KAYLA BRIËT is an artist exploring themes of belonging in multiple mediums of storytelling: film, music, and virtual reality.
In 2016, she directed, shot, edited, and scored her short documentary, "Smoke That Travels," which immerses viewers in her native Prairie Band Potawatomi heritage and explores fears that her culture may someday be forgotten.
Through intimate live performances, she shares stories through wave-like vocals and live looping — mixing electronic beats with the strings of a Chinese guzheng zither and blending influences from her Chinese/Dutch-Indonesian heritage.
In July 2018, she traveled to China as one of 3 American musicians selected to join 3 Chinese musicians for the non-profit Found Sound Nation China Music Diplomacy Fellowship sponsored by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For one month, she travelled with fellows to learn about traditional music and culture home to Yunnan and Guizhou, captured sounds and stories along the journey, and performed new works live with genre-bending musicians in multiple venues across Beijing.
In an experiment to preserve memories and emotions projected onto objects, she created "Trove," a room-scale VR time capsule experience.
TED 2017, Vancouver BC
As a film music composer, she aims to accent emotions on screen.
short documentary
directed by Janna Kyllästinen and Alex Lazarowich (Cree Code Talker, Fast Horse)
narrative short film
directed by Shane McSauby (Sundance Institute & Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Fellow)
We Are Still Here: A Story from Native Alaska | Al Jazeera Correspondent
documentary feature
directed by Ciara Lacey (Out of State, Sundance Film Festival Alumni)
a story told through the eyes of Amira Abujbara (Journalist, Assistant Producer at Al Jazeera's Public Liberties and Human Rights Centre)
WORKSHOPS
360 + VR workshop at Say Sí in San Antonio, TX
students experimenting with 360 filmmaking at Urban Word, NYC
Girls Who Code, Los Angeles
Her biggest passion is to inspire the fusion of art and technology to tell stories through one's own voice. Kayla has led workshops with Girls Who Code, TED-Ed, CalArts Community Arts Partnership, YoungArts, Urban Word NYC, and more.
Kayla's work has been exhibited by the Smithsonian Institute, MoMA, Adobe, National Geographic, PBS, and over 50 international film and music festivals. Recently, Kayla was named a 2022 Asian Culture Council Individual Fellow, 2018 MacArthur Foundation x Sundance New Frontier Fellow, 2017 TED Fellow, featured filmmaker for the 2017 American Film Showcase, Adobe Creativity Scholar, National YoungArts Foundation Cinematic Arts Winner, Oculus Launchpad Artist, MIT DCI Chamber Scholar, and a Sundance Film Festival Ignite Fellow.
contact kaylabriet ( @ ) gmail.com