Meet Thiago Leoni

We recently connected with Thiago Leoni and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Thiago, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

(laughs) That’s a good one… I think is less about putting yourself in a position of having to force anything, having to force a connection, or having to force that your voice is somehow heard, and more about finding and focusing, first, on the little pockets that will appear. These pockets might come in the way of a co-worker that you naturally bond, or a situation that you’re given a chance to perform. Once you become comfortable acting over those pockets, your true self, your true light will begin to resonate and, just like that, you’ll be valued for your originality and your unique perception of the world.

It’s about having the will (which is different from patience) to listen, and the focus and preparation to show your work whenever you have the chance. The opportunity will come, and, if for some reason you just don’t see it happening, then that place is probably not for you. Be respectful of yourself. For me, my decision-making process always falls on the same, never-ending paradox: to be happy with where I am, but to also understand that I’m only here because I can never be satisfied.

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?

I write and make films, that’s the easy answer to it (laughs). Short films, documentaries, commercials, music videos. I treat every project of mine as a film itself, with its own narrative, story and provocation.

I guess that more and more, however, I see the distinction between work and life, business and self, starting to crumble. For artists and, specially, creators, the drive towards originality asks you to leave this door open. To merge your reality, your memories, your experiences, all of that, with your work. There is no clocking out, and there is no clocking in either. Thus, even the word work kind of loses its meaning. During your day, you’re just being you, the youest you you can be.

In everything I make, it’s important that this intention is there. That I’m staying true to myself, to a moment, to a feeling. That this project becomes a staple, a tattoo in my life. That I’m learning something about myself in the process, that I’m okay to vomit something out, something beautiful that was previously resting. I guess this is what connects to people, the specificity.

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, ultimately, it all revolves around curiosity.

Curiosity is the major push for you to break your shell, escape your comfort zone. She is the one that will keep you wandering, will give you breath to stay up all night, will relax you as the excuse for you to take risks you normally wouldn’t.

Curiosity will make you listen rather than talk, will make you be more patient and more active at the same time. She will help you organize your mornings, your weeks, your months.

Curiosity will set your goals, will test your limits, will blur your boundaries. Curiosity will make you grow into a person you once dreamed of, but notwithstanding surprises.

If I can say something as an advice is to give it a shot. Try, make mistakes. Try new things, new ways, new tastes, new places, new movies, new songs.

I can say that, throughout my life, curiosity has led me to navigate many fields and interests. The ones that, for some reason, didn’t stick, they never left in vain. They became part of my baggage, part of my knowledge. Now, it just happens that they all come together to play a part in my work.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I’ve always loved to write. As a kid I was the one to volunteer to read my essays in front of my class every time. I don’t know. I guess a part of me always wanted to entertain others, I guess. I was never the class clown, so when it was time to share my work, I would jump in headfirst. At ten, or twelve, as I dove deep into playing guitar, I started to write songs and my take of what I thought was poetry at the time. But right around then, my aunt, an actress, moved in with us and began to ask me to rehearse lines with her for a novela she was part of. Soon, she would take me to her sets, and I would just stand there, mesmerized by the amount of people, wires and cables. Hoping to one day be a part of all that chaos.

Editing was possibly the best school I could have as a director. As I started to make home videos, my friends would ask me to edit theirs, and the trips we would do together. My first job was to actually cut 9 hours of footage into a 1-minute teaser for a well-known Brazilian production company that was pitching a docu-series. Crazy. Then, internships, development gigs, sets, assisting, you know how it goes in Los Angeles.

Years ago, when directing still seemed a bit out of reach, I promised myself to push towards expertise in every aspect of filmmaking I had, and could have access to. YouTube became my best friend. As I dove deeper and deeper into the technicalities of a particular craft, I felt more and more excited to move to the next one, and the next one after that. For me, it wasn’t about becoming a master of all traits, but rather to have solid base in all of them, just so I could be a better collaborator with the experts I would grow to work with in the future. Just so I could be able to articulate myself properly and technically.

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Image Credits

Samar Kauss

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