Arts on Tap: Justen Lambert

Justen Lambert, a graduate of Northland PInes High School and former Nicolet College student (BFA in Film from UW Milwaukee) will bring his short films, “Dystopia” and “Tabula Rasa” to share with the community and talk about his art and film making in general.

Justen’s Bio:

I grew up here in the Northwoods and graduated from Northland Pines High. I always thought I would be a chef but I had a moment while I was working on a music video project that I realized that making video was my path. 

After finishing two years at Nicolet, and taking digital video class while attending there, I was able to start my film studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I was surrounded by some very talented student film makers and teachers. I’d like to pretend that I produced some of the best work but to be honest there are very few projects that I am really proud of. The two that that I am showing are hands down the best work I have ever done. 

Dystopia and Tabula Rasa are the true high points of my film making career so far. The reason for that being that I had the privilege of working with some of the most talented people I have ever met and the level of satisfaction I get from watching the final product. 

Dystopia is the story of Ellis, a solitary survivor of an apocalyptic world. He navigates his world with the skills and virtue bestowed upon him by his mother. 

We arranged a script, and lined up the (A) cast and crew to tell this story. After months of planning, we set out to shoot. In the harsh cold of what we called spring break, we shot the project over three twelve hour days solid twelve hour days. The moment I called “that’s a wrap,” when we realized that it was 5 in the morning, I will never forget the looks we gave each other as we all knew that we had captured something wonderful. 

Tabula Rasa is about the breath of a dying soul that gives breathe to a new one. I had these images in my head, and I could not figure out how to translate them. They didn’t belong in a narrative so I needed on outlet that would adhere to their true nature. Dance has a way of translating very obscure thoughts into a physical form so I knew that would be the only form in which those images would be captured.

As of right now, I am working on two of my passions. I am doing freelance producing and productions for a friend’s start up media company called Digitus, and to pay the bills, I discovered a passion in automotive sales. For some reason, I was drawn to selling cars, and I love it. Because of the structure of the job, it allows me to pursue film and live comfortably. 

Arts on Tap is co-sponsored by The Olson Memorial Library and WXPR.