We were lucky to catch up with Erwick D’souza recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Erwick, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I get my optimism from my father. He climbed the socio-economic ladder and went from being a worker to running a company within a few decades. Through him, I realized that I am truly capable of anything. When I was in engineering school for my undergrad program, I realized that engineering was not what I wanted. I wanted to tell stories and I wanted to make things. I created a mechanism of self-discovery and innovation within myself. This is my form of optimism and resilience in a world that has tried time and time again to package me into a box. It’s where I get my mental, emotional, and sometimes physical energy from.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a filmmaker, cinematographer, editor, and sound designer with a deep passion for storytelling across multiple disciplines. My journey into filmmaking has been anything but conventional—I started in engineering, transitioned into music composition, and eventually found my way into film through a mix of curiosity, trial by fire, and relentless reinvention.
Right now, I’m focused on two projects that are especially close to my heart. Earthlings, a sci-fi short film I co-directed with my frequent collaborator, Dimitri Dyó, is in post-production. It’s an ambitious project that blends live-action motion capture with Unreal Engine environments, inspired by themes of humanity, mortality, and the vastness of the universe. We successfully crowdfunded the film and are working hard to finish it by Q1 2025, with plans for a festival run before a wider release in 2026.
One of my recent projects is Spitting Image, a dark comedy short written and directed by Dimitri Dyó, which I co-produced with him. Currently making its festival rounds, the film has garnered multiple awards and international recognition.
What excites me most about my work is the ability to constantly innovate—whether that’s designing custom 3D assets, experimenting with virtual production, or finding new ways to tell a story through a lens. My goal has always been to push creative and technical boundaries while telling compelling, emotionally resonant stories.
For anyone interested in following my work, you can check out my website www.erwickdsouza.com, where I share updates on my projects and insights into my creative process.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, three things have had the biggest impact on my journey—adaptability, technical curiosity, and resilience.
1. Adaptability – I’ve had to reinvent myself so many times that I’ve lost count. I started in engineering, jumped to music, and somehow ended up as a filmmaker. Every time, I had to learn a new skill set, figure out an entirely different industry, and start from scratch. If you’re just starting out, don’t get too attached to one path. Be flexible. The world moves fast, and the ability to pivot will keep you in the game.
2. Technical Curiosity – I have an obsessive need to figure out how things work. When I got my first camera, I memorized the manual before even touching it. When I wanted to score films, I cracked open FL Studio on a dying laptop and just started making horrible music until it became decent. Every major step in my career came from tinkering and experimenting with something new. My advice? Mess around with your tools. Learn by doing. Break things. Rebuild them as you see fit. You don’t need fancy gear or expensive software—just an internet connection and a stubborn attitude.
3.Resilience – I’ve had projects fall apart, jobs disappear overnight, and doors slammed in my face more times than I can count. But none of that mattered because I kept going. Rejections suck, but they’re part of the process. If you let them define you, you’re done before you even start. The best thing you can do is take the hit, learn from it, and come back swinging harder than before!
At the end of the day, talent is great, but persistence pays. Keep moving, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to start over.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Picking just one is like trying to pick your favorite child. But all the things that they’ve done for me can be summed up with the fact that my parents have always paid attention to me and my brothers’ needs over their own. They view our success and our failures as their own. Having parents who give you that level of support is very very empowering and has allowed us to go quite far in life. While they were initially hesitant about me pursuing music, they eventually gravitated towards the idea and threw their collective weight behind that pursuit. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://erwickdsouza.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erwickdsouza
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwickdsouza
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/erwickdsouza
- Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/erwickdsouza
- Other: (Indiegogo campaigns) https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/36971777/campaigns
Image Credits
DSC_2639 Edited by Merwick D’Souza
earthlings_Poster_8.4 © 2025 EFD Productions
Spitting Image © 2025 Dimitri Dyó
earthlings screenshot © 2025 EFD Productions
IMG_3410 by Erwick D’Souza
YouTube video screenshot by Erwick D’Souza (YouTube)
Merde screenshot © 2023 Dimitri Dyó
Zomatoloot screenshot by Erwick D’Souza and Sarath Chan
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
