In Conversation: Louisa Connolly-Burnham, actress and filmmaker
Louisa in Sister Wives (2024)
For our latest In Conversation, we’re thrilled to sit down with actress and filmmaker Louisa Connolly-Burnham to chat about her latest project Sister Wives, a short film she wrote, directed, produced and stars in, alongside Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex, Persuasion) and Michael Fox (Downtown Abbey, Dunkirk).
Hailing from Birmingham, Louisa trained as an actor professionally and got her start in the industry in television, most notably in the hit CBBC show Wolfblood, before appearing in the shows Call the Midwife and Vampire Academy.
In 2019 she founded her own production company, Thimble Films, making her directorial debut with The Call Centre (2020). She has since written and directed the films The Track (2023) and The Ceiling (2024).
Louisa’s latest offering, Sister Wives, tells the tale of two young women, Kaidence (Connolly-Burnham) and Galilee (McKenna-Bruce), living in a strict, fundamentalist, polygamous society in 2003 Utah, USA. As they find themselves living under the same roof - and in the same marriage - they begin to develop feelings for each other. Offering a vital perspective to the canon of coming-out films; the film is a story of female friendship and allyship, and has been selected for a number of film festivals, including HollyShorts Film Festival and The Iris Prize.
Hi Louisa, thanks so much for taking the time to chat about Sister Wives! Before we get into the film, can you tell me more about your background and what you’ve been up to recently?
Hey Mia - thank you so much for having me, I'm a big fan of BGFC and thrilled you connected with Sister Wives. Ok a little bit about me… I’m from Birmingham, I grew up in a pub, I collect thimbles and I’ve been an actress for twenty years and a filmmaker for five. Most recently I wrapped principal photography on Sister Wives which I wrote, directed, produced & starred in alongside BAFTA-winner Mia McKenna-Bruce (How To Have Sex) and Michael Fox (Downton Abbey).
Sister Wives tells the story of two women living in a strict, polygamous society and is set in Utah, USA in 2003. This seems a world away from your own background - where did the inspiration for this story come from?
Well last year I saw an incredible four-part documentary called ‘Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey’ made by two female filmmakers, Rachel Dretzin and Grace McNally. They delve into an extreme sect of Mormons in Utah called the FLDS, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and their disgraced leader Warren Jeffs. Basically, the men in this community can have as many wives as they want, in fact, it’s considered the more wives you have, the closer you are to God. Some of them end up with five, ten, twenty wives under one roof, Warren himself had at least 78. It got me thinking about the women in these households, longing for attention and affection from just one man, and what would happen, if instead, they found it in one another?
You’ve got a wealth of acting experience, and in recent years have taken on more roles behind the camera - was this a conscious decision, or something that evolved naturally?
It happened organically when I had the idea for my first film ‘The Call Centre’ which I made back in 2019 after forming my production company Thimble Films. I was lucky enough to find a producer willing to to give me a shot as a first-time filmmaker, the wonderful Emily Everdee, who is my creative partner to this day. We raised the money on Kickstarter and shot it with an amazing team followed by a fantastic festival run. After that, I didn’t really have any plans to direct again, at least not until I came up with another idea, but then people started approaching me with their own scripts, asking me to direct them, and I thought…why not? It all sort of snowballed from there.
The locations are incredibly immersive - I instantly felt transported into the world of the wives. How did you go about finding a location, and where did you end up shooting?
I literally typed ‘log cabins in the UK’ into google and trawled through pages and pages of photos and websites and air bnbs. A lot of the ones I liked were up in Scotland but we didn't have the budget or time to travel our cast and crew that far. Thankfully, I stumbled on an amazing log cabin in Surrey which worked really well.
With the film being completely your vision, I wonder if there was anything you had to compromise on. Did it turn out exactly how you had imagined it?
Well there was supposed to be a scene where the girls are swimming, but the lake froze over in the night and I had to do bit of manic re-writing the morning of the shoot. Other than that, it all came together beyond my wildest dreams - I think this comes down to a long, meticulous pre-production period and an unfathomably capable cast and crew.
Louisa with Mia Mckenna-Bruce in Sister Wives (2024)
I found the scenes between Kaidence and Galilee (played by Mia McKenna-Bruce) incredibly powerful - you have such great chemistry! How did you develop that relationship before shooting?
Mia and I have actually known each for over twelve years from back in the CBBC days - she was in the ‘Tracy Beaker’ universe, and I was on a show called ‘Wolfblood’, both were shot in Newcastle with the same crew and we’d bump into each other from time to time.
However, I’d say our friendship really blossomed when we got cast on an NBC Universal show together called ‘Vampire Academy’. We ended up living in a tiny town in Spain for eight months from 2021-2022, that’s when I really fell in love with her. I don't think I’ve ever laughed so much on set. Absolute chaos. Not long after we wrapped, I started writing ‘Sister Wives’ and she was always at the forefront of my mind for the role of Galilee.
Before filming Sister Wives, we had a full day of rehearsals in London which is quite rare for a short film and we also worked with a wonderful intimacy coordinator called Stella Moss. I also went to primary school with Michael who played our husband Jeremiah, so I felt super safe and comfortable with him too. It was a family affair really.
You’ve already had a few screenings, and the film has been selected for multiple upcoming film festivals - congratulations! What has the reaction been like so far? Has anything surprised you?
The reaction has been pretty mind-blowing to be honest, beyond any film I’ve made before. Lots of tears, but also lots of laughter, which I wasn't expecting, I’m so happy the funny moments are landing as much as the emotional ones. I also just won ‘Best Director’ at the BIFA-Qualifying film festival Brighton Rocks, but I didn't even know I was nominated, so that was a bloody wonderful surprise, I went up on stage still wearing my bumbag.
In addition to acting and filmmaking, you also make music!
I do indeed, I’m in an alt-folk duo called ‘Virens’ with my fiancé James New who’s also the composer behind ‘Sister Wives’ and two of my other films ‘The Track’ and ‘Fleeting’. We’re currently in the process of releasing our second EP ‘Mutual Assured Destruction’, so if you’re into sad, sexy, indie music you should definitely check it out.
Finally, what’s next?
My main focus at the moment is turning Sister Wives into a feature film, but I’m also just really enjoying the short film navigating its way around the festival circuit. It’s been lovely experiencing new audiences watching the film and catching lots of other brilliant films in the process and making new filmmaking pals. I’ve also written a second feature called ‘Ok, Beryl’ which is more in the horror/thriller world and I’m exploring co-writing a TV series with an old friend which could be fun. I need to plan my wedding at some point too. Yikes.
Sounds incredibly busy, but also very exciting. Good luck with the film - we’ve loved chatting to you!
Sister Wives (2024)
