5Q's w/: Karen Liebau McPherson "Laugh With Me" Director

QUESTION#1: How do your top 3 favorite films influence your filmmaking?:

It’s not easy to list my top three films as this is always evolving. But when I think about the films I will always watch when they pop up on television or when I don’t know what to watch, I would choose ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, ‘Pride and Prejudice' or ‘Shawshank Redemption’. The storytelling in these films is so strong that I think even if it wasn’t technically done well it would still be good. But all aspects of these films are fantastic. From colour choices, to camera movements, to production design and soundtrack. Every part works and is in support of the story, which I always try to do in my films, really considering how everything is connected. To tell the story in the best possible way.

QUESTION#2: What do you wish someone would ask you about your film and why?:

Probably ‘how was working with kookaburras?’. We had a fantastic kookaburra called Chucky who performed brilliantly for all the shots we needed. But the experience was very surreal. We had just been told (due to a COVID lockdown) we had to shut down the film and this was going to be our last shots. All the kookaburras from the area had accumulated around us in the trees because they are very territorial. So there were hundreds of kookaburras laughing at us from high above. And then we were told by the kookaburra wrangler that Chucky didn’t like women with long blond hair. Not sure if this was a little bird displaying chauvinistic behaviour or coming from a previous trauma but everything seemed already so strange. So I had no choice but to just cover up and as mentioned we got some of the best shots with Chucky.

QUESTION#3: What scared you the most about making this film?:

The biggest scare about making this film was that we had to do it during COVID times and the schedule was very uncertain. My biggest fear came true when we were told we had to shut down on day three of filming due to the last Melbourne lockdown. Fortunately we were granted one more day to finish the film but it meant major re-adjusting and trying to fit three scheduled days of filming into one. But after all that craziness I now can’t imagine we would have made this film any other way.

QUESTION#4: You have to choose one to make your next movie: 1) unlimited budget but only a single take of every shot 2) Academy award winning composer, but they're not allowed to watch the film 3) A-list cast, but they're directed using only charades. Which one do you pick and why?:

That’s a hard one. I am between 2 and 3. I think timing would be very hard for the composer due not knowing any timing so I‘ll go with number 3. Working with an A-list cast would be a dream come true. Not sure how well I would do with charades but I would hope that the script would make more sense than me.

QUESTION#5: What's does the future hold for this film and you?:

The film is still being selected by film festivals and I truly hope it will travel even more to be seen all around the world on bigger screens. In Australia I have also been nominated for an Australian Directors Guild award for this film in the student film category. This is a fantastic accolade and makes me so proud of this film and the whole team behind it. Otherwise I am writing a feature film at the moment. So that could be my next project.

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@k.liebaumc