Katherine Jackson

My name is Katherine Jackson - Katie for short – and I was born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. Movies have been a part of my life since I can remember. I grew up on film sets, with both parents working in the industry. It was there, on set, amidst the noise and chaos and boundless creativity, that I discovered my own passion for filmmaking. Coming from a small city, at the bottom of the world, the ability to express yourself, to be able to tell your own stories, has always been an imperative for me.

As I grew up I would make my own movies with friends at school. This is where I learnt that filmmaking is a collaborative process, even on the smallest scale. My first job following high school was selling tickets in a movie theatre. I got to watch how people experienced films – the good and the bad. Throughout this time I was writing and playing around with developing my own stories. A few years after that I was offered the chance to shoot behind-the-scenes on the feature films Ghost in The Shell and Mortal Engines. I was able to spend time chronicling different departments, observing everything from costume to production design, camera and sound, to the endlessly busy assistant directors – all of them working together to fulfil the director’s vision.

The experience of writing, directing and editing my own first short film has been transformative. It has taught me how much intense focus and hard work is needed to create even a few fleeting moments on screen. It has also confirmed for me this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. Film is, by definition, intensely personal and yet, when it works – the experience is universal. It is inherently an emotional medium but it must also engage in ideas. You have to have something to say and you need to know why you want to say it.