We were lucky to catch up with Maryna Bogdan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Maryna, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I’m an immigrant and most immigrants have no other option than to be resilient. I was born and raised in Eastern Ukraine and because of the war that started in 2014 I had to move around a bit before eventually settling in the US a year later. I was 20 when I moved to LA where I had to start from scratch in every way possible – I barely spoke English, I lived in a garage, I couldn’t drive, I worked lots of customer service jobs to get by. It was depressing at times, but it was a formative experience that made me who I am today, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a writer and director – I’ve directed three short films and I’m currently developing my first feature.
I was a writer first and I fell into directing later – I love the visual component of movies so much I wasn’t ready to give that up. I never went to film school – just watched a ton of movies and interviews with acclaimed directors who would say “If you want to be a director, go make a film!”, so I did exactly that. I made my first comedy short, “He Doesn’t Text Me”, by myself in my apartment. It got some attention on Twitter and that’s how I met a producer for my second short, “Nana”, that we just put out online. It’s a small and concise story about a grandma reconnecting with her old flame, but it was a bigger, more serious project – we had cast and crew, two locations, we even did a proper festival run and got to premiere at the Academy award-qualifying LA Shorts, which I am incredibly grateful for.
Right now I’m doing post for my third film called “Thank U” – a deeply personal story about a Ukrainian immigrant dealing with the horrors of war remotely. We shot it this summer during Hurricane Hilary.
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 would say good communication, adaptability, high risk tolerance. The ability to communicate well is 80% of success in directing. You have all these different departments on set, and they all speak their own language. With actors you talk about emotions and feelings and then you turn to your production designer and go “I think this curtain should be on the right”. And this goes on for as long as you work on a project – you switch from something very technical and practical to something very emotional back and forth. An important thing to remember is that no one can read your thoughts or your vision, so it’s on you to communicate it before you start filming.
Adaptability is a big thing I had to master as well. I am yet to learn about a perfect shoot where everything went smoothly and according to plan. Something always happens – cast or crew members don’t show up, people get sick, there’s unpredictable weather, location issues – and you have no choice but to adapt. I learned to work under pressure of being a decision maker – we’re rolling, we only have 12 hours, we have to make it happen. Deep inside I am panicking, of course, but my team needs to know that I got it. I can’t let them down!
Also there is a certain level of risk involved when you’re making a film – there’s money, yours or someone else’s, there’s limited time and you can’t just do an average job, you have to give it your all. There’s also a high likelihood of your film not becoming a viral sensation and you have to be at peace with it. So you need to be willing to risk all of that, just for the sake of getting the film out of your system. The film itself should be your biggest reward.
I am early in my journey myself and I don’t have any original advice other than go make a movie. Filmmaking isn’t very theoretical. Make something with your friends and if you happen to have no friends interested in filmmaking whatsoever, point a camera at yourself and tell a story in the most cinematic way possible. If there’s truth in that story, people will notice. Further down the line – learn how to balance between taking creative advice and standing your ground. And be a good manager!
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Self-doubt is a big one. Ever since I started writing scripts, I am constantly battling the impostor syndrome. English is not my first language and there’s always that “what if they find out” lingering in my head. Like, what if my writing is not sophisticated enough? But maybe that’s why I’m a screenwriter and not a novelist – I don’t mesh well with intricate descriptions. “Show don’t tell” is what I live by.
Another obstacle is, of course, money. Right now I’m at the point where I know I can execute bigger projects, I just need to find proper funding. And that requires an entirely different set of skills I am just starting to learn.
I don’t actively try to overcome these challenges, I just shift my focus off of them. I knew being a filmmaker wasn’t going to be easy, but it doesn’t make it less fun. For me at least.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryna_bogdan/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/marynabogdan
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@marynabogdan
