How Laurel Parmet went from Staff Picks to feature films

Aug 2, 2023

"I I know that everyone tells me"Just go for it. Just go make your film.' But it's the truth," she adds. "Self-doubt is huge and it's really just such as a drain on your energy. It's the time you're spending contemplating, "Oh, I can't do this, I'm never going to succeed.' You could be thinking that way, and I might utilize it for creating." We got the opportunity to talk with Laurel to find out more about her process and her development as a creative. Find the complete interview.

 What's your favorite advice that you've received?

Laurel: I think the best advice I've ever gotten is to just whenever you're in doubt, look back at what's interesting and meaningful to me as an author. You can easily become entangled with the industry and, ultimately, at the end of the day, I'm doing this because I am passionate about telling stories and that's just sort of my North star.

 Where do you get your source of inspiration?

Lauren: Honestly, I get inspiration from my writing from places. Whenever I'm writing something that I write, it is really helpful to actually be at the place, no matter where a film is set. The next one I'm working on, I'm going to put it on the Oregon coast because I was there visiting and just fell in love and was like, "I need to write a movie for here."

 What did you think of stepping onto set for your first feature?

Laurel: It was an extremely long and difficult process to get there. Writing the script, getting it to an acceptable level, obtaining funds, and forming your team. It should take a longer time, because all good things take a long time and good scripts take an extended time to write I would say.

Day one on set of "The Starling Girl," I had the impression that I would be nervous and think I didn't know how to proceed, but honestly it was a blast and I felt so comfortable and felt like this was what I am meant to do. And it sort of felt as if I was riding a bicycle. I re-entered the job really easily and I just loved it.

 What is it that keeps you motivated?

Laurel In the first place, it's the work. I enjoy being on stage and it's where I love to be. So, just having that image in my head of "Oh I'll be there." I think is what keeps me focused. Also, I am a fan of collaboration, I always desire to be able to create things with my buddies It's so much fun.

 Can you describe your Staff Pick experience?

The Laurel : Staff Picks, which was a common goal when I was producing shorts and taking part at festivals. You feel like you're getting noticed by the people who appreciate your work. You're accepted into the community that so many filmmakers have a place that I admire.

 Which tools do you employ within your job?

Laurel : I utilize it for everything. Recently, we used the platform while we cut "The Starling Girl," uploading edits to share with the world. This is by far the most high-quality streaming platform I've encountered so this is what I make use of.