We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Peter Filimaua. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Peter below.
Peter , thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
Growing up, I went to diverse schools with friends from all backgrounds. It wasn’t until I went to college that I experienced a cultural shock.
I went to Pepperdine University, which is a predominantly white institution. I remember my first year feeling very out of water. I was one out of four Pacific Islanders in the entire school. One thing that helped me find even footing was surrounding myself with good people. I had a great friend group and support system. Whenever I found myself being homesick or feeling any type of pressure, I knew I could count on them to be there.
Shortly after, I had that experience again when I went to USC’s graduate school for film. As any minority filmmaker will tell you, it’s an uphill battle. The film industry, particularly Hollywood, has always been a predominantly white business. I think this time, however, I had enough confidence to stand up whenever someone in charge questioned my filmmaking abilities. That being said, I believe the industry landscape is starting to shift, and I will continue to fight for our stories to be told.
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?
My favorite thing about filmmaking is being able to tell a story. As a kid, I loved watching movies at the theater. I don’t think there’s anything like the feeling of being captivated by a movie. It’s a meme at this point, but Nicole Kidman’s AMC commercial is 100% true. We go to the movies to experience magic. It’s a medium where you can feel any emotion. We laugh, cry, and can be moved by a great story.
I’ve always been a believer that film has the power to change lives. After just graduating and with the strike, I’ve had a lot of downtime to think about the kind of stories I would like to tell. There are so many genres to explore, and it really excites me what’s possible with film. I’m working on writing a feature based on my school thesis film, “Fili.” It’s a long process, but I know there’s something good to be taught from it. I hope to bring it to life soon and share it with everyone.
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 one of the biggest things that’s helped me is not being afraid of what people think. My dad is a big jokester and wouldn’t mind being the butt of a joke if it made someone laugh. Seeing him, an intimidating Samoan man, act a fool gave me the confidence to take risks and not be afraid of what people might think.
Another quality I would say that’s helped me come a long way is being yourself. I saw a quote the other day that said, “Nobody is as good as being you than you.” It’s simple: what makes you special is being yourself. If we all tried to emulate someone, we would all come up short of that person. It’s one thing I actually try to work on nowadays. I’d say if you want to get closer to being yourself stay off social media. There’s so much information now that we can subliminally be influenced just by consuming content.
The final skill that I think has helped me is practice. Practice. Practice. Practice. What I mean by this is going out and doing whatever it is you are pursuing. For me, it’s been film. When I have an idea, I try it with whatever short film or content I might be creating. There have been some that have worked and some that haven’t but I won’t know unless I’ve tried. I’ve had so many friends who have great ideas, but they rarely ever act on them. Whatever idea you may have, if you don’t act on it, it’ll never come true.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I was talking to some friends from school the other day, and the topic of finding your voice was brought up. We all just graduated from USC, the number one film school in the world. Yet all of us agreed that our favorite year was our first. We were all hungry to show the school and our peers what we had to offer. Creativity was at an all time high. Now a days I’m looking to get back to that.
Before I go in, I’ll preface with saying I have a love and hate relationship with USC. On one side it’s a great school and I’m very grateful to all the people that I’ve met. On the other, it tries to mimic the studio system by making students filter their stories through its professors. This might sound great on paper, but in reality it just pits students against each other to compete and often times the creators come out with a muddled story that isn’t what they really wanted to say.
That’s how I feel at least. Coming out of school, I feel like I have to unlearn all the negative notions that may have rubbed off. To do that, I try to rewatch all the movies that made me fall in love with film in the first place. Another thing I’m trying to do is get back to those three qualities I mentioned earlier. Be yourself, practice, and don’t be afraid of what people think of you. It’s not easy, but in order to grow, I know I have to practice what I preach.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://filifilms.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peterfilimaua/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peter.filimaua
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-filimaua-ba08b3156/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterFilimaua
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PeterFilimaua
Image Credits
Benjamin Pola, Daniel K. Matsumoto, Steve Escarcega, Visual Communications.
