Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Amar.
Joshua, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Coming to America was a culture shock for me. I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto in an immigrant family. I was never made to feel strange about my family’s customs or traditions. The culture of Canada seems to embrace and accept the culture of others. It wasn’t until I came to America that I was truly made to feel different. There’s a need to put you into a cultural box out here, “who are you, what’s your background, where are you from?” It’s isolating to put a label on who you are as a person. However, in becoming hyper-aware of how culturally different I am, I’ve awoken to the micro-aggressions I’ve experienced in the past.
Art gave me an opportunity to express what I had difficulty expressing. Visual arts was my first love and film was my last. Making movies felt freeing. My journey as a filmmaker wasn’t easy. I thrived on failure and never stopped feeling like an underdog. I was rejected from every school that eventually accepted me. I didn’t get into the film program at Ryerson University for my undergrad. Instead of feeling like I wasn’t enough, I took the rejection as a challenge to prove that I was a worthy filmmaker. I worked my way up in night school, took the extra time to shoot literally dozens of films and visited admissions every day to remind them that I existed. The next year I got into the program’s second year, skipping the first year.
When I finished my undergrad, I applied to the American Film Institute. I thought that if I got in, whether or not I could afford to go, meant that I was good enough to pursue my dreams. Once again, I was rejected. I was ready to go through the same process I went through to get into Ryerson, but a few months later, I got a call from AFI informing me that someone dropped out and I had an opportunity to take their spot.
At AFI, I learned humility, story and refined my talents. Most importantly, AFI taught me how to tell MY stories. And really, when you’re a director, the stories that set you apart are the ones that are most personal to you. I ended up tackling many personal stories at AFI. I was extremely embarrassed to share them, but it gave me confidence in embracing my childhood trauma and using it as a powerful weapon for art.
Since graduating, I’ve been working on several scripts, a horror web series with Niki Koss (Famous in Love) and have directed commercials and pitched to major artists for music videos (John Legend, Avril Lavigne, Death Cab for Cutie). I still feel like I have a long way to go, but it’s encouraging to feel self-made. I got here, not due to nepotism, but due to hard work and motivation.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest struggle is dealing with yourself: your ego, your pride, your self-esteem. My biggest obstacle has always been my insecurity. When I convinced myself that I was worthy, that I had value and that my project needed to exist, that’s when I’d let go of all the inner turmoil. Everyone’s had a bad collaboration or review. You can never change how other people treat you or react to you. You aren’t them.
You can, however, change how you treat and react to others. You can look at your loss as a learning opportunity. Perception is everything, and recognizing that is the only way you can grow.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I’m a writer/director, and I specialize in genre filmmaking. I typically focus on themes that are personal critiques on myself. Pursuing a career in directing is a marathon. You start off by taking whatever opportunity comes to you. After graduating AFI, I worked my way up from PA to a writer on commercials that Darren Aronofsky directed.
I’m currently working as a creative director at two different film companies. My passion is still film and despite the success, I have to be my own motivator. No one is going to want to make your project unless you fight to make it happen. There’s this filmmaking myth that you’ll be discovered and everything will come to you once you’ve secured a big agent or get accepted into a large film festival. Although these opportunities give you a big leg-up, they aren’t worth anything if you don’t strategize the next steps and capitalize on what success you already have.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
When I think of my friends who are successful, I cite their accolades. Success, in a lot of ways, is recognition from your peers. However, those that experience tremendous success don’t feel successful. You almost never do and that’s a good thing. You should never feel like you’ve made it. I don’t consider myself successful. Me from five years ago definitely would.
Set goals that are reachable. Goals you know you can incrementally achieve. At the end of the day, you may not be Spielberg, but you’ll be a better version of yourself. And maybe one day, you’ll get into Sundance or win an Oscar. But you’ll discover how unhappy you are. And I’m saying that’s a good thing. Never be satisfied.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joshuadamar.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @jdamar
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