Hi, I'm Molly Doyle, a 20-year-old from Te Whanganui-a-tara (Wellington). I currently work as a filmmaker, editor, artist & photographer. I also study, part-time, environmental science and art history.
How did you get into / what inspired you to get into filmmaking?
I have grown up using multimedia as a means of communication. I have seen the evolution of technology now simplified for general public use. This simplification broadens the scope of movie making for individuals, including myself, for me, creating stories for film was a natural progression. I made my first films on my family's digital camera, shooting music videos with friends to Taylor Swift songs. At the age of 13, I made a film, “A Fishy Tale” with my cousins on the back of my Grandparent's farm. “A Fishy Tale” ended up winning a prize in the Roxy5 short film competition, it was then remade with Park Road Post, Miramar Creative and capital E.
Inspired by the scope of qualitative aspects of film production, like-new visual technologies, I was set on using it as an outlet to share my stories. Last year some peers and I made a short called Comic, which screened in 7 international festivals. Comic follows four teenage girls in a comic book club. As they tackle gender stereotypes, they’re absorbed into the comic book world. I’ve since written the concept into a TV series that was pitched at Lane Street Studio's Creative Business course to representatives from Netflix and Disney! With big hopes that someday I’ll get to make the T.V series and inspire a generation of Comic book fanatics to challenge stereotypes often seen in these worlds.
Trailer for the short film 'Comic'
Are you currently working on any projects?
Presently, I’m working on two short films. Firstly, Sea Castles, a short I’m co-producing with my talented friend Parekawa Finlay. Sea Castles is about a young girl experiencing her community's reaction to coastal degradation. We follow her processing the implications on her, and her father's future.
Timon Zeiss, our DOP, and I finished shooting last weekend, now I’m into editing. With the severity of climate change, coastline recession rates will only rise, that’s why I feel it’s important to localize the issue and start opening the conversation up to younger generations.
Sea Castles was conceptualized after conversations I was involved in back in 2019, when I was a member of a few environmental organizations, here I learnt about the extent of the issues for low lying communities across the pacific. Sea Castles was written to support and encourage discussion of children's understanding of social and ecological resilience in these communities. The power of storytelling is undermined in solving global issues, I feel our film communities have an obligation to produce more stories for social change. So why not create some more kickass change-making movies.
The second project I’m currently making is a short film called Hettie’s Elderly hour. The film challenges perceptions of aging, with the focus on Alzheimer's Disease. The short is set to be shot in November. With the support of Alzheimer's NZ and broader NGOs, the short will be used as a resource for children learning about cognitive diseases. Our boosted campaign will be launched in July!
Stills from 'Sea Castles'
What is your best advice for someone interested in your field?
The advice I’d give to someone interested in getting into filmmaking would be to make your own content! Don’t wait around for a funding body to like your idea. The harsh reality is we’ve got little to no support for new emerging talent. The bridge from studies into the industry is a gruelling process that takes years of mental strength to get through. So, embrace, collaborate, share the challenges with your peers. Work together and support each other's dreams, find individuals that share the same kaupapa with you and build your networks. Start teaching yourself to de-personalize criticism. Celebrate all achievements big and small. No two people have the same journey into this industry, so learn to embrace your own. And always remember that quote: Conformity is the surest path to mediocrity, so be a little bit different and tell your own stories. Cheesy - but stories from your heart will fuel your passion.
I’m always keen to meet others on the same journey as me. No matter what stage in your career or you just have a burning passion for film making I’d love to support you! Flick me a message and I’d love to connect!
Check out more of Molly's work here!