Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Justin Lord. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Justin, 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.
Growing up, I distrusted anyone who used phrases like “follow your heart” or “live your dream.” These phrases were almost always used to describe how the speaker found purpose in their career – never their home life or their spiritual life, just their career. Such people tended to view purpose as something you give yourself, but I believed then that purpose is something given by God and the responsibilities He placed around you. As a kid, many of the adults I looked up to would talk of the crazy dreams they had wasted time on when they were younger, and they advised me to learn from their examples and live a sensible life. I was determined to choose only the most useful and helpful career as the basis of a charitable life, but then something funny happened: I became interested in filmmaking.
This harebrained idea of going off to California and learning to make movies didn’t fit the model of a humble, practically useful life. But I was passionate about it and it seemed like I might even be good at it, and as my community came around to consider this notion, it seemed like there could perhaps be altruistic uses for film. We agreed that this might be the responsibility God had given me, and in that hope I set off to pursue filmmaking in California.
Filmmaking is hard, not just because the work itself is hard but because in order to do film at any moderately successful level there are dozens of gatekeepers you have to find a way to bypass somehow. Whenever I would throw myself into a film project, I would find myself colliding with a wall of massive insecurity and fear. How could I guarantee that this would work? Wasn’t it inevitable that my dream would fail and leave me with nothing to show for all this effort? That’s what had happened to so many in my community back home, and who was I to suppose my story would be any different? And wasn’t this dream just a vanity project anyway?
I’ve been learning a lot about all the good that storytelling can do, but I have had to accept that I won’t always have answers for those anxious questions. What I do have is a pattern that I’ve noticed. Whenever I make a film that comes “from the heart,” people are encouraged and even grateful. And that has shown me a glimpse of what part of my purpose is, to share to the best of my ability the inspiration that can only be communicated through a beautiful piece of art. And, aside from my career aspirations, my purpose continues to be what it would be if I had any other kind of career. As much as we may idolize the idea of a lone artist, the filmmaker is still part of a community and is thus responsible for taking care of their community. All the “ordinary” bits of human purpose, like love and kindness and generosity, apply as much to me as a filmmaker as if I had been a plumber or a preacher.
These days, I still wouldn’t say to “follow your heart,” but I would strongly advocate for listening to your heart. Purpose isn’t something you give yourself – it’s a waste of a life to focus on just your own passions when there’s a God to be followed and people to be loved and duties to be shouldered. But there are many ways that you might go about fulfilling that purpose, and, amidst all the nonsense that your heart spouts off, it might have a few good ideas on how to do that.
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 am just another young aspiring filmmaker in LA, working two part-time jobs and the occasional film gig to make ends meet and having quite a lot of fun in the doing so. I am a bookish nerd who loves asking people big questions about the meaning of life and then putting those conversations into the movies I make.
I am currently scrambling to finish two 20-minute short films I wrote and directed:
“Basketcase”, which is basically like if I made my own version of a Twilight Zone episode – “A girl raised in an isolated family that wears baskets over their faces at all times gets fed up with her parents forcing her to live this strange lifestyle and decides to rebel by inviting over a boy she met online.”
And “The Ending of the Order of the Elephant”, which is basically like if I made my own version of a Wes Anderson short film – “A girl who loves throwing lavish tea parties attempts to grow up into a normal, non-tea-party-throwing adult by hosting one last simple teatime for her best friend – and meanwhile her toy elephant narrates the whole thing.”
Both films will premiere together in January 2024. You can follow me on Instagram at @justinlord.doing.filmstuff for more details.
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?
1. Learn a lot about the things that interest you – You don’t have to be a generalist. In fact, you probably shouldn’t be. Find the things that captivate your interests and passions, and learn so much and so deeply about them until you almost don’t like them anymore.
2. Just do the thing – At the end of the day, learning isn’t enough. You gotta start doing the thing yourself, which means you will make mistakes, but that’s part of the process. Trust the process; be humble enough to learn from your mistakes. And then keep doing the thing, because you’ll improve each time.
3. Be a well-rounded human – Take the time to develop the parts of your person and your life that have nothing to do with your thing. Art should be an expression of the full and virtuous life that you live, not a substitute for it. If you need to be obsessive to be productive, relegate that obsession to a certain season, and dedicate other seasons to other things like learning about God or supporting your friends or reading books or serving your community or going out and staring at trees.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I feel overwhelmed kinda like all the time. Here are some things I’ve found that help with that.
1. Stop, breathe, and pray – Jesus has plenty of grace for when you don’t know what to do. Remind yourself that it’s not your job to know all the answers or be in control, and express gratitude to the One Who actually has that job.
2. Enjoy the classics – Don’t have any ideas for a film that will actually fit your budget? Go watch some of the underground indie success stories. Got writer’s block? Go read one of the all-time great novels. Feeling like everything is boring and ugly? Go to Google Images and search up a masterpiece painting, or better yet, go outside. Inspiration is everywhere, but it is especially within the great works of art that have stood the test of time.
3. Take a break, do something fun if there’s time, and then come back to it fresh – It works for the kids I tutor. I have a hunch it works for adults, too.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @justinlord.doing.filmstuff
Image Credits
Cinematography by W. Graham Skinner
