Focus on Lara Lourens

In 2017 she teamed up with fellow PALI alumni Kaz McFadden and Zack Mtombeni to start their own production company, The Third Law. Between 2017 and 2025 the company has produced eleven films, several educational theatre productions and an award-winning play. But for this year’s Silwerskermfees, Lara entered a completely new territory – she directed her first documentary film, Verander. During the same period, she also produced the short film Bly.

We had a catch up with Lara to get some insight into her career and mindset.

What was it like directing a documentary for the first time?

Directing Verander has been one of the craziest, most challenging and exciting experiences of my career thus far. It has been a big career goal for me to direct a documentary, so when Luan approached me with the concept, I was absolutely thrilled. I was nervous about taking on the responsibility of directing a documentary about such an important story, especially because I was also simultaneously producing Bly, but it taught me the importance of planning and time management, which was incredibly valuable.

When did you realise you would like to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?

I can’t say there was just one particular moment of realisation, it was a bit of a journey. When I was eleven, my mother enrolled me into drama classes to build some confidence (and much needed social skills). I enjoyed it tremendously; storytelling became my creative outlet. Shortly before going to high school, I told my drama teacher (Mariki Knop) that I wanted to become an actress one day. She told me I can be more than that, that I will become a storyteller. I had no idea what she meant, but it sparked a type of curiosity in me about what all my options might be within the creative sector. In high school, I skipped school one day to catch a film at Cinema Nouveau – that film was Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona – and for the first time I became aware of the possibility of becoming a Director and Writer. I discussed this with my drama teacher, Rulene Swanepoel, and she referred me to PALI.

What is your favourite memory of your time at PALI? Do you perhaps have a favourite student production?

Oh my goodness, this is such a difficult question because I have so many wonderful memories, not only from my student days, but also as a facilitator. As a student, I think my favourite production at the time was Girls, Wiele, Kos en Liefde in my second year. Shareen Swart directed the play and we all had to learn how to roller-skate. I was VERY bruised, but had so much fun during that production. Another memorable production during my student years was The Finger of God for Theatre Uncut in my third year. Technically it wasn’t a student production, because it was for an international theatre festival and I was competing with professionals, but the experience had a profound impact on me and kind of confirmed to me that I would like to pursue directing.

You have worked in many capacities in this industry – producing, acting, directing, writing, script supervising – do you think it is important to have multiple skills?

Definitely! I personally think there is a lot of work in the entertainment industry, you just need to be willing to take on new challenges and diversify your skillset constantly.  There is so much to do and so much to learn, but if you’re not willing to learn, you will stagnate.

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

Put yourself out there. No one is going to know what you can do if you don’t show them by putting yourself out there. Don’t wait for someone to give you an opportunity, create one for yourself! I think we often times get stuck in an employee mindset, where we wait for someone to give us a job. But if everyone is waiting for someone to give them a job, who is going to create jobs? Empower yourself by constantly creating new opportunities, even if you don’t immediately succeed, if you keep knocking a door will eventually open.

Verander and Bly will premiere at the kykNET Silwerskermfees on the 21^st of August before screening on kykNET in September.

Check out the trailers for both films here:

Verander – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UtIBixrVwA

Bly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ihgi81Uic

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