Why did you choose to work in film industry?

I have always preferred to spend my time with creative people. Dancers, poets, writers, actors, artists of all varieties: looking back, I think it was the intentional eschewing of strict boundaries constraining vision that I found and still find so comforting in art. Throughout my childhood, I myself consistently spent time in and with the theater, visiting acting schools across New York City from around age 5 to 15, participating in my first Off-Broadway show at 8. So the boisterous, dramatic, innovative, thespian cliché is close to my heart. Moving into and through the University, however, I became concerned with the many difficulties plaguing the world, and tried to investigate and straighten out the corners that fall within my cognizance and best accord my interests. This pursuit eventually led me to philosophy, where, now, my creativity waits, mostly dammed up, at times spilling over. I’ve occasionally heard the phrase,

 “If you loose and use what you have inside, it will save you. Keep it trapped and it will destroy you.”

or something to that effect (I’m paraphrasing); I digress.
In a funny way Philosophy led me to film. Studying phenomenology, existentialism, and hermeneutics, I am constantly wondering how being functions, as in, how a human being is; this, in turn, has to do with what is important to us, what motivates us and informs our worlds, and then, finally, how we communicate with ourselves and each other. In trying to compose a work that would bring a message from the mostly inaccessible tomes of philosophy to people in their quotidian, I chose the diverse medium of film, that I might best demonstrate my intent across the medium’s various dimensions. My work there only reminded me of the other power motivating most, if not all, films: story.
Such a seemingly simple thing, story; experiencing the unfolding of a story can simultaneously evolve vast swaths of the machinations within and throughout human consciousness. Our sense of self, others, and world, our values, our dreams: narrative can effect and transform them all. A film in its form also imitates and shapes so much of how we ourselves experience the world, and so, is something in which we can deeply immerse ourselves. To be clear, I wouldn’t say that I work in the film industry quite yet, but I am determined to change that; being accepted into the CinemAbruzzo Campus program would be a great step forward. Whether it be writing, acting, directing, producing, working the camera, or tweaking in post-production, I am moving toward the film industry because, simply, film is fascinating.

How do you approach environmental sustainability?

With every aspect of my being; I have tread environmental practices to their bitter ends. Hiking along the Rhein for my film project, I picked up every piece of trash I could carry; I watched myself adopt doctrines like veganism or a no-plastic lifestyle until their implementation and structuration became problematically authoritarian; ultimately, I suffered much at my own hands trying to do it all myself. But humans are social, and often political creatures (when they live in a polis, that is); becoming a hermit, and simply disconnecting from everything is for me not the answer, though there could be much said for trying to become as independent as possible regarding the various resources one might need. Gathering your own solar energy with solar panels, for example. such that you could even feed surplus back into the system, buying sustainable products often requires extra resources. Against my friends’ best advice, I often still dish out the extra dollar for organic products, if I can, though even there the rational(e) has its limits. Eating organically is one thing, but consuming sustainably can also just mean buying locally, reducing your food’s CO2 footprint. How healthy could it be to eat fruits that mostly grow in refrigerated containers on their way across the ocean, even if that is “organic?” Should one starve oneself, or decline a host’s generosity because it spreads some message?
I think lately it is important to find a type of sustainable that is itself sustainable. “No animal products” is great theoretically, but an immediate change of that magnitude would lay waste not just to whole economies, but to the livelihoods of countless people. For me a gradual change seems more prudent. So maybe not “no meat” right away, but certainly “less” meat and “better meat” as soon as possible. Trying to habituate yourself to things you find delicious that happen to be vegan, maybe borrowing from other cultures’ recipes, to fill the daily needs for one’s nourishment seems smart too. Doing what you can, but not absolutely rejecting an option just because it involves a bit of plastic, or some dairy; it can be more effective to call for change politically when you know banning plastic straws or bags would be more significant at a state or national level. We need to be realistic and good to ourselves as we do the work of relieving ourselves of ignorance and striving toward righteous action.