Kea Morshed feels making films has been very therapeutic for him. He describes how, “Because I write most of my films, whether I like it or not, they always represent what was going on in my life at that time in my head. It’s taught me a lot of things that I'm too afraid to know about myself.” He’s also learned about how complex the process of making a film is.
“There's a lot of steps involved in filmmaking, (like) casting actors and directing. With every project it gets more ambitious. The key’s trying to think bigger,” he said.
Morshed has written and directed around a dozen original short films. He’s a junior at Berkeley High School who’s been making films for the past four years, and recently won Berkeley Rep’s 2023 High School Film Festival.
Morshed feels the genre of his films has shifted since he began filmmaking. “Most of the stuff I made started out as drama and now it's more kind of going into comedy a little bit, with some experimental elements,” Morshed explained. He’s currently working on a film called “Alone With Glitter” that he describes as about, “unicorns, expressing yourself, and birthday parties.” He gets inspiration through his everyday life.
“I always have ideas in my head, and I have things come to me in dreams,” Morshed said. “I also noticed people in my life that are kind of weird or interesting. I was like, ‘Damn, that person I could make a movie out of.’ I’ve just observed really cool stories.”
He’s also inspired by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, The directors behind this year’s best picture “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Morshed has lots of people who have supported him throughout his many projects.
“So many people,” he said. “Films are not just a one person medium. It's a team sport.”
Finishing a film can take Morshed anywhere from a couple weeks to six or seven months.
“I'm somebody that sticks with problems for a long time, for better or for worse, I think. Sometimes I spend way too much time on stuff,” Morshed said.
When he began filmmaking, he immediately knew he was passionate about it. “Once I started making them it felt impossible not to make films,” he said. “When I had story ideas or something came to me, it didn't matter what got in my way, whether it's COVID-19 or the fires or whatever was going on in the world. I had to make it.”
He has an IMDb page and his short works are on his Youtube: Kea Morshed Films. He hopes he can have a positive impact on viewers.
“I hope that when I can get to a point where somebody sees my film, something changes in them for the better. They have a little bit more kindness and compassion and stuff like that. There's certain films I watch that I'm just so captivated by, and I want to do the same for people watching,” Morshed said.