Meet Benjamin Font

We were lucky to catch up with Benjamin Font recently and have shared our conversation below.

Benjamin, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is necessary to exist. Without it, we’d have never overcome any of the countless obstacles that stood in the way of us being here at all. So to be alive in this moment is already a huge win, which I don’t take for granted. Any resilience beyond that stems from an unwavering belief that if I continue to relentlessly pursue my wildest dreams then I will absolutely achieve them. That optimism, and resilience – however naive – paired with a joy for living and disciplined approach to work that I truly love, ultimately creates a perspective that is both manageable and immediate, with a deep appreciation for the present and ambitious ideas for the future.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a writer/director whose film career began as the co-writer of Robert Schwartzman’s “Dreamland,” which premiered at Tribeca and was released by Orion Pictures before making my feature directorial debut soon after with “Madness, Farewell,” a dark holiday comedy that I also wrote, produced, and starred in as the co-lead. My new short film “Greta” was commissioned by the award winning lit magazine Switchyard and had its World Premiere at the 40th Boston Film Festival and its International Premiere at the Paris Film Art Festival.

With over a decade of experience in the fast paced environment of the high end design world – serving as operations manager at prestigious LA galleries – I first merged my passions for film and design in a series for Hanna Li Interiors called “Design Through Storytelling,” and recently launched the boutique full service design resource NAN Collective with Co-Founder, Lindsey Font-Fife, and Design Director, Alexa Miramontes.

Our first exhibition at NAN Collective Studio focuses on THE LUNAR COLLECTION by Jotham Hung + GENE GRANT: “An American in Paris” (1906-1974) – which consists of 150+ oil paintings by the artist from Hollywood’s Golden Age – while featuring select pieces from DE TIERRA with Lighting Curated By MERCHANT MODERN.

The studio is located in Los Angeles, CA and is Open By Appointment through the end of December 2024.

A self-taught artist and storyteller originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, I currently work and reside in Los Angeles and am also the author of ten books, including my forthcoming collection AGAIN AND AGAIN THEN THE END.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Again: resilience and optimism. And empathy. “Lead with love, the rest will follow.”

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m always open to partnering and/or collaborating with good people who are making good things, both in film and in design. Follow me and NAN Collective on Instagram – @benjaminfont & @nan.collective – and reach out there or on the contact pages at our respective websites. We’d love to connect.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

NAN Collective Photos by Adam Riding
GRETA Stills Courtesy of Switchyard and Luxurious Squalor Inc.
“Greta” Poster by Benjamin Font
BTS Still from “Greta” by Bella Finn Parisot
BTS Still from “Again and Again Then The End” by Alexa Miramontes

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