Artist Spotlight: Eve Kinizo
Eve is a producer and director based in Toronto. She directs feature length films and works on TV shows as a post production manager. Eve’s content was broadcasted on the Bravo! Channel CBC & AMItv and screened in various festivals in North America. In 2015, her documentary feature Healey’s Hideaway about musician Jeff Healey and his club aired on CBC and AMItv, and it is currently distributed in North America by MVD Entertainment. Her second documentary feature Rachel-MOS (working title) is currently in post production.
What or who inspired you to want to be an artist?
I don’t think anyone specific or anything specific inspired me to be an artist. I think I was born this way. I remember from a very young age wanting to tell stories and having my opinions expressed in a creative way. I was fascinated by colors, light, movement and especially Hollywood oldies that used to be screened on summer breaks.
What was your creative journey that has brought you to where you are in your career today?
Everything I create is a result of some experience in life that made me want to reflect on it, tell a story about it or document it, because I saw value in it. I have written scripts, directed narrative films as well as documentaries, and I can say that all of those projects came from the same place. As you move from project to project, it gets more serious, more people get involved, and the expectations are higher as a result. But at the end of the day, it always comes down to the same goal – telling a good story that people will enjoy listening to, perhaps be challenged by, and hopefully learn from.
What do you need as an artist today?
A lot of support – financial and structural. Making films is one of the hardest forms of art . It involves a lot of people, it can take years, and there is no guarantee for making a profit. All filmmakers need support, but women filmmakers need it much more, as well as exposure in a very male dominated industry. Women’s stories are human stories, they are for everyone.
What creative project are you working on now?
I am currently in post production for my second documentary feature dealing with sexual assault and PTSD. I have also been busy producing and directing a music mini series in the past year, which I hope to finish filming by 2020. I have a narrative script in development. There’s always something you want to do and planting seeds today can bring results tomorrow. I studied film photography and fashion as well, so I always have projects I work on in those fields, too.
What does it mean to you to have an organization like the AICF supporting artists and culture?
Any organization devoting itself to the arts is absolutely essential to artists and to everyone in society. In order to have a healthy, balanced society, we must have artists fueling conversations, and most importantly, enriching people. We are all creative creatures, and as a society, this is how we leave our imprint on the future. To have AICF support artists is a blessing. It helpful to know that there is an organization that wants to help, support and expose the world to artists who we may have never heard about before.
