Kira Nelson is an Australian actress gaining recognition for her role in the short film Mercy. directed by Jessica Orcsik. Making the move to Los Angeles in 2022 Kira studied under many teachers and was awarded the Blackburn Award for her performance as Meg in the theatre performance of Crimes of the Heart. We had the opportunity to speak with her a few years ago, during the pandemic. It’s our pleasure for us to catch up again to discuss her career and her latest project.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Congratulations on your career to date. For readers unfamiliar with your background, how did you get into the arts?
Compared to others I guess you could say I entered the game a bit later than most. I was pretty shy at school so getting into drama club or theatre performances were definitely not my first choice. It wasn’t until during my first year of university that I thought I’d give acting a go. I deferred my second year and started going to acting classes in Melbourne twice a week and I loved it! I started branching out trying different classes and teachers and meeting new people. Then once Covid hit, these classes all moved over to zoom. I began taking classes with The American Arts Film and Television Academy (AAFTA) and then made the move over to LA in July this year, going from a small town in Australia to LA was a huge shift.
We spoke to you a few years ago, following the completion of your project, ‘Her Mattress’ . That was at the height of the pandemic. How have you been?
I’ve been well! As well as one could be in the ever-changing world with Covid now in it. I think myself, like most, just found new ways to live and do what we love. I will say though I do not miss the isolation and being locked up at home.
So, you studied at the American and Australian Arts Film & TV Academies as part of your training. Please share your experience at these institutes, and how they’ve shaped your approach to work.
The American Arts Film and Television Academy has been an enormous impact on my life. I met Jess before Covid broke out when she was holding a class in Melbourne and then, once she returned back to Los Angeles, she began teaching online with guest teachers and speakers. The classes they provide and the relationships you build with not only your teachers but the other students are like no other. You’re immersed into all things acting but also business and how to take care of your daily self not just your artistic self. I actually have just touched down back home this week after spending the last 6 months studying in their Actor’s Conservatory over in Los Angeles. We were studying full-time with a range of different teachers and their methods of approaching the arts. There were also short films created and at the completion of the course they were screened at the AAFTA Film Festival 2022 following our theatre performances. I think there is a lot more that goes into acting than most people think, my teachers over the last 6 months have been inspiring and instrumental to my growth. I will definitely say these courses are jam-packed and full on but the things you learn and the growth you experience are amazing.
Your latest project, titled Mercy, directed by Jessica Orcsik has just had its pre-screening at the AAFTA Film Festival 2022 in Los Angeles. It is getting ready to do the festival circuit. Please tell us more about the film, your role, and what audiences can expect.
Mercy is a story of nature versus nature and how dependency and patterns of behavior keep one another stuck in an abusive cycle. It displays the toxic relationship between a teenage daughter Emily and her addict Mother Sue, played by the phenomenal Kym Jackson, and how their dependency in one another is anything but healthy. We ask the question what would one be willing to do to cut ties with her Mother and find her own freedom and does history really repeat itself. Emily’s life has definitely been rough, a child of rape who spent her youth surrounded by abusive relationships with her mother and multiple partners. Emily and Sue are a mother and daughter who love each other in their own twisted way they are dysfunctionally codependent and unable to see how destructive they each are. Despite all this Emily just truly wants a loving family of her own which she is trying to have with her boyfriend Josh, played by Nelson Blattman. This role was quite a heavy one with a lot of past trauma for Emily so I definitely took my time getting to know her. Audiences can expect to be surprised by the twists and turns the film makes in a short amount of time and how real this story is.
Can you tell us more about the production and how you got involved in the project?
We began production on Mercy in May of 2021 however the development of the story was underway a year prior to that with myself and Jess jumping on zoom calls as often as we could. The film actually stemmed from an Empowering the Actor class I took with AAFTA through zoom where we all were brainstorming ideas for short films and my idea was what turned into Mercy and I just kept working on it outside of class. Jess and I co-wrote the script together and then when it came to filming I let go of the production side and focused on acting in the lead role as Emily, and Jess was the director. We had a very full-on and long busy day on set but it was extremely fun ,and we are all very very happy with the final product and we’re excited to see its growth from here.
What other projects are you currently working on?
I have a few ideas in development that are starting to be fleshed out. We’re looking at another short and possibly a feature film which is very exciting and the ideas are something that will keep people on the edge of their seats.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
If people are wanting to stay up to date they can visit my Instagram @kirajaenelson or even visit my IMDB page (https://m.imdb.com/name/nm11033275/) where they can see all my past work as well as what projects are in production and more information about them all.
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