Julia Barnett spent her childhood backstage at the theatre while her mother, Cathy, took center stage. She didn’t have any intention to carry on in the family business.
“I actually started college as a global studies and world religions major,” Julia says.
Despite her plans, show business eventually found its way back to her — though she is still most comfortable behind the scenes.
“It’s absolutely in my blood," Julia says.
In addition to her actress mother, Julia’s father, Dan Barnett, is a writer.
“I think she really just picked up on [Dan’s] ability to write and storytell and be more objective and observant, where I just want to be right in the middle of it, jumping up and down,” says Cathy.
Now, Julia is a filmmaker and her short documentary Moving Mary Sue will premiere at the Kansas International Film Festival on Monday.
By Julia's side will be Cathy, who also has an entry in the festival: psychological horror film The House on Pine Street, which features a 19th-century house in Independence, Missouri.
The two have only worked together briefly on a short film, Door to Door, and most recently on Julia's film Moving Mary Sue, which looks at the struggle Julia’s grandmother (Cathy’s mother) faced when she had to consider moving into a nursing home.
“We keep missing each other on actual, professional gigs,” Julia says.
Though the two have different working styles — Cathy focuses entirely on the project at hand, while Julia tends to have various projects going on at once — they’d like to work with each other more.
“[My mom] is renowned for being wonderful to work with,” Julia says.
Fortunately for the mother-daughter duo, their entries are not in direct competition with one another, so they can cheer each other on without any conflict of interest.
"The House on Pine Street" will show at 7:45 p.m. Friday, November 6 at the Glenwood Arts Theater at 95th St. and Mission. "Moving Mary Sue" will show at 7:35 on Monday, November 9.
Lisa Rodriguez is the associate producer for KCUR's 'Up To Date.' You can reach her on Twitter, @larodrig.
