Interview With Visual Artist Stella Scott
Stella Scott is a talented British visual artist I had the great pleasure of meeting in Cambodia on a film project she shot and directed for Aziza's Place.
Stella who is from London graduated from Central Saint Martins and has since directed, shot and edited commercial and editorial content for brands such as Dazed, Vice, adidas, Agent Provocateur, the Tate and artists Hassan Hajjaj and Mark Wallinger. She also directs and designs live immersive events; the most notable to date was the week long party Immersive Cult for the private members club Loulou’s and AnOther Magazine.
Check out Stella's website or follow her on instagram @stella_scott
Greatest inspirations or influences?
I love listening to music more than anything, for a long time I wished I was musical but I’m hopeless. In a way it’s a blessing, it means I just enjoy it without question or thought because I haven’t the first clue as to how it is made. I love films with rhythm, the kind of tempo that pulls you in just like a song and makes you blissfully unaware of everything else.
When did you know that you wanted to be a film maker?
I was working as a youth worker and needed a storytelling medium that a group of teenagers would enjoy using, I made my first documentaries with groups of young people and enjoyed the immediacy of it as much as they did. I was hooked and have been developing my storytelling methods ever since.
Most interesting response to your work so far?
Last year Street Angel got Vimeo Staff Pick which meant people from all parts of the world were watching it and leaving comments. It was interesting the kind of conversation it started; the film is about an angel card reader so a lot of people were fixating on what she claims to be able to do and whether or not angels exist. I tried to explain that I only ever I wanted the film to be about someone’s unique way of looking at the world – that we all see things differently.
Favorite websites, blogs or publications?
What was the best part about your trip to Cambodia?
Spending time at Aziza’s Place, a learning centre that helps the transform the lives of the most underprivileged children of Phnom Penh. It’s a small charity that operates like a family, the kids there act like brothers and sisters to one another and are especially welcoming and humbling on any occasion. I was lucky enough to document all the good work they do in a short film called Aziza’s Place: Inspiring Aspirations.
Anything else you would like to share?
I'm currently working on two film projects; one called Reverie that captures the disparity between young working class Londoner's dreams and their reality and another called Sounds We Need that follows the electronic music scene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I am keen to make work that lives somewhere between reality and make- believe.
Stella Scott
