Meet Destiny Arturet

We were lucky to catch up with Destiny Arturet recently and have shared our conversation below.

Destiny, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

Considering myself a new creative, I’m still navigating how my creativity presents itself to me and is represented in my work. As a filmmaker, the filmmakers I’m inspired by are film nerds and I’m always curious about the stories that have shaped their work. So, there is an endless source of material I can tap into. I love learning about my favorite filmmakers’ favorite films, watching those films, learning about the inspiration behind those films, and so on. It feels like the best kind of homework.

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?

I’m a documentary filmmaker who loves exploring stories about niche hobbies, small communities, and collective interests. I earned a Graduate Certificate in Short Film from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2022. My first short film Welcome to King Friday’s Dungeon was an official selection at the Camden International Film Festival in 2023. Since then, I’ve participated in FilmNorth’s Inclusive & Socially Conscious Filmmaking Lab and recently completed UnionDoc’s Collaborative Studio Fellowship where I co-directed my second short film about Superfund sites in New York City and edited a short film exploring NYC’s most elusive and coveted artistic tradition: graffiti.

Recently, I moved from NYC to DMV and began interviewing for multimedia production roles in DC. I’m excited to continue to grow in my career and discover new stories to share with the world.

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?

Patience, communication, and time management.

Having patience for yourself in your journey is essential. As much as I’d love to have started earlier or be further in my career, I am where I am. I’m still laying a foundation, learning, building, and growing. Being patient with myself and where I am will hopefully pay off. So, be patient with where you are and know that you still have time, no matter if you’re an early starter or late bloomer. Borrowing a line from Bridget Everett who borrowed it from LL Cool J, “Dreams don’t have deadlines.”

Being a good communicator is key in every relationship, whether it’s personal or professional. And we have endless sources of communication today so we have to be diligent about our frequency, our tone, our asks, etc. To develop good communication skills, I believe it’s important to understand first how you like to be communicated with and how others perceive your communication skills and if that seems beneficial in your line of work. The great thing is, our communication skills can always be improved upon and there are so many opportunities each day to experiment.

I am very passionate about time management! Modern tools and technology have given us an opportunity to accomplish more than ever before, which I think also gives us the illusion that we have more time to get things done. In my line of work, collaboration is key and being respectful of other people’s time is really important. Being realistic about what you can accomplish at any given time is not only good for your team but it’s also good for you, especially because you don’t want to overwork yourself or burn out.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard. The book explores the beauty of career late bloomers and the harms of a society obsessed with early achievement. I found it really profound when I decided to change my career in my early thirties. The biggest take away is that we really need to be kinder to ourselves and allow ourselves to develop on our own time, to discover our talents and passions on the unique timeline of our lives. So, if you’re 52 and you discover that you’re passionate about the law and law school is calling, it’s not too late to go.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.destinyarturet.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holad3stiny/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/destinyarturet/

Image Credits

PRP BTS 2, image credit: Meijuan Foo