus (seriously) before finding my ultimate groove as a filmmaker. Along the way there was also stand up comedy, improv, some questionable performance art in Berlin and bouncing around theatres as an actor and creative. However, when I made my first film I realized that I had found the ultimate medium for my energy and bonkers imagination. Since my first film in 2020 I went on to create multiple award winning short films and through writing, directing and producing those projects, a theme started to emerge and all of my previous experiences began to click into place. I knew the time was right to create my own company and to dive head first into Hey Old Friend Productions Inc.

Hey Old Friend is dedicated to funny, feel-good & female driven content. It was born with the mission to uplift women in the comedy and feel-good space and to centre female driven narratives while also creating from a female lens. It’s goal on and off set was to take being silly very seriously, and reimagine the systems of the film industry that just weren’t working for me or my teams anymore.

In the last year we have produced the short film Cart Girls (that recently had its World Premiere at Dances with Films LA ) and the hit TV series Everybody’s Meg (on BellFibe Tv1). My intention to create film and TV has evolved into creating HOF branded merch that is inspired by the company and lines from our projects (check out our “frig.” hats or “Glizzies for the Boys” tees) as well as virtual workshops in writing, directing and producing and we are soon expanding into the podcast space!

Each new development of the company is intentional and my hope is that in whatever way you engage with Hey Old Friend (through wearing the clothes, laughing at your TV or learning how to produce your short film) that you will take it as an invitation to come back to your own creativity, self expression and that best friend inside of you!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Being a woman in the film industry and specifically in comedy has many ups and many downs. I used to think I had to act older, more serious, email like a robot and adopt a masculine leadership style for people to take me seriously. I could be funny, but not too funny and I could be energetic but not too enthusiastic, I needed more mystery but also more transparency and I couldn’t be too assertive but then I was a push over and it just went on and on and on.

Fortunately- Hey Old Friend has helped me own my voice and communicate in ways that are authentic to me. I like to create spaces where play is at the forefront of the process but that doesn’t compromise the quality. I work with teams that are extremely detailed and talented and infusing more joy & play into our day just makes the work better and our days at work better.

I email how I speak, I don’t shy away from my energy or my enthusiasm. I trust that I can be myself while also being professional and one doesn’t have to cancel the other out. I don’t think it’s cool to be jaded and I also don’t care if people find me “too much”. They don’t have to work with me, and I don’t have to work with them and we can all go do our own thing- no drama necessary.

Coming to these conclusions has taken a lot of time, therapy and un doing of my deep seeded people pleasing tendencies. But to fully embody and lead Hey Old Friend it has been essential and ultimately very fulfilling and healing.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was making a short film with a few friends that was an exercise in creating female led comedy. The filming was fun, we all felt inspired and creative and then…

In a freak hard drive accident we lost the entire film. POOF! Gone!

My editor called me distraught and feeling terrible and I remember not even being upset I just said, well, lets do it again.

You see, in that moment I could put everything into perspective and see beyond my own ego. We were all new, we were all learning and yes, it sucked! But also- it was a chance to try again.

We made the film again; myself, Becky Swannick and Maddy Foley. It was made for $40 bucks (The pizza Maddy bought us that day) and with all borrowed equipment and just the 3 of us doing all of the jobs. That little film was called ‘Meg Writes a Reference Letter’ and it went on to change all of our lives.

The film won awards across Canada and the US and was a CBC Short Film Face Off Finalist. It started the journey of us co creating our series Everybody’s Meg (a Hey Old Friend Production now on Bell Fibe TV1) and our close working relationship and friendship.

When things go wrong, that’s when you really learn who and what is right for you. Our shared passion and desire to create and learn together outweighed the loss of the first film. And ultimately the second movie was a way better movie because we got to try again and get better.

This lesson stays with me as each project grows as well as the business. Failure is a crucial part of success and it’s how you bounce back from those moments that teaches you how strong you and your teams are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://heyoldfriend.com
• Instagram: @hey.old.friend