Meet Dario Saliani

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

Dario , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always, naturally leaned on the positive side of things. Not in a delusional way – Actually, now that I think about it… maybe I am a little delusional, but I always looked for option 3, when all I was presented with was two sad options. Lately I’ve been learning a lot about myself, and how the person I am reflects in my work as a filmmaker, but I just can’t deal with an ending that’s not fully resolved. It doesn’t have to be necessarily joyful, I prefer a harsh, heart-breaking ending yet with a little hint of hope, to a negative one that laves me hopeless. Hope ultimately is the positivity’s good sister. Considering the times we live in, we need hope. Without hope – quoting a character from one of my favorite movies of all time “Mommy” by Xavier Dolan, we won’t get very far.

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 filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. I knew I wanted to be involved in film production ever since I was very little. I didn’t know how it worked at the time but there was something about movies that took me to an entire different place. When we switched from VHS to DVD my uncle back in Italy, started collecting films, and I would sneak into his office after school and watch movies all day. Some I should have really waited a few more years… but there was no such thing as parental control back then, if I liked the cover of the DVD, or the story sounded interesting I would put it on. I remember the moment I discovered the “special feature” section after I watched Mamma Mia! I was absolutely blown away by the behind the scenes. And I remember the moment I felt in my body that that’s what I wanted to spend my life doing. Through the years I kept pursuing film and storytelling, I graduated in film and television production in Dublin Ireland, majoring in Screenwriting and realized how the stories I tell are always about family, and what love does to people, whether there’s a lack of love or so much to cause unpleasant consequences. One of the first films I wrote is about a woman who chases her nephew half across the world to bring him back home, at the cost of taking him away from his own mother. The one I’m writing right now, is about a man finding love again after the death of his partner. Love and hope, are always at the centre of my work.

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?

I think there’s great responsibility in giving advice. I change my mind every day, I change my opinions every day. it’s really hard to say – “this is the key!’. But there are a few things I still believe to be true, and others I have been learning recently. One being, time f***ing flies. Don’t let it be an excuse to set yourself up for failure, but work as hard as you can in your younger years. Life is full of surprises, the world is full of people who want that same thing you want, who are working as hard, or harder than you are. That said, learning how to take care of ourselves, our mind and bodies, is as important as the run to achieve our dreams. And that balance is what I’m working on at the moment, and the thing nobody ever told me about. – or maybe they did, but I’m a Sagittarius, I never listen to what I’m told. So if there’s one thing I would tell to my younger self, is “it’s ok to run and work your ass off, but every once in a while, remember to take a look at the view around you, it’s worth it”.

Another thing I think was very helpful to me is my curiosity. I’m constantly curious about everything, I want to learn as much as i can, especially in the arts. And there is no better inspiration to me than other human beings and their work on this Earth. That’s what keeps me alive, inspired and hopeful. In addition to that, I find myself to challenge what I’m presented with almost all the time. One of my film history professors once told me “never assume anything someone says to you to be the truth”. Now, I am not a conspiracy theorist, I do believe in Science and I believe in the great work of Historians, but that very work sometimes gets modified when it’s delivered to us, and the same happens with journalism. So I live in the idea of always challenging a piece of information and learn from myself if it is false, inaccurate or entirely true. It’s a skill that helped me not only to get deeper in my work, but also to develop a mind of my own, which lately seems to be a rare thing to have. We don’t have to agree all the time, we don’t have to have all the same opinions, debating leads to good change, as long as we always respect each other, and understand that our personal freedom ends where someone else’s begins.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

The number one obstacle right now is myself. I’m almost 30 years old, and I’m realizing now how much I have not processed from my past. From incidents, to bad habits, to PTSD responses that kicks in at unexpected times, to even accepting changes and the idea that what we want at 15 is not necessarily what we want at 30 anymore (grandma you were right!!) And this realization is hitting me like a truck at 90 miles an hour. I started acting classes two years ago, and there’s no grater place to learn about yourself than acting classes. I have a great teacher who’s helping me dig deep into my mind and body, and encouraging me to learn why certain patterns and behaviors are occurring, which are preventing me to be not only a better actor, but also a human living truthfully to who they are. I believe that we are forced sometimes to live with a thousand masks, one for each place we go to, person we meet, situation we find ourselves in. But what happens when we drop that mask? I’m learning that my grater obstacle is myself, but I am also my own way to freedom. In addition to acting, therapy helps me a lot, and rediscovering Buddhism really changed my point of view on life. We have so much potential as human beings that’s almost overwhelming. I’m still navigating changes and doubts, but one thing I learned: To hide inside ourselves, to repress anything we feel, to “play characters” or a caricature of ourselves, will always pull the brakes on our way to achieve our dreams, and be the person we are meant to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dariosaliani.com
• Instagram: @dariosaliani

Image Credits

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