We were lucky to catch up with AKi SHAWKY recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi AKi, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I found my Purpose during one of the most hottest summers in Cairo Egypt where I use to watch back to back Movies in our living room at my parents apartment while I was on holiday from school . My interest in movies and Cinema became bigger and bigger everyday and suddenly I asked myself ( How to make a Movie ? ) the Question led me into a journey of searching for Cinema Books in Midtown Cairo and I made a trip to one of the oldest Bookstores in Tahrir Square it was called ( Madboli Bookstore) and there I met a gentleman who runs the bookstore and I asked him if he can suggest a book for me about cinema and he smiled at me and looked through his reading glasses and said ( follow me I have the right book for you) and handed me a huge book it was actually kinda heavy and it was titled ( The History of Cinema) and I opened it and there he was a picture of Him smiling at me wearing his Black hat and looking at me with his shiny eyes and that was the first picture I have ever seen of (Orson Welles )in his most famous shot from the iconic classic ( The Third Man ) and all i remember is I just wanted to be just like him and that how i found my Purpose to be a Filmmaker.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
In the past 10 years I have been involved in Documentary Films and web series’s as a cinematographer and Camera operator worked with Amazing Filmmakers from around the globe trying to capture their vision and tell their stories but my biggest challenge is to focus on my artistic career and explore the medium of Visual telling and Narrative storytelling and it’s been quite a journey
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?
The biggest skill that I learned was patience when you work with Directors as a cinematographer you have have to really listen to their vision and ideas and try your best to get the right shots as they imagine them and that tea developed my second skill which is Communication it became a key in most of the projects I have been involved . and third skill is dedication to succeed in what you love to have to be committed and dedicated which will come to a cost of long hours , less sleep and less time with family and friends but the reward is you get to enjoy what you do . So as a conclusion my advice to folks who want to achieve a career in artistic career is patience, dedication and communication.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
If I know that for sure my answer will be to make films as I am guilty of loving films and movies more than I should do
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akishawky
- Facebook: Aki Shawky
- Youtube: Littleowl films
Image Credits
Aki shawky
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