As a filmmaker, I have been led to believe that the be-all and end-all is winning an Oscar. Don’t get me wrong, I have definitely practiced my speech; “I’d like to thank my daughter and my dog, etc”, we all have, but what I’ve learned is that we don’t need accolades from peers and audiences in order to say that we are good filmmakers.

I have been a director for seven years, but even before being in the film industry, I knew that winning an Oscar was most filmmakers' goal. An award like that can signify approval and worth from other people. It can also assist you with your career, if you become “an award-winning director or filmmaker” people tend to think you’re good because of these outside accolades.

How Do You Measure Your Worth?

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to win an Oscar or a BAFTA, but it’s important to understand that things like that shouldn’t define you as a filmmaker. You have to ask yourself; how do you measure your worth? How do you want your worth to be measured? Are you only successful if you win stuff or are nominated? What is success?

Success to me, comes from being proud of what I’ve made, getting better, and learning more each time. My self-worth comes from the fact I was able to put together a project, pay people, complete a project, and then have people watch it. As we all know unless your last name is Spielberg this isn’t as easy to do for us other filmmakers.

Contradictory Definitions

I’m currently creating a short that is specifically for the Oscars. I know this sounds contradictory but the difference is that it no longer defines who I am as a director. I recognized that the type of director I enjoy being is: independent, creative, a mentor, working succinctly in a small time frame with a group of people that people feel like a family, supporting others creating a positive message and all of this ensuring people are paid fairly.

As a director, I want to come up with ways to make magic no matter what the budget. Showing people that anything is possible. Earning money doing something I love, wow, what a world that would be…oh wait, I’m doing just that.

Recognizing Your Worth

Deciding on what type of director or filmmaker you are means recognizing how far you’ve come and what you’ve done to get to this moment. You might not be Greta Gerwig or Christopher Nolan, but take the time to reflect on how well you’ve done so far. Pat yourself on the back, and take a moment to realize your own worth. Ask yourself if you’re doing what you want to do.

Take a moment to recognize you are doing it and no matter where you are in your journey, all of us here at Stage 32 are filmmakers and creatives.

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