Katie Blair is an American filmmaker born and raised in New York City and Columbia University's Film MFA graduate with honors. Her thesis film, Imogene, won the Fiction category in the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards 2024, had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. Imogene is also distributed by Canal+.
At Columbia, Katie was awarded the Breaking Barriers Grant and the Leone Family Grant, and her pilot script won the BlueCat Screenplay Competition. She received her B. A. from The Gallatin School at New York University, where she created her own major: Medieval Saints & Food Restriction.
In our latest interview, we chat with Katie about her creative background, her filmmaking practice and her favourite scenes from the award-winning Imogene.
Still from 'Imogene'
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to become a filmmaker?
I’m interested in behavior and space, and in film I can play with both. Also I never outgrew imaginative play; even when other kids were past the point of make-believe, I was still pretending. So I took a lot of acting classes, and now working with actors is my favorite part of filmmaking. Shots are a close second, and I fell in love with shots more once I got to film school. At film school I had a couple of excellent directing teachers who taught how to “write” with shots like a writer writes with words.
What is ‘Imogene’ about, in your own words? What would you like the viewer to take away from it?
For me Imogene is about a few different things, but the heart of it is the discomfort of shame and repression, and how that discomfort can be both funny and fearful. My challenge to myself was simply to see if I could create fun on film. The way I broke down that direction for myself was at every turn and with every decision I made in the process I was asking myself: does this feel warm? Does this feel generative?
Still from 'Imogene'
Can you share some insights into the behind-the-scenes process of making your independent short film? How did you approach collaborating with your peers throughout the project?
The film couldn’t have been made without Stephanie Hayes playing Imogene. I had seen Stephanie in a brilliant film called “Slow Machine”, and her performance lodged itself in my brain for years. She’s endlessly compelling and skilled. Also, all those dance moves are her own.
What is your favorite scene in the movie and why?
My favorite scene to film was Imogene talking to herself in the bathroom mirror after she learns her family has invited over a sperm donor to impregnate her. We rolled for seven minutes, and I was giving Stephanie prompts in wildly different directions, and without skipping a beat she’d transform in front of our eyes and everything she did was interesting and surprising. She was licking the mirror at one point. I wish I could have made a film entirely of her talking to herself.
The other time I was in awe was the last scene of the film in the living room with the whole family. The entire crew did amazing work transforming that room. I love what the DP and gaffer did with the flickering lights. That was very fun make-believe.
Still from 'Imogene'
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My inspiration is always changing, but memories have been a source. Right now, horror films are inspiring me. I just saw Night of the Living Dead for the first time and can’t stop thinking about it.
What's the best piece of career advice you've ever received?
I think the only career advice that has stuck has to do with being delusional and never giving up. There is no “path”, is there? Failure and rejection are part of the game. The only thing I really have control over is if I keep wrestling with a story.
Still from 'Imogene'
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently writing a feature. It is a long and difficult process, but I’m possessed and won’t give up.
What is your biggest takeaway from your experience at the Sony Pictures Studios?
My biggest takeaway from the Sony experience is having the opportunity to watch everyone’s work in the beautiful theater on the Sony lot. I saw some inventive, wicked, refreshing films there, and it feels so lucky to see something inspiring and then spend time with the filmmakers.