Stacey Lee is a New Zealand born, US-based director who specialises in high-end cinematic storytelling across multiple film platforms - music video, documentary and commercial. Her latest feature film Underplayed premiered on Amazon Studios in 2021, and she was recently nominated for Young Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Born in Marle’s hometown, Mount Maunganui, she has been a close friend of Juliet for over a decade, and a supporter of Marle since the first collection. The film for You Got Mine represents their first creative collaboration together. In a cinematic display of dramatic juxtaposition, Stacey brings the brand to life and creates a dichotomy between day and night, real and surreal, black and white, slow and kinetic; an ode to the way in which Juliet designs. Here, we chat with Stacey about the musings behind the film, the defining moments in her life that inspired her to become a filmmaker and the importance of lifting women up and creating a pipeline of talent in male-dominated industries.

I was born in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, around the subculture of surfing and punk music, I was always drawn to the visual vernacular of the way humans express themselves - fashion, music, dance and sports. The universal feeling of being a teenager and trying to discover and construct your own identity through these subcultures. In the 90s there were a lot of iconic films that presented alternative versions of this from Kids to Clueless to Virgin Suicides to Rize. I realised early on, we might all come from different walks of life but the fundamentals of who we are as people and what makes our hearts really thump were the same. Film was the tool to transport me to and from these world’s and I just knew I wanted to be a part of that.

Emotional storytelling is how I like to think of it, trying to find ways to connect the viewer on an emotional level with the characters in my films.

I felt a lot of parallels with my experience coming up in the film industry as a female with what these women were experiencing in electronic music. Whether you like this genre of music or not, I wanted the audience to connect with these artists as humans first - feel their struggle and root for their successes - regardless of whether you have been to a rave. This story for me transcends the subculture and is something we can all relate to whether you are in the film industry, politics or architecture.

Just like someone had taken a chance on me, and given me the privileged position to helm this film, it was important that I used that platform to reach down and lift other women up so we can create a pipeline of experienced female talent working in this space, normalise it, and a diversity of perspectives into the decision-making process of what ultimately gets scene. It’s not a gimmick or because it's cool to be “socially conscious” right now, there are plenty of women who are talented enough and eager enough to jump into these positions if you just look hard enough.

"This film is all about mood. The warmth of the dunes, the feeling of sand on bare feet, the sun on your shoulders, the wind in your skirt. After a long winter, the first signs of spring are a welcome relief"

The scale of the projects I work on is important to me, because so much of what I am most passionate about intersects with social issues or causes, you want your work to be seen by as many eyeballs as possible so that your film can be a part of the change, and the evolution of the issue. Presenting multiple pov’s, finding solutions - giving the audience something tactical they can walk away with so that the filmmaking experience is not just passive. These are things I care about greatly with the films and the subjects I chose to take on. And if I get an accolade for it, great. But nothing beats the feeling of a live audience reacting to your film.

One of the locations was something that Juliet had been looking at for years on her commute to work. Inspiration can come from the most unexpected places, and in this instance, a large skylight filled a warehouse situated on the Port of Tauranga. We took a drive-by, negotiated with a wharfie to get access and the way the light hit the sand, the haze of the space and scale of the “mountains” - we knew it was something magic from the get-go.

Like the contrasting mood of the collection, we wanted the next space to be an evolution of the first, and after scouting google earth for hours, I happened upon the epic sand dunes north of Te Arai Regional Park, 2 hours from Auckland. By coincidence, our producer had filmed there a couple of years earlier and we were able to get approval from the Ngatiwai Iwi. And then it was just a case of hoping that the weather gods would show up on the day.

What is so clever about the way Juliet designs the collection and selects the fabrics is that each piece can be a casual and comfortable choice during the day and effortlessly evolve into something elegant in the evening. This dichotomy between night and day, inside and out, and black and white (colours that feature quite heavily in the collection) felt like an interesting element to play with in the film. As the film progresses the lines are blurred; and like the Salvador Dali-esque surrealist sand-scapes we wanted the scenes to take on a dreamy, otherworldly quality too. An elevation of everyday life, much like the collection itself.

This film is all about mood. The warmth of the dunes, the feeling of sand on bare feet, the sun on your shoulders, the wind in your skirt. After a long winter, the first signs of spring are a welcome relief.

I was in NZ for five months and it is always such a joy to work and create in NZ. There is an ease and familiarity and good old kiwi spirit of getting out there and getting it done. Have an idea, make it. Everyone gets stuck in no matter your official title. And that really was the experience of making this film. Juliet might be the designer but at times she was also the camera assistant, the stunt double, the lighting department and the runner. That was true of every crew member, and it’s the most rewarding way to make films.