Just remember; if you want something badly enough, you will work hard to get it. It may take a while, but eventually you will get there. Nothing is ever straight forward but the journey along the way is what makes it enjoyable.
As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing.. Kaitlyn Boxall.
Kaitlyn Lorraine Boxall is a British film director and producer, who originally started off in a women’s refuge at 3 weeks old. She is now best known for her film ‘Behind Closed Doors’.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?
I started off in a refuge at 3 weeks old due to my Mother fleeing my abusive Father. I grew up primarily in the London Borough of Bexley, where I developed a passion for the film industry. I have always been creative since a very young age, and always wanted to produce my artistic vision.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think the new production idea will help people?
I am currently looking into the subjects of dementia and racism, as I have a production idea to raise awareness on dementia and the social issue of racism. I will not yet be revealing the storyline, as this is something currently in early stages of consideration.
I feel the storyline surrounding these two subjects will definitely help viewers, as dementia is a subject in film which is so underrepresented, and it deserves a bit more reflection and awareness. I plan to add controversy to the film by also highlighting the social issue of racism, which does seem a very peculiar mix for a storyline, but this will definitely be a film that will raise many life lessons for not just a young generation watching, but also older generations who may find a lot of personal relevance in the story.
In your opinion, what do you think makes your films stand out from the crowd?
I tend to make all my storylines controversial, as I believe a good film is a film which holds debate amongst an audience. Whether viewers agree or not with what they have watched, a memorable film naturally stands out within its own right. Also, everything in life holds debate and I like to represent that realism in films instead of producing the usual cliché storylines that tell viewers what we think they want to be told. My films will never do that because they hold visual aspects of hard-hitting realism.
Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? What was the reaction of the naysayers and how did you overcome that?
Growing up, I was quite often doubted and ridiculed by teachers. I tend to think this is because I came from a single Mother, so it made myself and my Mother look vulnerable to authority figures. My teachers would say that I would never get anywhere in life but with the encouragement and love of my Mother, I did not listen the negativity.
In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂
I continued to be creative growing up, learning how to produce my artistic vision and discover myself creatively. My Mother has always supported in everything I have ever wanted to do, whereas a lot of my friend’s parents would disregard what their children wanted to do and had them make other choices. I was very fortunate to have a supportive Mother who has backed me in all my aspirations.
When the first lockdown of covid19 occurred, I felt a surge of inspiration and saw it as a very special opportunity to produce a powerful storyline based on domestic abuse. The film was not entirely fictional as it was stemmed from my Mother’s personal experience with abuse. The film hit close to home for a lot of people across the world. This came to a big surprise to me as I did not expect the high level of responses the film received and seemed to have become my breakthrough film where I was able to make a positive impact on people.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
My Mother is the number one person who has helped me from day one and shown so much encouragement to my dreams of wanting to pursue the film industry. I think this is because my Mother grew up as a child model and performed as a country singer, so I have a parent who understands the creative field that I want to be in.
In regard to ‘Behind Closed Doors’, I would not have been able to successfully produce the film without the talented cast and crew who made it all possible, and also my Mother who allowed me to put her story to positive use where it helped other victims of abuse.
It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency?
Despite being constantly put down in life, I have never been able to shake off the creative side of myself as expressing artistic vision has always been my passion. I believe it is something that is within you, and if you truly want something then you will work hard to achieve it.
I think the more I was put down as a kid by teachers, the more determined it made me as I wanted to prove them wrong.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible?
Never let people’s opinion of you become your reality.
Just remember; if you want something badly enough, you will work hard to get it. It may take a while, but eventually you will get there. Nothing is ever straight forward but the journey along the way is what makes it enjoyable.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.
Do what you can with what you have. There is always a way around something.
Whoever is trying to bring you down, is someone who is already below you. That’s when you truly recognise people for what they are.
What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?
I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I feel this is something I have already been able to do since the release of ‘Behind Closed Doors’. Being able to positively influence victims of abuse has been so heartwarming for me as a rising film director and has helped me prove to myself that I can make an impact on people using my creativity.
Writing storylines and scripts has become my way of expressing myself and how I see things in the world, which is a powerful way of looking at the process of filmmaking.
I plan to continue with my filmmaking and hopefully go on to produce more memorable films, which will help people in their own lives and find relevance within it.
