Gabrielle Burton

As a filmmaker, I am both collaborative and self-starting, driven by the desire to use art to engage audiences to think, laugh, and connect. As I've developed as an artist, I've moved increasingly into intertwining my film work with community engagement, with conversations alongside film screening events, or using the work to support other organizations. My four sisters and I helm the production company Five Sisters Productions, and we learned early on that we are all a human family that is stronger when supporting each other; our company mission statement is that we make films and commercials that entertain and also contribute to a sense of hope on a personal or social level. We’re committed to making high quality films (documentaries, features, and shorts) that are intertwined with community involvement and social engagement, with a focus on increasing the diversity of voices both in crew and being represented onscreen. I am also a writer (poetry and non-fiction) and interested in themes of domesticity and women’s experience.

I love the puzzle-pieces in editing a film; it's like a huge game of storytelling Tetris. I like stepping back and watching my work in the process as a viewer might—finding bits that can be refined, improved, or clarified. I love working with talented crewmates who bring to the table their own skills that enhance mine. Writing is also like film editing, both in that most of the work is done in editing, and that it's about reducing, refining and streamlining the work to its most elegant form. When it works best, the bones of the work become invisible, and the story's core rises out to the audience—that is so exciting. I particularly love when the work is shared and moves people—the conversation with the audience is deeply fulfilling (and the reason, really, to make art in the first place).

The best recharging comes from spending time in nature, having time to reflect, reading poetry and going to see art. At the risk of sounding nerdy, I do love editing films, and when I can dive fully into it, my brain lights up with creative juices that continue to refine my process. Getting inspiration from other artists also recharges me. I love the Columbus ballet, seeing art in museums, as well as our local performers who do theater, drag, and music. I also watch a lot of French films, because it stimulates my brain (I’m bilingual) while also being just fun and relaxing. And sometimes I sleep, because film workdays are long.

There is literally more space here—in sky, in land— and that makes open mental space too. I used to plan to move to LA, but I wouldn't want to move there anymore, because of its cramped density of buildings, people and the traffic. I appreciate how much art happens here, and the possibilities for collaboration, for getting support, for having more face-to-face engagement with people here, which makes it a beautiful place to make a life. And it's far more affordable too, allowing me more time to make my art. I deeply love the supportive kindness of Columbus artists; we're generally all rooting for each other, because it’s not an easy thing to be an artist, and I think there's a respect for the craft and the process here that is honest and real.

There are so many hurdles to stop artists—money, gender, power, space—but just keep going. Make your own doors to open.