We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natalie West. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natalie below.

Alright, Natalie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I created was a short film titled “Nuclear” about a young girl struggling to find her identity in 1950s America. While on the search for personal liberation, a nuclear bomb threat forces her family into lockdown where fears of a new reality disintegrate their familial ties and force the daughter to choose between safety and familiarity.

As a filmmaker, this was my first project where I had complete creative freedom to explore this world, and the characters, and discover how I wanted to share this story. From the first draft to the final edit, I could conceptualize each narrative element and revise throughout the production process, which pushed my skills as a director and writer a lot further.

“Nuclear” was also very rewarding due the the artistic challenges, production necessities, and budgetary restraints that we overcame. I was very excited to create a period film because of the world we got to recreate through set dressing, props, costumes, and more. A lot of the making of this film was inspired by my passion for theater and a lot of how I approached the production design came from my experience building sets and making props. However, making a period piece also required a huge budget for the art department which was difficult to obtain. I believe the biggest reward of the project was being able to find creative solutions and making sure to uphold the artistic integrity of the film.

Nuclear premiered at the Golden State Film Festival in February of 2024 and continues on its festival journey. I cannot describe how rewarding it has been to see a concept I was so thrilled to develop turn into a film and be shared with audiences and peers.

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.

My name is Natalie West and I am a director, writer, and producer based in Los Angeles, CA.

I grew up in Orlando, Florida, not even 10 miles away from Disney World. Growing up in a city of creativity and magic, I always had opportunities to let my imagination and storytelling soar. As a kid, I participated in community theater, dance competitions, and choir. Performing has always been a deep passion of mine as it filled my natural curiosity as a kid, taught me to rely on instinct, and acted as a sort of self-reflective tool. There’s a certain comradery in performing and art that you cannot get elsewhere, as there is no other place where you must be as honest, truthful, and real in front of others. Alongside my love for performing grew a natural inquisitiveness for politics, philosophy, and sociology, which I wanted to incorporate into acting and storytelling. I started working with other actors to direct scenes and plays and immediately fell in love with directing.

Realizing I wanted to pursue an entertainment career, I auditioned for the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Magnet to study theater. This program led to many artistic and personal breakthroughs and gave me my first opportunity to pursue a career in the arts. I spent a lot of my time early on in the program working behind the scenes as a technical director. I was set to be in charge of all technical elements of the show and managed many teams of technicians. While there were many long nights and tough challenges, the years I spent working as a technician were some of my favorites, as I was a part of creating the look of each show. In the last two years in the program, I had the opportunity to direct one acts, plays, scenes, and workshop monologues. During the first scene I directed, I knew this was something I wanted to spend the rest of my life pursuing.

While attending high school, I also started writing short films and directing them outside of class with the spare free time I had. Growing up in an era of YouTube and social media, I was inspired to also pursue photography and filmmaking, which I got to achieve by attending Columbia College Chicago’s film program. While in college, I got to collaborate with amazing filmmakers and work in the casting, production design, and production departments. I also directed and produced a few short films, one of which is currently on its festival circuit. After graduating college, I immediately moved to Los Angeles and have been here since.

After moving to Los Angeles, I have been pursuing a freelance career in film, commercial, and television. I’ve also been in preproduction for a few upcoming projects that I am so excited to create! As a filmmaker, it is thrilling to be in a city that challenges and inspires me.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are so many rewarding aspects of filmmaking, that it’s difficult to choose! I believe the most rewarding part of filmmaking is stepping into the first day of production. After spending months in development, going through pre-production, and thoughtfully analyzing and creating every moment of a story, there comes a point where the planning is done, and it’s time to shoot. I love the first day of production because it’s where all the planning becomes second nature, in the same way a dance would, and the team gets to work together to see what works and what fails. The collaboration and problem-solving of filmmaking is my favorite because it looks like a well-oiled machine, which is thrilling to watch.
As a director, this moment is my favorite because I get to be with the actors getting a feel for the space, tweaking moments for the camera, and watching the cast work off each other. There’s something so rewarding about working with actors who always try something new and bring new ideas to the table each day. It’s fascinating to see all of these different perspectives of the same story, most of which I could’ve never thought of.
While every step of the film process has something exciting about it, there’s something about this particular moment that makes any challenging part of the process worth it to me.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I think a resource I wish I utilized earlier was my community of filmmakers and artists. I think your friends are a great community to not only collaborate with but learn from. While I’ve been working with peers for most of my life in the arts, it wasn’t until college I realized the importance of having friends that are not only accepting but challenging. It’s great to have friends who push me artistically, friends to bounce ideas off of, and friends who are honest about their thoughts. It’s also incredibly important to me to have a group of people to grow alongside in this industry and who can relate to the struggles this industry can bring.

A great thing about living in Los Angeles has been the amount of clubs, sports, and events to meet people. Finding a community, especially after graduating college and moving, is super important and it’s amazing to live in a city where there are so many opportunities to do that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nataliewest.work/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieoutwest/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-west-grzeszczak-741b161b4/
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12344386/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Image Credits
Steve Escarcega