Kailey Danielle Morand, London International Screenwriting and Film Festival, Short Film, Official Selection: Hadley's Home

LISFF Short Film Official Selection: Hadley's Home, Directed by Kailey Danielle Morand

- Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

 I am currently a senior at Northwestern University, finishing up a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Creative Writing. I’ve completed programs in screenwriting, playwriting, poetry, and musical theatre performance here, and currently work as a consultant at our writing center on campus! I plan to move to Chicago after graduating, and hope to matriculate to graduate school soon to continue my pursuit of a career as a writer and educator.

- When and how did you get into filmmaking?

I often cite the origin of my artistic career as the times during my childhood when my grandma would help me set up a library in her living room filled with books I had made—self-bound with printer paper and a stapler. I won my first award for filmmaking during my senior year of high school for a documentary I made about the impact of the arts on the special needs community. Since then, I have been endlessly seeking opportunities to practice writing, performing, filmmaking, and to grow as an artist overall, much of which has been facilitated by my enrollment at Northwestern. My film “Hadley’s Home” was the first short film I completed as writer/director, under the support of a grant from the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, which aims to promote the generation of stories centering mental health. I am currently working on a full-length play, CRASHING IN, which follows two sisters and the reverberations of addiction and memory in their adult lives, which will be produced on campus in February. I recently returned from the Sundance Film Festival on a trip with a few students in the School of Communication, and am thrilled to continue my festival journey after attending my first one in-person!

- How often do you write/create ideas? Do you have a working routine? And what inspires you to create?

 I (try to) write every day! As I am currently a student, my routine is facilitated very nicely via course assignments and deadlines. I love to write in the mornings, at my desk (or in my bed) with a cup of black coffee. When the weather is nicer, I love to write on my balcony or outside of a coffee shop! I am also an avid reader—consuming art that I respect is a consistent source of inspiration for me, and I often consider my daily reading a part of my writing process.

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

 It is so gratifying to be recognized as an artist, and particularly for a story that is so close to me. “Hadley’s Home” is a very special film that speaks a lot to my relationship with my mother and sister, my understanding of mental health and how it impacts a family unit, and the unique experience of living with only women. It brings me so much joy to know that through this sort of recognition, more people who have either been through something similar or can benefit from exposure to this story will get to experience Hadley, Emma, and Renee’s journey.

- What's the best and most challenging thing about Filmmaking?

My favorite part of writing is seeing the first image I’ll come to associate with a story. For “Hadley’s Home” that was the shot of Renee shaking the pill bottles in the bathroom, listening to dispose of the full ones and finally coming across the empty one—the bottle of pills that Hadley presumably used in her suicide attempt. Finding this image is always such a gratifying moment in a process, as it’s a story element I get to follow from my brain, to the page, and then to the stage and/or screen. These images ground me as a storyteller and allow me to seamlessly access my initial inspiration in moments of difficulty. The most challenging aspect of writing a screenplay or stage play for me is imposter syndrome. There is a point in every project where I start to doubt my abilities as a writer, and whether I should be working on a script at all—it’s these moments that I have to remind myself that I am the only person who has my particular life experience and ultimately who can write the story in the way that I will, and that the opportunities and recognition I’ve been granted derive from genuine response to my work.

-  How did you develop the idea for your LISP-selected film? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

“Hadley’s Home” was inspired by my relationship with my little sister and my curiosity about her perspective through my struggles with mental health in high school. I wanted to tell a story about the intricacies of disclosure within a female family unit, specifically exploring the gaps in the perspective of someone who is perceived as too young to understand or be fully exposed to such nuanced situations. I started working on “Hadley’s Home” in January 2022, when I began my year in the inaugural cohort of the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotional of Mental Health via the Cinematic Arts. I spent the next year developing the story and shooting the film, and then worked on the edit during summer 2023.

- Can you please give us a few tips about Filmmaking?

 I think the most helpful tip I’ve heard is to “write what you know”. Experiences like the one in “Hadley’s Home” can feel so isolating, but it’s important to remember that though we are the only ones to live life in the exact way and under the exact circumstances that we have, there are always people who benefit from experiencing your story—whether they relate to it or have something to learn from it. It is vital to “write what you know” because nobody knows exactly what you do—if you remain authentic to the experiences you understand or have researched thoroughly, you will inevitably create art that speaks uniquely to an aspect of the human experience that only you can articulate in the way that you can.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions and festivals?

Film festivals are awesome because they gather art and artists from across the world and allow them to simply be with one another and experience what we have to offer. They allow for artists to dream together and see what’s being made by like-minded creators. I often find myself intimidated by the scope of artists who are invited, and scared to strike conversation—but it’s helpful to remember that we are all there for the same reason (because we love what we do!).

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISP?

Yes! I’m so excited for my story to be shared amongst such talented artists—the values of LISFF and the stories promoted by the organization align so well with the art I hope to make, and I feel grateful to be recognized amongst such great company. Submit to LISP!