Kalia Love Jones Inspires With "The Power of Hope"
We could all use a dash of hope right now and L.A. native Kalia Love Jones is here to bring it to us. This ambitious and engaging 13-year-old is an animated filmmaker who is showing the world how the magic of creativity and inspiration can manifest in her film The Power of Hope that she directed and produced. The film was inspired by a Michelle Obama speech and chronicles the journey of a young woman with big dreams of being an architect. The film has been steadily garnering attention and traffic from a worldwide audience and has been showcased at film festivals worldwide and will be showcased at Urbanworld Film Festival, HollyShorts and LA Shorts International Film Festival this year. We were very excited to chat with Kalia about her inspiration for the film and her creative process.
How did you choose Michelle Obama as an inspiration for the film and what made this speech stand out from the rest?
The whole concept behind the film was that I wanted to create something inspiring and relatable for everyone. Michelle Obama has always been such an inspiration to me and remains an impactful figure to everyone around her. When I heard her speech, I really loved the message and I wanted to create a film with that as my foundation.When I found the speech I had been online researching different content and this speech was one that I connected to the most.
What inspired you to direct?
I’ve always loved TV shows, movies, and animation. I don’t know when the exact age was that I wanted to start having a career in directing, but I’ve had this dream for as long as I could remember.
Are there any directors that inspire you?
Yes there are alot of people who inspire me and I pay homage to them in the credits of The Power of Hope with a collage.
What was the collaboration process like when you had to decide people to work with?
We didn’t know anyone in the film industry so we would go to colleges and recruit people who wanted to work on the film. It was honestly the hardest part because we were so new to this industry and we didn’t have any connections.
When you were pitching it to people for help did you already have the story in mind or was it still in development?
I already had the story in mind, I just needed help with animation, music, and finding distribution.
How much time did you spend on the film between writing, directing, producing, and animating?
The process of making a film was pretty long and it took about 1.5 years to complete.
What challenges did you discover once you started to animate the film?
The whole process was a huge journey and I think the hardest part was deciding how I wanted it to look and how I wanted the story to be told.
Did you have specific animation studios or styles that inspired you?
I watch a lot of animation and that definitely had an influence on my work in the film whether it was Pixar or Dreamworks.
Is the character based on anyone from your life?
The story wasn’t based on anything from real life. I wanted to write something that was inspiring and relatable. The main character is pursuing a career in architecture and I chose that because of the combination of art and design.
What would your advice be for young filmmakers who don’t have the resources to create a film?
My advice would be to find whatever resources you can and make it happen. I financed the film because me and my family saved money from recycling in addition to putting away birthday funds. Find whatever you can whether that's using a fundraising platform or asking for help from your friends and family.
What can we look forward to you in the future?
Right now I don’t have any other projects in the works because The Power of Hope is fairly new and I’m hoping that will open some doors for me in this industry.
We look forward to seeing more from Kalia in the future! Please like, comment, and share her beautiful film The Power of Hope now streaming on YouTube.