Today we’d like to introduce you to William Hafley And Kaden Lucas
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In late 2016 Kaden Lucas and William Hafley met at a studio session both being mutual friends with the band See You In The Funnies. The meeting was brief, but they were acquainted nonetheless. Both having interest in the art and music scene of Cincinnati they started creating content working on a musical variety show. At the same time shooting music videos, live concerts, and documentation for See You In The Funnies. While working on the two projects, they began discussing wanting to create dramatic short films. However, with both projects in full swing they didn’t have the time.
They would work diligently as content creators for the next two years. Will would focus on directing and editing while Kaden would focus on cinematography and photography. Their skills grew, and they began working with a number of musicians and artists in Cincinnati. However, at the end of 2018 they decided to take a break from content creation. They had success creating content for other artists, but decided they wanted to focus on their own art. Several ideas were pitched within their small network of creatives, but nothing ever came to fruition.
They would end up taking a year hiatus from content creation, until October 2019. After speaking with their long time friend, and eventual music producer, Dylan Roberts, they decided they would create their first dramatic short film, My Bad, and start their own film company, Clairemont Films. They would go on to release 17 more shorts throughout 2020 such as Bad Spot, B&E and On Tilt . During that year they would build a small network of actors and creators to help in the production of their films. With the goal in mind to make bigger and better films they would then go on to write a feature length film. However, during preproduction they realized their ambitions were too high. So they decided to write a new film that was a bit smaller in scale, Moonlight Hour. By the beginning of 2021 they would begin shooting, and production would continue for the the next three years. During that time they would also release two more short films Dear Us in 2021 and Script in 2024. Script being Clairemont Films first ever live premiere.
In September 2024 they premiered Moonlight Hour and it was a great success. The premiere being a sort of coming out party for Clairemont Films as real players in the Cincinnati film scene. After the release of Moonlight Hour was finished they immediately began working on the next project in October 2024.
Which leads us to today. Right now, Clairemont Films is working on a new short film, with a release planned for later in 2025. They also have resumed preproduction on that same feature length film mentioned earlier. As for the future, Clairemont Films looks to create film projects at a larger scale and continue to tell stories that challenge the viewer and themselves.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For the most part its been a smooth ride but there will always be bumps in the road. Most challenges we’ve faced have been funding but with the limited recourses and crew we’ve learned many ways to be creative and find the best way to achieve our vision.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My Name Is William Hafley I am the Co-Creator and Director of Clairemont Films. I’m mostly known for and specialize in directing, editing in film and music videos. I’m 100% most proud of the the hard work and effort everyone puts into creating stories for Clairemont Films and very proud to call myself a leader of such a great group of people. I believe what makes us different is our attention to detail, coming from a low budget film background gave us the ability to overcome most situations and always come to a compromise.
My name is Kaden Lucas and I am the Co-Creator and Cinematographer of Clairemont Films. I’m known for my cinematography, both in our films, as well as the music videos we have done. If there’s any one thing I’m most proud of it would be our film Moonlight Hour. I’m incredibly proud of the crew and all of the work everyone put into it, and that makes it my favorite project we’ve done so far. I’d say what sets us apart would be our creativity. We’ve always had to find creative ways to work within the limits of our recourses, and that has always brought out the best in us.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
In the film industry, with such film companies as A24, Neon, Shutter, opening up the market to smaller film companies and with big budget films doing worse at the box office, we see a space where average movie goers will seek out more independent films. Also, with the advancement and availability of technology it will be easier for smaller creators to be able to achieve the same results as big budget productions.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairemont_films
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClairemontFilms
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@clairemontfilms
