Kamila Daurenova: A Few Of My Favourite Things

With a passionate eye for cinematic storytelling and an impeccable sense of rhythm, Cut+Run editor Kamila Daurenova's filmmaking credentials are rooted in a sense of identity.

Likewise, the items that the Kazakhstan-born creative keeps around her workspace are imbued with a sense of self; from dolls of Kazakh culture to keyboards that laugh in the face of the masculine cliché of her discipline.

The little pieces of home

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love and miss my home. 

Felting is a big part of Kazakh culture, and I’ve had these little dolls for over 15 years. 

They come with me through every move and remind me of home.

The plants

I’ve always loved hanging plants, so now I have a bunch of them around my workspace. 

I go through phases of being really good with plant care to getting distracted and having them die on me so for the past few years I’ve switched over to pothos plants because of how low maintenance they are.

I’m a pretty sentimental person, so behind the plants I have my concert/theatre tickets from when I lived in London in one frame [center] and some from New York in the other [right]. 

I was super lucky to get to go to the VMA’s twice while I worked at MTV, so I have those tickets framed up there as well.

The shelf

Doing something with your hands is the best way to reset after spending a lot of time by a screen, so I always like to have a little craft project going. 

This shelf was one of my projects from early last year, and it has become my favourite place to display my trinkets. 

In the middle, there’s a Tubeteika - a central Asian cap from back home. 

In the little circular compartment, there’s a little model of the car from the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that I’ve had for over 20 years.

The keyboard

I spend so much time with my editing setup that a couple of years ago, I decided to upgrade it to something that brings me joy. 

When Logitech released their Aurora collection I jumped on the pre-order and have been obsessed with it ever since. 

I’ve always loved really feminine things, but I steered away from them when I first started out in Post because I was worried they would make me seem less competent or professional. 

As I’ve grown more confident in myself and my skills, I’ve really enjoyed surrounding myself with things that make me happy and creative. 

The jewellery

My culture is a huge part of my identity and how I choose to express myself, and often it’s through the jewellery I wear. 

Wearing it feels like wearing armor and it always makes me feel grounded and closer to home.

The playbills 

I think the things we consume have such a big influence on the things we create, and one of my favourite art forms has always been theatre. 

I used to write theatre reviews, so I saw a lot of shows for free.

When I moved into post, I tried to keep up with it through the ticket lottery. 

I think ticket prices in New York can be scary, but there are so many cool programs out there. I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $40 for a ticket to see a show.