Napa Valley Film Festival

Vancouver native writer/director Kelly Tatham screened her directorial debut film 'Multiverse Dating for Beginners' (2017) at the 8^th annual Napa Valley Film Festival. With a background in acting and writing, Kelly only recently began directing her own work. Her previous credits include webseries 'The New Romantics' (2017).

I interviewed her during the Napa Valley Film Festival about her film. Here is what she had to say:

What were the events that inspired you to write this story?

KELLY: Being a fan of romantic comedies and having a crappy dating life was what inspired me to write this story. Having a lot of repetitive dating experiences left me with a lot of "what ifs?". So I wrote the story in the Multiverse, using parallel universes to explore the what ifs I couldn't explore in real life, and ended up learning a lot about myself and my beliefs around love.

With the world population and choices always growing, do you think dating is harder than ever?

KELLY: I think dating today is both easier and harder than ever. Harder because with more choice, we're less satisfied. Easier because new dates are right at our fingertips. Ultimately, success in dating relies on where you're at in your life... If people are struggling at dating, I think they should step back and focus on themselves. Our culture over-celebrates partnership and we should really spend more time putting energy into loving ourselves instead of seeking love externally. 

You recently attended NVFF. How was that experience?

KELLY: NVFF was AWESOME. They took such great care of us and I met the most incredible group of filmmakers. I had the most amazing time, drank so much good wine, and made really special connections. It was an honour to be there. 

How did audiences react to the film?

KELLY: Audiences have been really receptive. When it resonates with someone, it resonates deeply. A lot of people have had dating / love experiences like this, but have struggled to put what happened into words. The conversations sparked by the film have been truly gratifying and motivate me to keep telling stories like this! 

Can you tell us about your latest film?

KELLY: My next project is a documentary feature. I've been interested in exploring the evolution of consciousness for quite some time and, with the current state of the world, talking about the underlying reality of existence feels really urgent to me. It's still taking shape but I'm excited to tackle storytelling from the documentary perspective.   

Social media: facebook.com/multiversedating ; instagram.com/kellytatham

Interview by Vanessa McMahon