We are excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Adkin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.
We’re so thrilled to have Laura with us today. Welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I think my work ethic initial came from my mom. I grew up as an only child with a single mom. She had to provide for us and be both parents and she worked really hard to make that happen. I watched her balance work and also be there for all my plays and sports games and camps. She volunteered at my school and on my sports teams and always seemed to do it without complaint (at least she hid the hard parts from me). She always taught me to believe that anything was possible. At 10 years old when I told her I wanted to play in the NHL, her response wasn’t that girls don’t play professional hockey, but instead that I should keep practicing. I’ve always had huge drive and ambition and people always told me “no” or “wait my turn” and it always made me want to work harder. Being really clear with my goals and creating action plans to work towards those goals has helped me be able to drive myself forward. It’s not always easy, but remembering the goal and knowing that hard work will move me towards it gives me the drive and work ethic I need to succeed in this industry.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a filmmaker, which is an all encompassing term for being a writer, director and producer of film. I started out as an actor, professionally just over 20 years ago, but I’ve been doing plays and theatre since I was in pre-school. Just over ten years ago I made the move behind the camera. Being a filmmaker is a very self-driven profession, there’s no one to report to or anyone telling you what to do. Unlike other professions, there is no one way to do it. You don’t get a degree and then get a job. A lot of what I do is trial and error and finding my own artistic path within an industry that has to somehow balance art and commerce. What I love about filmmaking is no day is ever the same. The writing part of my job (coming up with ideas, writing, the script, etc…) is very solitary and very internal but once I’ve written a script the process becomes incredibly collaborative. I get notes and feedback on the script until I have a draft ready to shoot and then I have to put together a team to make the film actually happen. The last part of filmmaking is taking this thing that was an idea in your head and sharing it with the world. I’ve had a great experience most recently with my feature film “Re: Uniting” which is in select theatres in Canada currently and will be having its theatrical release in the US starting May 31st and will be available on video-on-demand on June 4th. Having the chance to hear feedback from people who have seen the film and who tell me what it’s meant to them has been very meaningful.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the qualities that have been most effective for me have been ambition, collaboration and tenacity. I would advise anyone wanting a career in the creative arts or someone who wants to create something is that you have to be collaborative with people with being very clear with your vision. As a director, you bring your vision to the table and you need to find people who can take that vision and bring something you never would have thought of to the table.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The biggest obstacle that I face is that a lot of people want to do this and you need to find a way to set you apart. A lot of people have ideas and a very small group of people control who gets the opportunities. Very few people have held the majority of the power for a very long time and trying to get people to take a chance on you is difficult.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lauraadkin.com
- Instagram: @lauraadkin, @reunitingfilm
Image Credits
Ashley Ross Photography (studio shots) Syd Wong Photography (on set stills)
