Michelle Wolett – Stars of Gold

Michelle Wolett is a filmmaker from Arizona with the film Stars of Gold which will be screening Friday January 6th at the Towne hub in American Fork UT. 

Michelle Wolett is the CEO of a successful company and mom to actress Lux Elizabeth Wolett. When her 8 year old daughter came to her with dreams of becoming a movie star she decided to show her how with just a little creativity and a lot of research, she can make it happen on her own.

Within a year they have been awarded several awards including, Best Children’s Short, Audience Choice, Best Indie Short, Best Child Actress, Best Woman Filmmaker, Semi-Finalist and more!

Stars if Gold is about a child is struck by tragedy. With nothing but the clothes on her back and a loaf of bread she begins begins a life changing journey, touching the lives of everyone she encounters along the way. 

What was the inspiration to make Stars of Gold?

This film was actually based off of the Grimms Fairy Tale story “Star Money”  along with the setting and overall feel of the series “The Chosen”. We wanted to create an inspirational film that showed the power of helping others and these two stories were a huge inspiration to our project.

From idea to completion, how did Stars of Gold change? 

A lot if this film was made kind of on a whim. I would write an outline and some dialogue and then would let the kids incorporate any improv. I actually love set/costume design and cinematography so those were my favorite aspects of filming Stars of Gold. For the most part we only used natural lighting and only shot during the golden hour over the span of a week.

Working with kids, we had to be patient and most importantly just make sure they had fun while on set.

What was the biggest challenge in getting Stars of Gold made? 

Definitely the sound. With this film, I tried to do everything myself, but next time we will have lavs and hire a sound mixer for sure!

What do you think is the most important takeaway from your film?

It’s so hard when you loose someone who is so important to you. I’ve seen so many of us become lost and overwhelmed with grief and anger. It got me thinking of my own children and how I would want them to respond to the grief of loosing one of us- I would want them to help others without expecting anything in return.  By doing this I believe they would find a purpose again and begin to slowly heal their hearts.

If you could have a do over with your film is there anything that you would have done differently? If so, what would you change?

Yes, I would actually write an actual script and have someone look over it. I believe this film could have been better if we made the transitions smoother and more dialogue/character building. I also would actually hire a small crew to help put it all together. I made this film completely by myself with the help of my 9 year old daughter and her acting friends and their moms.

What do you have in the works? 

I’m actually working on our first family feature film called Ziggy & Moon! It’s about a quirky 9 year old girl is bitten by a strange animal during a solar eclipse and develops magical powers. Together, alongside her best friend, they devise a plan to get revenge on the biggest bully in school.

But Ziggy soon discovers that bullies- big or small, sometimes just need a little kindness, friendship, and a second chance.

We have an amazing script that’s a mix between our favorites: ET, Home Alone and Matilda and are currently fundraising so we can hire a small crew and cast.