Soap Lake filmmaker lauded for videos

SOAP LAKE - Filmmaking has been on-the-job training for Kathy Kiefer.

Since 1989, the Soap Lake resident has been making films as part of her job as a public affairs officer for the Grant County Public Utilities District.

"To improve my skills, I decided to do it away from my job, so I do it a lot," she said. "The more you do something, the better you get. I was doing it a lot. I don't want to say every waking moment, but beyond an eight-hour day, I was doing it after that, and that improved my skills and contributed greatly to my ability to work faster, more efficiently, and understand and utilize the technology to the advantage of whatever I do."

Kiefer recently received an Ava gold award for her 16-minute video, "The Town In Our Heart, the Heart in Our Town," a celebration of Quincy's centennial produced for the Quincy Centennial Committee. Kiefer also received an Ava gold award for a three-minute driving simulator video produced for Canfield and Associates, the Ephrata insurance program administrator.

There were more than 1,700 entries from throughout the United States and several foreign countries in the 2007 competition.

"It's always gratifying to have recognition for anything," Kiefer said. "It's such a collaboration with the client that it's really about doing the good work. That's a result of the collaboration itself, particularly in the case of the Quincy video. A lot of the people in Quincy community are in the video, their stamp is on it in terms of their passion for the city and their contributions which are so incredible in that town."

The Canfield video also received a great deal of support, Kiefer said.

"The product itself, in that case, is really unique," she said.

Kiefer previously won a Telly Bronze Award around 2006 for another of her films, "Boobalogues."

Kiefer says she likes to convey stories and participating in the storytelling process.

"I really believe in the importance of storytelling to the world," she said. "I think there are so many stories out there that deserve to be told, that should be listened to, and that's what all the stuff I do does, it captures the essence of the story and conveys it back in a visual medium."

At present, Kiefer is working on an employee recruitment film for the PUD.

She is also working on a film about breast cancer survivors of different faith backgrounds.

"How they continue to draw on their faith as part of their journey with cancer," she explained.

Kiefer was also on hand to record Bonnie Guitar's recent holiday concert at Soap Lake's Masquers Theater.

"I've been working on a series of interviews with elder esteemed women," she explained. "It could be anything. They don't have to be famous. And Bonnie's one of them. I'll be interviewing her, and I wanted to tape her concert to use in the - I say video, it's just a legacy piece."

A lot of the work Kiefer does for the community is pro bono.

"It's just to do it," she said. "Who knows when it will come in value later?"

Kiefer said she is always continuing to improve her craft and continuing to learn to become a better storyteller.

"That is my focus so much right now, just to be better at what I do," she said.

"What we knew about Kathy all along is that she's a very gifted individual and she was able to carry out, I really think, the heart of our community in what she put on film," Quincy Centennial Chair Harriet Weber said. "The fact she was recognized for that, we are just so happy because she poured her heart and soul into the project."

While it's nice to have such awards on her prospectus, Kiefer finds the honors more gratifying for her clients.

"It's gratifying to the people who are involved, it just gives them a sense of pride," she said. "I think I'm more interested in those people really having a sense of pride about the work; they were involved in it, they get to have the feeling of success and reward as well as I. That means a lot, it sort of shares the value of the work."

Kiefer believes the award gives credibility to her profession in Grant County.

"Here, young people can look out and go, 'Wow, she's out there doing it, it's possible to be successful at this kind of work,'" she said.