Lara Celenza: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker
An Interview With Susan Johnston
I never gave up despite facing numerous seemingly insurmountable challenges. I’ve grappled with my mental health, finances, and personal life. I’m learning to wholeheartedly love myself, forgive others, and create from a place of freedom and non-attachment. When I look at myself in the mirror, I see an imperfect person of whom I am deeply proud.
As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Lara Celenza.
Lara Celenza was born in 1982 in Vasto, Italy, and holds a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Bologna and an MPhil in Russian Studies from the University of Cambridge. After professional training in directing at the Raindance Film School, she founded Kalifilm Productions in 2010, creating award-winning films including her debut feature “Lost in the City” (2022). In addition to her filmmaking career, she is a certified life coach, NLP practitioner, and holistic therapist, dedicated to mentoring fellow creatives and fostering a new stage of consciousness through cinematic art.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
I was a socially awkward and vulnerable child, often bullied at school, who found solace in books and movies. This led me to start creating my own characters and scribbling stories in secret diaries. I didn’t have many friends and always felt out of place, but I felt completely at ease in the world of Russian fairy tales and novels, science fiction movies, and anime.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
One night when I was an MPhil student at the University of Cambridge, I dreamt I was writing a screenplay adaptation of a Dostoevsky novel. At that time, I wasn’t even considering a career in film, being more interested in academic writing or journalism. However, the dream felt incredibly real, and when I woke up, I decided to learn screenwriting.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your content creator career?
The craziest time was definitely when we were filming “Lost in the City.” We had no money and became experts in various guerrilla shooting techniques: sneaking in, climbing fences, and always being ready to pack up and run to the next available location when things went south. I remember one night in particular when we were shooting a homeless gang brawl and a random passerby called the police on us. They showed up heavily armed and ready to engage. We somehow had to come up with a reasonable explanation for why there was a dirty homeless man on the floor covered in chocolate syrup, as the film was shot in black and white and we had no money for fake blood.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
The most interesting people I’ve met work in the self-awareness and spiritual field. Recently, I met a guy who helped me release a deeply-held subconscious hurt I’ve had all my life in a 30-minute session by somehow “commanding it to leave”. It was more effective than years of therapy.
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? Can you share a story about that?
I can’t think of a particular person, but I’m certainly grateful to authors like Neville Goddard, Eckhart Tolle, Joseph Campbell, and Marisa Peer, who have helped me release outdated and self-damaging perceptions.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” If you want to change your life, you can’t sit around and wait for everybody and everything else to change. Grab a piece of paper and ask yourself: what qualities do I want to see in the world? What can I do to embody those qualities today? This simple shift will trigger a revolution.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I am working on a startup concept that will help people change their lives through the power of storytelling. Concurrently, I am honing my screenwriting skills and managing multiple projects in various stages of development.
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
I never gave up despite facing numerous seemingly insurmountable challenges. I’ve grappled with my mental health, finances, and personal life. I’m learning to wholeheartedly love myself, forgive others, and create from a place of freedom and non-attachment. When I look at myself in the mirror, I see an imperfect person of whom I am deeply proud.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. Don’t play it safe. Political correctness is killing art. Art isn’t supposed to make you comfortable — it’s supposed to make you think. 2. Study the classics: literature, architecture, music, etc. These works weren’t made for instant gratification or mindless entertainment; they were meant to tap into the collective unconscious and evoke a feeling of transcendence. They remain superior in scope and power to most contemporary productions, whether we admit it or not. Read Aristotle’s “Poetics.” 3. Use your right brain. In art, intuition and imagination are far more powerful than logic. Many writers get stuck because they over-analyze everything. Get in the flow and enjoy it. 4. Be mindful. You are not your thoughts. If you cannot feel into this essential truth, you have nothing of significance to say to the world. Read “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. 5. Build authentic, kind, compassionate relationships with the people you collaborate with. Not to squeeze something out of them — money, favors, etc. — but out of genuine interest and empathy. Success is absolutely worthless if you don’t have loved ones to share it with.
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?
My own consciousness. When we made “Lost in the City,” we didn’t receive any “official” support because homelessness was a sensitive, even taboo, subject. We weren’t trying to make a statement or generalize; we just wanted to tell a strong, powerful story — and we did. I love “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin; it explains artistic integrity so beautifully. We are proud this film received distribution from Select Services Films Inc. Los Angeles
You are a person of great influence. If you could spread an idea that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can prompt. :-)
Question your societal programming. Be curious, study, and conduct your own research. This applies to everything, especially what is making you unhappy.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? They might see this. :-)
Elon Musk. I’m not a fanatic admirer — I’d just love to pick his brain about my startup business idea.
How can our readers further follow you online?
X: @LaraCelenza and @Kalifilm. A complete list of our social media handles can be found on https://laracelenza.com and https://kalifilmproductions.com.
About The Interviewer: Susan Johnston is a Media Futurist, Columnist as well as Founder and Director at New Media Film Festival®. The New Media Film Festival® — honoring stories worth telling since 2009, is an Award-winning, inclusive, and boundary-pushing catalyst for storytelling and technology. Susan was knighted in Rome in 2017 for her work in Arts & Humanity.
