Meet Paper Palace

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Molly and Britt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Molly and Britt 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?

Pursuing a career in the arts requires a good work ethic and resourcefulness – our passion, drive for self-improvement, curiosity, and love of life keeps us going. We’ve chosen careers in creative, non-traditional or freelance work where there is no roadmap, so we have to think as entrepreneurs and to see the long game. We make our own luck. We don’t sit around waiting for the phone to ring. We put our energy in the direction of our dreams and push as hard as we can.

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?

We are Britt Harris and Molly Muse; a tight creative team and filmmaking duo. In 2012 we were actors, cast as sisters in a feature length indie film called Birds of Neptune. Shortly after we began working together, Britt’s house burned down and we found ourselves sharing the same room and quickly became sisters in real life. Inspired by our experience on set, we started making a movie about making movies called Jump the Fence which was shot in Brazil in 2017 (Jump the Fence is a documentary project about international independent filmmakers.) It won an award (Best First Feature – Arizona International Film Fest.) and was sold to the Ovation Channel. We decided to start our own production company, Paper Palace Productions, and moved into developing our own narrative work, shooting Wrap Me in a Sheet in 2021 and Ghost Town in 2022. Additionally, we are in post-production for a travel docuseries about cheese and are currently writing a comedic television show about birthday clowns in NYC.

What we make is very personal. Our bond is strong and our friendship is deep. The themes we explore are the more profound, deeper questions of life. We slap our traumas and fears and joys on the table and say, ok, how do we tell a story about this? Wrap Me in a Sheet centered around intergenerational trauma which was symbolized with a family heirloom. Our hearts burst open when, as Wrap Me in a Sheet had its first screening, we were approached by many people who were working through the same issues and found catharsis and healing through our work. That is the most incredible feeling ever, to really touch someone’s soul and share an experience together. You’re intimately bonded with a stranger. We use love as a compass in our work, look for truth and try to crack open the nut of what is real and powerful, universal truths that remind us we are all the same, we all need love, we are all connected.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, we see that three qualities have helped us get to where we are today, and keep us moving forward: persistence, community building, and connecting to the muse. Our advice for developing persistence would be to think of your journey more as a marathon than a sprint – make progress every day and don’t give up. We cannot express enough the importance of community: our community is the reason we are where we are today. We couldn’t have created the films we have made without our trusted collaborators. Finally, connecting to the muse is a north star for us in deciding what projects to create or take on. It is so important to find what lights you up and makes you curious. What makes you feel electric? What idea do you keep coming back to when you are in the shower or doing the dishes?

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

FUNDING

Every film needs funding, whether it’s $500 or $500 million. Many filmmakers find this fundraising obstacle prohibitive. The name “Paper Palace” means taking what we have and making something beautiful. We consider ourselves scrappy and resourceful. If we believe in a story, we’ll make it work no matter what.

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