We recently connected with Johnny Catalano and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Johnny, 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 need to be an optimist.
Entering a life in film is like entering into a vocation, rather than a job. You sleep, eat, breathe, and live film. It consumes one’s soul. I didn’t choose this path because I thought it would garner me fame and fortune, I chose it because I need to emote, I need to communicate, I need to exist.
Leaving behind a body of work, work I can be proud of, means everything to me. Therefore, I have no option. I must persevere and face head on, the uphill battle of being an artist in a very commercial world. Otherwise, I wouldn’t create. A life without creation, for me, is not a life worth living.
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?
First and foremost, I’m a filmmaker. I always loved that term. I feel it incapsulates so many disciplines in one simple word.
To create independent films, one must be a writer, photographer, actor, graphic designer, entrepreneur, just to name a few roles. Feature filmmaking is the perfect blend of the visual, auditory, and literary art forms. Therefore, I find inspiration in every medium imaginable.
When I’m not actively producing a film, I manage a local movie theatre, the Historic Plaza Theatre, in Miamisburg, Ohio. I love it. It’s the best job a cinephile could ask for.
I’m also the proud founder of my own annual film festival, Catalano Film Festival, which takes place toward the end of the winter season.
I have one award-winning short film under my belt, FUNERAL FOR FURMANSKI (2022), and am currently in pre-production for my debut feature film SUNDAY DINNER.
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?
Patience, patience, and patience.
I know, sounds odd. But, it has helped me exponentially, in my process of becoming a filmmaker.
To make great art, one must realize that works of quality and staying power, aren’t created overnight. The myth of the “overnight successes”, is exactly that, a myth.
I take comfort in learning about my heroes’ biographies. Many of them, took years upon years to create their early works. No one trusts you in the early stage of your career. You have to prove yourself, and that may take sometime, and that’s OK.
It is about quality at the end of the day, not quantity.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Oliver Stone’s autobiography CHASING THE LIGHT.
Stone, is a filmmaker I have deep love, respect, and admiration for. Not only are his films magnificent, but his life is incredibly fascinating.
He writes so honestly on his experiences from being a soldier in Vietnam to chasing his dream of becoming a filmmaker. It was such a hard fight for him. He dealt with so many failures and heartbreaks in his early years. All of those, would only lead to the wonderful art he would create later in his life.
It teaches me, adversity, is necessary for an artist, as well as being inevitable.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnycatalanofilm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catalanofilmco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-catalano-358b12257/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/catalanofilm
