Career Pathing with ‘Ones to Watch’ Producer and Writer Kate Separovich
Posted on: Nov 21, 2024
Photo Credit: Simona JanekKate Separovich‘s resume is quite a read. Named “One to Watch“ by Screen Producers Australia in 2021 and selected for the Celluloid Ceiling Initiative by Screenwest the same year, Separovich has also been tapped for the Emerging Producer Program by Screenwest in 2015 and the Rotterdam Producers Lab by Screen Australia in 2014. In addition to the many award-winning short film producer credits to her name, she‘s also production managed and production coordinated several features and TV series.
In 2017, Separovich co-founded Lake Martin Films with her writer/editor husband, Luke Martin, where their mission is to “create entertaining, meaningful and risk-taking screen content.“ The team has just wrapped production on Proclivitas, a supernatural horror feature film, which was the 2023 recipient of the uber-competitive West Coast Visions initiative.
We sat down with Separovich to talk about values-alignment, financial literacy and much more.
Do you remember the moment that catalyzed your decision to become a filmmaker?
No, I don’t. It was a gradual thing. I’ve always been interested in art, and in high school, when I was choosing my subjects, I was like, “Well, I really love art, but I want to do practical art so that I can have a job and a career.” I studied graphic design, and while I was studying, I was working at the cinemas as my casual job. One of my units in third year was film and TV set design, and it was around that time I was like, “Oh, that’s a job that people can do: designing film and TV sets.”
I graduated and did graphic design jobs for a year or two while still working at the cinemas. And obviously, being a cinema complex, it naturally drew a lot of people [who were] interested in making films. So, it was there that I started to meet people who wanted to be filmmakers. And because I didn’t want to be a writer or director or cinematographer, I was like, “I can do the design stuff on your film.” And once I started doing it, I realized how much I enjoyed it. I then went to AFTRS and did a short course in art directing, working on some of the AFTRS short films as an art director.
I then moved to the UK because I was going to work on the Harry Potter films, and once I got there, I think I realized that I can speak a visual language, but I’m not the best designer. I want to be the best at whatever I do. So, I was like, “I’ve got this skill set that’s more aligned with creative producing,” and that was where I started to go. Don’t get me wrong, I still love working in the art department—being an art director, specifically. I don’t know how much art directing I’m going to be able to do because I’m now very much a producer.
People could read your resume today and assume you’ve hit home runs every at bat. I know you’ve worked incredibly hard for many, many years. What has kept you going when the going got tough?
Delusion? Every six months, I go, “What the hell am I doing in this industry? This is so hard. I don’t want to do this anymore.” Then, literally the next day, an opportunity will come my way. Now, 15, 20 years later, I’ve kind of resigned myself to the fact that this is what I’m always going to be doing. I would be so unhappy in a traditional workplace, working a nine-to-five.
I’ve also reframed what success is for me and what I want out of life. This work very much aligns with my values, and so it’s being OK with the fact that I’m probably never going to be as rich as some of my friends who are working full-time jobs, but actually, that’s not what drives me, and I’m satisfied with the life that I’m living. Yes, it’s hard, but that’s OK because I love what I’m doing.
This is so important. Did you have a process of discerning what your values were, or did that discovery just unfold?
I worked with a phenomenal woman called Ellenor Cox, who’s in Sydney. I started and then stopped doing a masters at AFTRS, and she came to do a session with us, and it was all about discovering your values. You go through a series of questions [to] find your values and are given some examples. I think the real key thing is, a value is something you cannot put in a wheelbarrow.
It’s a feeling; it’s never a physical thing. You get together a list of 10, and then you work out, “OK, what’s the most important to me?” Because you’ll find that in these questions asked, there are slight nuances to particular words that you’re like, “Oh, in this instance, this is probably the better word to describe it.” [Cox] really helps you dissolve those big ideas about what you care about into 10 words. I now have them on my phone in my favorites, and it really helps me. My 10 are freedom, nurturing, leadership, meaning, risk-taking, acknowledgment, curiosity, taking action, creativity and integrity.
In addition to values-alignment, are there any other qualities or skill sets you feel will be imperative for the next generation of filmmakers to possess and hone?
Financial literacy. Knowing the meaning of money. Because it means different things to different people. To me, financial literacy is also about knowing how much you need to survive, knowing how much you need to thrive, and why you might be choosing to take a job. I believe that you can be paid in ways other than money—like being paid in experience. Early on in your career, it’s good to do some jobs for free and build that experience. But you’ve also got to know when you’re being taken advantage of. If you have financial literacy, you can start to work out what is worth saying yes to, and what is worth saying no to.
Make sure you’re getting paid superannuation! I cannot tell you how important [retirement savings are].
Producing is a tough gig—honoring both artistic vision and logistical constraints is no small feat. How do you approach this tension?
I’ve worked really hard to be able to creatively push the project forward in development and then take it into financing. Proclivitas was a whole new experience for me—I ended up producing this film by myself, which I do not recommend. Someone said to me the other day, “You should be so proud of yourself. You did this, and you’re still sane.” I was like, “Maybe that was the problem: I was never sane to start.”
It’s just like juggling. When you juggle, sometimes you can juggle with another person, and you can pass the ball to someone else. Again, this comes back to your values and your skill set, and knowing what you’re good at and what you’re not good at. I might be really good at juggling balls, but not very good at juggling swords. If I’ve got balls and swords, I might find someone else to juggle the swords. I think that applies to every role and every position.
Producing can also be an all-consuming profession. How have you navigated this reality in addition to being a wife and mom to two young kids?
I think it’s that idea that you can have it all, but you can’t have it all at the same time. Anyone that has any kind of care giver responsibilities—male or female, younger or aging parents, sick or disabled—again, it’s kind of values-based, and if you know what your values are, you know what’s important to you. I’m honestly incredibly jealous of people who don’t have to make compromises because they don’t have care giver responsibilities.
I will fully acknowledge that I am very jealous of those people, but again, this is defining what success is for me. I accepted that I’m still going to get there—it’s just not going to be as fast as I would like, and that’s OK. I don’t have to produce a feature film before I’m 30. I don’t have to win this award before I’m 40. If I do it once, great. If I’m working hard toward it, that’s more important.
Are there any up-and-coming filmmakers you’re particularly excited by, or are keeping an eye on at the moment?
A filmmaker I’m working with—she’s only 22—made her first film when she must have been 18. She just went and did it. No one told her she couldn’t, so she just went and made it. Her name’s Sarah Legg, and I’m currently producing what I hope will be her next film. The guy that did the music on her last film—his name’s Oscar Prosser—he’s, again, super young [but] his music is unbelievable. I love seeing the potential in people, and if I’m like, “If they just had some resources and some support, imagine what they could do.”
On Proclivitas, we had a first-time first AD, a first-time production manager, a first-time DOP, a first-time costume supervisor and a first-time production designer. And Meredith [Lindsay], our DOP [who] I’ve done short films with—I love that she just got thrown into the deep end with this. Her images are beautiful. When we were doing [the short film] Evie together, I was like, “Oh my God, she could be the next Ari Wegner.” And this was before Ari won an Oscar. I love Ari’s work so much—I think she’s the most incredible cinematographer. I see Meredith as the next-generation Ari, and I’m so pleased that I was able to give her that first feature film credit.
Special thanks to Kate Separovich for her time. You can follow Separovich’s personal Instagram here and Lake Martin Films’ here to stay in the loop with their upcoming projects.
Tahlia Norrish is an Aussie-Brit actor, writer and current MPhil Candidate at the University of Queensland’s School of Sport Sciences. After graduating from both The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (Distinction, Acting & Musical Theatre) and Rose Bruford College (First Class Hons, Acting), Tahlia founded The Actor’s Dojo — a coaching program pioneering peak performance and holistic well-being for actors.
Browse thousands of jobs and find your next gig! Sign up or login to Staff Me Up and get on-set today!
You may also like: