A story about two orphans being pitted against each other, resulting in a test of their friendship, Julia by Director Emma Duvall is a truly beautiful watch. The film is inspired by the true story of Emma Duvall’s mother in South Korea. To learn more about Julia, check out Emma’s responses to our questions to our “5 Questions With” series below!
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What inspired you to start making films?
I started out as an actor and was drawn to acting because I love telling stories. After a couple years, I started to see my peers making their own films, and taking control of the narrative they wanted to tell. That opened up a whole new world to me. There had always been a part of me that wanted to bring my mother’s story to life through film, but the idea of that seemed so distant. My partner, Skyler Verity, and I wrote the script for Julia during lockdown since we had the spare time, but we never thought of it as something we could realistically shoot in the near future. I was very fortunate to receive a grant through Oregon Made Creative Foundation, Oregon Film, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council that really kickstarted production on Julia. There was an overwhelming sense of community support, and that made taking the plunge into making my first film much more approachable.
Were there any challenges in making this project?
There were a million challenges with making Julia! It felt like most of pre production was navigating all the challenges that came with trying to tell a story set in 1970 South Korea in modern day Oregon. It felt impossible at times. We weren’t able to lock down locations that even remotely worked until about 5 days before the shoot. But it somehow all came together so perfectly in the end, and the locations we found couldn’t have been better.
Is there any type of message or emotion that you hope the viewer takes away from watching this film?
I hope more than anything that viewers are able to connect with my mother’s story. One of the main reasons I felt so compelled to tell my mother’s story is because the experiences of her and her orphanage sisters’ were never acknowledged within their own society. There is a long history of stigma against orphans in South Korea, so my mother was never able to speak up as a child because there was no one willing to listen. It has meant more than I can ever say to make this film, and to see how many people are able to connect with her and her experience.
How does it feel to be able to screen the film at HollyShorts?
I was absolutely dumbfounded when I got the acceptance to Hollyshorts. I had no expectations going into the festival circuit, and to be able to share my mother’s story on a larger platform is incredible. Hollyshorts was definitely a dream festival for me, and to be accepted with my first film still feels unreal. I am very very grateful for the opportunity.
What’s on the horizon for you?
I actually just wrapped principal photography for my next short film! It was a lot of fun to shoot something that was entirely fictional rather than based on a true story because it felt like I could take more creative liberty. The film is called, Stretch, and I wrote and directed it with my partner Skyler Verity. It’s a coming of age film that follows an 11-year old Korean- American girl who wants to be the lead in her school show. We worked with a lot of young actors again, and had around 35 middle schoolers on set. It was chaotic, but in just the right way. It is a strong pivot from Julia because we really wanted to embrace joy more than anything in the film. Our number one priority throughout the entire filmmaking process was to make something that personally brought us a lot of joy, and would genuinely be fun to watch. There were so many moments throughout the shoot where we were like, “I can’t believe this is what we’re shooting, this is so ridiculous”, so I can’t wait to finish it up this year, and get it out into the world.
Thank you so much, Emma, for sharing your responses! Click here to get tickets for the 19th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival, running from August 10th – August 19th at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres.
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