Meet Our 2023-2024 AWC Fellow: Paula Kiley
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Visual Communications is thrilled to introduce our 2023-2024 Armed With a Camera Cohort! Meet emerging filmmaker Paula Kiley!
Paula Kiley (she/her) is a multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker who strives to tell stories that connect and empower people with information, the truth, and most importantly — one another. She most recently worked on a feature documentary titled Body Parts, a Sundance-selected film that explores the evolution of desire and “sex” on-screen from a female perspective — allowing women to reclaim the parts of themselves that have been objectified and exploited for decades. Paula received her BA in journalism and a minor in film at Cal State Long Beach and is currently a digital content coordinator at PBS SoCal where she produces arts and culture stories in the Greater Los Angeles area.
Q: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE FILM/MEDIA ARTS
I have to give it up to the OG storyteller, my Lola! Some of the first stories I’ve ever heard were from my grandmother. Sitting at the dining room table, phone pinned to her ear as she called all our relatives from oceans away to tell stories about her day or reminisce on stories from years ago. I thought about how ephemeral those stories were, living in the room for just a moment before dissipating when the call ended. I wanted to pursue film as a way to preserve and document these stories that live inside all of us.
photographed by paula
photographed by paula
Q: WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO ON YOUR FREE TIME
I’m notorious amongst friends and family for picking up a new hyperfixation hobby every 4-6 months. But I’ve found a lot of joy in crocheting items for friends and family, caring for houseplants, and learning film photography and wheel throwing.
paula’s plants
paula and her pottery
FAVORITE FILMS
Spirited Away (2001) & Bend it Like Beckham (2003)
FAVORITE TV SHOWS
The Haunting of Hill House & Abbott Elementary
MUSIC ARTIST ON REPEAT
beabadoobee
RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATION
Q: WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR THIS YEAR’S AWC
I’m so excited to make a film alongside brilliant fellows and mentors whose work and practices are so deeply rooted in community! I’m grateful for the space that’s been created for us to hold one another as we embark on each of our projects.
WHERE TO FIND YOU
@paula.kilikili on Instagram
