Once upon a time Kathi was 12 and picked up her father's old 8mm movie camera.
She found a store which still sold the film and a mail order place that developed the film for cheap.
A spark ignited and Kathi began a long trip to filmmaking which took her to many cities (and through many cameras) in a quest to expand her knowledge of all the art forms that went into a film; everything from painting, photography, costume design, acting, and playing in a band.
When she felt she had finally gained enough insight into the art of the film, she began writing.
There the real story begins.
A horror film was produced, and then a comedy short, and finally a feature which Kathi wrote, directed, and produced.
More to come...
Keep watching.
Read the interview below with Kathi Lehmer by writer, Dale Pierce.
An Interview With Kathi Lehmer by Dale Pierce
DP: You are relatively new on the films scene, are you not?
KL: Yes and no. I have been experimenting with film since I was a kid.
I have been working on independent projects for the last decade.
Before that I was gathering experience in all the arts that go into filmmaking.
I studied painting, drawing, and costume design in
Then I moved to
I quickly found the filmmakers here and started acting in various films and a couple of plays. I have played everything from a bee-hive-coiffed club hostess to a headless nun.
I wrote, directed, and starred in a short film called The Table. After that I produced, with director, Todd Michael Smith, a horror film called Internet Fear. I learned a lot on that project. Todd and I joked afterwards that it just about killed us. It was eight months of filming and a crew of two.
After that I knew I could make a film with a micro-budget. It was during the making of Internet Fear that I began writing Mama and Damian.
DP: You recently released Mama & Damian?
KL: Yes, it premiered at the Newark Film Festival in September. It was chosen as one of the Best of the Fest and played again the next week. It is available to buy on DVD. Just contact me on my website or see the info at the end of the interview.
DP: Taking a guess, I would say there is no in-between on this and people will love it or hate it?
KL: I haven’t heard anyone say they hate it, but many people love it.
I have heard a few people say it’s extremely weird.
DP: Has anyone compared this to a John Waters film? The style and weird story just strike me as Waterish.
KL: A couple people have compared it to Waters. David Lynch comes up too.
I like both comparisons. Flawed or not, both of those directors put out original material.
DP: Like another director of weird projects, Ed Wood, you took on a load of different activities with this film. Was it difficult to do so many things?
KL: It was more exhausting than anything, but you get into a groove wearing so many hats. I could not have done it without so many dependable people around me. My D.P. Jessica J Johnston, was my right-hand woman. She was psychic. W.G. White was so perfect as the Damian the bear boy, I hardly had to direct him. The same for Ashley Cleaver, who played the most twisted nanny ever, Wolfgang.
DP: What did you love among these functions the most?
KL: I really loved each step. Writing it was fun. Directing was a pleasure with so many talented people acting. We always filmed on Sunday, so I kind of thought of it as our version of church. It really was the happiest set in the world. We laughed like crazy through a year of filming.
Acting is always fun, but it was difficult, because I was the only one who I couldn’t see interacting with the other cast members. That’s where Jessi helped. She really has the eye. She also has a really good sense of when a scene is working or not. Editing was really exciting once I learned Final Cut Pro. That took a couple of months to get it down.
The film really doesn’t veer far from the original script, it’s the film I saw in my head.
DP: The least?
KL: My least favorite part was scheduling for shoots. Since I used actors who were otherwise employed, I had to base my shoots on their availability.
Sometimes it was nearly impossible to get a shoot together. There was one day, an outdoor shoot where I had borrowed a Model K car (the Chevrolet version of the Model T) it was pouring rain all night, and one of the actors bailed on me the night before. It stopped raining an hour before the shoot and I wrote the actor out of the scene, which actually made it better.
DP: Are there any interesting behind the scenes stories to tell about this movie?
KL: Well, about three quarters of the way through filming, W.G. White, the bear-boy, was walking across a parking lot on the way to a shoot and got hit by a car. He landed on his head and had a concussion. I had reserved a theater as the location for the shoot for our ”Knockers Gentleman’s Club” scenes. We shot all the scenes that didn’t include W.G. but it was weird because I knew something was wrong. He was in the hospital, so we couldn’t get in touch with him. He told me later that he kept telling the ambulance workers, “Kathi’s waiting for me.” They asked who Kathi was, but he couldn’t remember. lol
A few months later, a tractor trailer smashed into the back of my car and I ended up in the hospital with a concussion. This held up production for a month.
DP: Where did you ever get the idea for such a plot?
KL: Actually W.G. and I worked together for years at a book store. We always looked for ways to entertain ourselves. We had taken a little doll in a bear suit out of the lost-and-found and one of us would dress it up and hide it where the other could find it. Eventually W.G. cut its head off, added some fake blood and put the head on my desk.
This led to us making up lunch-break stories about the bear-child and his family. There came a time when I could no longer see W.G. as himself. He became the bear-boy in my mind. After a while, I decided to write a script based on the vignettes we had made up.
DP: How do you respond to people who love this film?
KL: Thank you very much!
When people really like the film, they enjoy bringing up their favorite scenes, quoting lines from the film, and asking me questions about how it was made.
I love talking about how the film was made.
DP: And hate it?
KL: Haven’t had anyone say they hate it, but I would reply “It’s not for everybody.”
Though I have found that it really does have some universal themes.
As my friend Gordon Delgiorno says, “The characters may be weird, but they are real.”
DP: Do you have future films planned?
KL: Yes. I’m always writing. I have started to line something up. This one is a vampire saga. I have always loved vampires and anyone who hears about my idea says, “I love vampires!”
I am also considering a sequel to Mama and Damian.
DP: You have several my space and webpage accounts for your film and company?
KL: Yes.
my main website:
myspace for the film company:
myspace for Mama and Damian:
DP: What are your interests outside of film?
KL: Many things, but filmmaking is pretty consuming. I think anything that interests me eventually makes it into a script.
DP: Anything else to touch on before closing?
KL: Mama and Damian was shot on a tiny budget.
I was really lucky to have talented people who donated their time and kind people who donated locations, cars, costumes, and services.
If you have enthusiasm and tenacity a film can be made with very little money.
DP: Closing remarks?
KL: It’s a funny film, I hope a lot of people get to see it and laugh.
If you would like to order an autographed copy postage-paid send a check or money order for $20 to Kathi Lehmer.
Send to:
Trinka Five Films
I’ll also include a certificate for the Mama and Damian Fan Club!
This interview is also posted at: