Today we’d like to introduce you to Fansu Njie.
Hi Fansu, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am an award-winning Film Director from Sweden with roots in The Gambia (West Africa). I began making films two decades ago and made tons of shorts, commercials, and music videos. Adept as a Steadicam operator and a Cinematographer, I quickly accelerated into directing and content development, which became my learning ground. Old Westerns, Kung Fu movies, and Sci-Fi horrors creatively influenced my modern approach, and I built my discipline and work ethic through many years of martial arts training and philosophy.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Like most people in the creative world, I, too, had tons of struggles. One of my biggest hurdles has always been to overcome the catch-22 situation: The professional film business demands a feature film in a filmmaker’s backpack, but that is not always an easy step. So how do you make a feature film for almost no money? It doesn’t matter if you have made 100 shorts, music videos, or commercials. You must make a feature film to be considered a part of ”the professional film business elite club.”
With two decades of experience, I began my walk toward feature film production. What opened the doors for me and helped me overcome the catch-22 situation was my feature film ”Last Man Down.” The film was made during the pandemic, an action-packed Scandinavian feature shot in Sweden. When the trailer went viral, gathering worldwide interest with millions of views in just a few weeks, the feature film immediately popped in worldwide sales. Released by Saban Films (US/UK), then later, Netflix, and SF Studios (Scandinavia), “Last Man Down” ranked #3 on Netflix’s top-10-list in UK and 8th in the US and then climbed to the top 10 in all major international markets.
Life lessons learned: if you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Instead of waiting for a seat at the table, I say build your table. So don’t wait to join or be in someone’s film; make your own. And remember, fear is always about something that hasn’t happened yet. So go out and make your dream project come true.
Regarding mindset when struggling, there is a quote I live by daily and which I learned in my youth when practicing martial arts for many years is the following:
”If you live in the past, you get depressed. At the same time, if you live in the future, you become stressed. If you live in the present, you are at peace.”
If you lost your memory today, it would be much harder to be depressed about things you couldn’t possibly remember from earlier, right?
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
”You can find all art forms within a film.”
Even though I’m a Film Director, I also produce and edit most of the projects I am involved in. I have devoted my time mainly to the action genre, and my latest film,” Last Man Down,” is just the first step. The nearest project in time is a book in the action/sci-fi genre named ”Senja Chronicles.” The DNA of Senja Chronicles emerged from my profoundly personal experience living in and around the stunning archipelago, which is known as Senja Island in Northern Norway. It’s a 500-page book co-written with Christopher M. Allport from Los Angeles. An introduction to a new and uniquely Scandinavian Cinematic Universe with a rich and heavy story populated by Viking mythology, WWII relics, folklore trolls, and badass commandos fighting for family and survival. The book was researched and developed for more than 12 years.
The story’s core is about the feelings of losing someone so close to you — but more importantly — how far you would go and how hard you would fight if you knew there was just a slight chance that your determination would bring that person back.
What sets me apart from others might be my dedication and persistence in my work. But the biggest of them all; not giving up (with exceptions, of course)
What matters most to you?
”Success comes with patience.”
The things that mean most to me are everything about film, cooking, and bio-hacking. They all go hand in hand, and you can find something creative in all these topics;
Cooking food is very creative and has tons of similarities to film production. Different styles, masters, technics, raw materials, etc. It can be very meditative as well.
Biohacking is essential because everyone, from my point of view, should maximize their health and live as healthy as possible over a long period. Fewer aches, fewer colds, and fewer discomforts can be the first steps on that ladder. From there, it’s just about upgrading oneself slowly. Your choice of profession is much easier to withhold if you have a healthy and strong mind and body.
There’s enormous pressure when making a film, so why wouldn’t you want a good base to stand on when you have to make quick and creative decisions during stress?
Here are a few life hacks I use daily:
* Use a standing desk at home and work. To burn calories, get a more muscular back, and become less lazy.
* Take cold showers and get out of your daily comfort zone, with tons of health benefits.
* Exercise a couple of times a week or take long (power) walks daily to get the blood flow working.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fansufilm.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/fansufilm
- Twitter: twitter.com/FansuNjie
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/njiefilm
Image Credits
Meddi Kabirzadeh Sandra Vijandi Fansu Njie
