CIFF 2026 | Meet Jen Walden, director of LUMI | S3E8

What happens when a visual artist transitions to filmmaking in the heart of the Arctic?In this episode of Dripping Creativity, host Chris Corvan sits down with Jen Walden, a filmmaker, screenwriter, and visual artist based in Yellowknife.Jen shares her journey from painting in Florence to creating her latest feature film, Lumi, a science fiction adventure exploring connection, resilience, and the human experience in a post-apocalyptic Arctic landscape.We dig into the unique challenges of filmmaking in the Northwest Territories, the tight-knit community of northern artists supporting one another, and the ways the Arctic landscape shapes Jen's storytelling.Jen also takes us inside the evolution of Lumi, which began as a short film before growing into a feature centred on a young girl and her AI companion. We talk about crafting scenes from images and emotion, balancing practical effects with CGI, and capturing the Arctic on screen without losing the human story at its centre.Lumi has its Alberta premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival on September 27 at 8:30 PM at Globe Cinema.Follow Jen Walden:Film: @jenwaldenfilmArt: @jenwaldenartFollow Chris Corvan:@chrisofthevoidMusic by GRIDLAZER:InstagramEpisode Chapters:00:00 Chris Corvan welcomes Jen Walden01:12 Jen's journey from visual arts to filmmaking05:30 The influence of the Arctic landscape10:15 Community in Northern filmmaking15:45 Crafting scenes from image to emotion20:00 The evolution of Lumi from short film to feature25:30 Connection and resilience30:00 Practical effects versus CGI35:45 Lumi's Alberta premiere40:00 What's next for Jen Walden