Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Filimaua.
Hi Peter, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My family moved from El Monte to Diamond Bar, CA when I was 5 years old. As a child, I think I was introverted, but still very curious about the world. My dad was a businessman and my mother was an educator. They were always working so I learned quickly how to enjoy my time alone. Because my mom was an educator she always stressed the importance of education first. I have a sister that is 3 and a half years younger. When the two of us weren’t fighting I spent my time reading and drawing. It was in reading that I found my passion for storytelling. For me, reading was like television in your head, it was a story that only you could see.
That eventually lead me to find a passion for filmmaking.
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?
Absolutely not. This industry is predominantly run by white people. Growing up Mexican and Samoan, there was no blueprint or study guide I could follow. There were a handful of actors, but never a filmmaker I could point to and say “Maybe I can be like him or her.” Despite of that, I think it made me more resilient. I had to double down on myself. If there wasn’t going to be someone to show me that I could make it in this industry, why not be the first?
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I love filmmaking. As I mentioned earlier, I was always into storytelling. Movies to me were the perfect medium to tell stories. The ability to go into a theater (or now from the very comfort of your phone) and be transported into an entirely different universe, was mindblowing to me. When I was 7 my father took me to see King Kong in 2005. It was in that theater then that I told myself, that’s what I want to do. Make films.
And ever since then. That’s what I’ve been pursuing. In my sophomore year of high school, we had the opportunity to turn in an assignment in whichever way we wanted for world history. Of course, I decided to make a music video about the Polynesian Islands. It was very bad, but I got to do it with my best friends and it was an awesome experience. Shoutout to Mr. Morimoto! From then I took a digital media summer camp at Stanford University and got introduced to the program After Effects and how to do visual effects. We got to work in groups, where we acted and shot our own projects.
My junior year heading into senior year of high school, I took a summer class at USC where we got to make short films on the Warner Brothers lot. That was even more eye-opening to see the grand scale of moviemaking as I got to work with a much bigger crew
I always wanted to go to USC as I knew they had one of the best film schools but I didn’t get in. I ended up at Pepperdine University which had a small film program at the time, but I made the most of it. I recruited my best friends from high school to help or act in a few of my short films there.
After graduating from college I made a small short film titled “Choices.” I submitted it to USC and finally got in. It was a dream come true… Or so I thought.
Long story short, it was the same as any other film program I had been in. The same old strict traditions of old Hollywood. That goes back to being resilient. I made the most out of my time there. I refined my filmmaking skills but more importantly, I learned how to navigate a system run by white people. Checkmate.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
My biggest advice would be to never give up. I’ve made so many bad projects. But I’ve also made some pretty good ones. If it weren’t for trying, then I would have never learned in the first place. As a filmmaker, the best thing we can do is just go out and make a film. If it’s bad, that’s okay. You’ve learned something.
The next time you go out and make another one, you’ll know what not to do. You do that so many times and eventually, you’ll end up with a good one. If I gave up in high school after doing silly videos with my friends, then I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’ve learned how to take all my losses and failures and turn them into something good.
In any field, whatever it is… Don’t give up. Trust me I know it’s easier said than done and there’ll be some dark times. But it’s in those times if you dig deep enough you’ll come out the other side a much better version of yourself.
To whoever’s reading this, Trust in God and have Faith. Don’t give up. You got this!
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/channel/UCMyw05h0yeTiTJv6LQVo39g
- Other: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/filithefilm/fili-a-usc-graduate-thesis-film
Image Credits
Dante Bailey, Leyi Dai, Malik Baker.
