Meet Curtis Craven

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Curtis Craven. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Curtis below.

Curtis, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
SENSE of PUPOSE

So may years ago, when I was to begin 2nd grade, my father received a Fulbright Grant to study modern Indian art and the family spent a year in India. They enrolled me in St. Xaviers in New Delhi and subsequently I was the only Westerner enrolled. For that year I was immersed in Indian culture, with local neighborhood friends, local food and local culture. I remember distinctly watching the Sikhs walking by our house around sunset, their hair down almost to their feet as it dried in the cool of the evening. I also remember seeing bodies washed up on the shore of the Ganges, and the breathtaking beauty of the Taj Mahal. All of this set the stage for my life’s purpose and general curiosity for new and exciting adventures.

In high school, I accompanied my father on numerous trips to Mexico, Central America and South America. Each of the trips involved some kind of frightening and exhilarating adventure. One time in Copan we were left stranded by the small plane that flew us in. We heard the engines start in the distance and ran like crazy, only see the plane taking off. Happily it returned a couple hours later. In Veracruz, our rental car broke down in the middle of nowhere and we had to stay in a hotel that rented rooms by the hour. On all of these trips, I was given a camera and a mission to photograph the various sites and places we visited. Since then, I have continued this same model instilled in these early trips—Travel with a mission, not as a tourist.

This sense of purpose has carried me through the years into the present. Beginning with a still camera, I transferred to film production when I attended the University of Texas Radio-Television-Film school. For my first film project, Barcos y Pescadores/Boats and Fishermen, I spent a week on a shark fishing boat off the shores of Tecolutla, Veracruz. I also spent many months of the year working on an ongoing archeological project as photographer and draftsman in the state of Veracruz. Again, not a tourist, but embedded with local people and culture.

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?
WHAT I DO

I’ve been working as a filmmaker with an emphasis on documentary since the 1980’s. The vast majority of my film projects focus on Culture, Environment and History. Occasionally, I’d take on a corporate or commercial job, but my interest has always been from a more ethnographic, anthropological angle. Today, I balance my time between commissioned work and self-produced documentaries. I’m actively shooting a series of short pieces for The Nature Conservancy which has taken me to many beautiful, pristine preserves around the state. Other clients include the Texas Historical Commission for who I’ve shot dozens of short videos over the years, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation, Audubon Texas and the Borderlands Research Institute (Alpine, Texas).

Over the last few years, I’ve produced and shot numerous films aimed at PBS distribution. These include, the 30-minute documentary, Vanilla: the Sacred Orchid, about this New World plant shot in Veracruz. More recently I self-produced the hour-long film, Life in the Logwoods, about East Texas loggers and sawmill operators. Last year, I produced and directed, The Lost Grave of James Coryell, a 30-minute PBS historical film on the discovery of the long lost grave of James Coryell, one of the first Texas rangers who was killed by Caddo Indians. I’ve also been producing shooting and editing a number of shorts for Caddo Mounds Historic Site, along with the 30-minute documentary Koo-Hoot Kiwat: the Caddo Grass House. This film documented the building of a traditional Caddo Grass house and was awarded a Lone Star Emmy.

Today, I’m finally wrapping up the production phase of “East Texas Cowboys” (working title). I received a Humanities Texas grant for this project and it will be completed by the end of 2023. The next film will be “The Neches River”, another hour-long PBS documentary in pre-production. I’m exhausted just reading all this! Haha.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE and CURIOSITY

Of all the qualities I value, perhaps curiosity ranks at the top. When people ask me what I do, I’ll answer, “I stand around watching other people work.” It might sound a bit flippant, but it’s true. For many of the projects I’ve taken on, they began with me just wondering what goes on behind the scenes of a certain way of life or group of people that I’ve never come in contact with before. For example, for “Life in the Logwoods” (East Texas loggers and saw mills), I kept seeing logging trucks on the road, which made me wonder about the people doing the job of bringing wood to market. Through a series of acquaintances and pure luck, I finally met an individual who was key in getting me into that world. Our subsequent friendship allowed me to use his name opened many doors that up to that point been closed. The same has occurred for the film I’m working on now, “East Texas Cowboys”. I now have a close relationship with someone I call my Cowboy Mentor and his name has gotten me deep into the world of East Texas Cowboys. It’s not about the money. I just follow my curiosity.

Lastly, is mastering the technology. Unfortunately, this will never happen. I may be a competent shooter and editor, but the cameras, computers and any number of devices, will always challenge the user and it’s almost guaranteed every time I go on a shoot or sit down to edit a new problem arises that I’ve never encountered before. This stuff can drive a normal person crazy, but there a satisfaction in confronting the issue and either fixing it or working around the problem. There is no alternative. The show must go on.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Both of my parents were artists. My father returning from WWII married my mother and they moved to New York City and enrolled in the Art Students League, studying under Yasuo Kuniyoshi and George Grosz. My father also began working as a commercial illustrator at an ad agency. Then my mother became pregnant with me and they chose to leave their bohemian lifestyle behind and moved to Gainesville, Florida where my dad secured a faculty position in the art department. He was soon to become the Director of the University Gallery, giving him the freedom to travel in Latin America to pursue his interest in Pre-Columbian Art. I was taken along on many of his trips, and as I mentioned earlier, our trips together instilled the habit of traveling off the beaten trail, meeting unique people and always have a mission. I was never told to pick up a camera. I saw him doing it, it looked like fun, so here I am.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vimeo.com/curtiscraven
• Facebook: Hecho a Mano Productions
• Twitter: cravencurtis