Today we’d like to introduce you to Tayo Amos.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tayo. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up, I would make little short films with my siblings and quirky music videos with my friends. I also loved watching movies and the Oscars with my family. However, I never thought of filmmaking as an actual career because I didn’t know anyone who worked in the industry. I was born and raised in the Silicon Valley/Bay Area and on top of that, my parents emigrated from Nigeria and encouraged pursuing traditional careers. So I kept filmmaking as a hobby for a long time. When I went to college (I went to Stanford University in 2014), I made little films with my friends for campus-wide contests. I even made a documentary in South Africa for my a capella group my junior year. However, it wasn’t until my senior year when the film industry felt real.
In 2014, I was invited to be a presenter at the Academy Awards as a part of the Team Oscar program. They flew me out (as well as five other college students) to Los Angeles for the dream week for a budding filmmaker – meeting filmmakers, touring studios, and, of course, being on the stage. After that experience, the film industry felt more tangible.
After two years of traveling and doing freelance work in the Bay Area, I started at USC’s film school to get my MFA. There, I feel like I really delved in deep to my directing craft.
Right now, I’m currently writing and developing my first feature while finishing up some short films. ON THE CLOCK, my USC thesis film, finished its festival run (which included showcases at Cannes Film Festival, the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival, Blackstar Film Festival, and many more) and will be premiering on Amazon Prime this April.
My next short film A BLOSSOM IN THE NIGHT (starring Brittany Giles and Junior Nyong’o) will be starting its festival/online premiere by the end of the year. And I’m in post-production on another short film I directed TILL IT COMES TRUE (starring Lex Scott Davis) and will be released by end of this year/early next!
Ultimately, the goal is to be a working director across film and television (but mainly film). I love telling stories and I’m truly passionate about diversity in our storytelling and how we can affect change with the stories we choose to tell.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think the road for any creative is rarely smooth but especially as a filmmaker who identifies as both a woman and black, it’s a bit more of an uphill battle. Coming from a lower-income background, it’s definitely a bit more challenging to have the financial resources to keep creating work. But I’m grateful for “virtual mentors” like Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, and more filmmakers who show that, when you have a singular creative voice, it has value (both figuratively and literally).
I think also the obstacle of mental health is very real. It’s very easy to get in a stage of burnout. Also, social media doesn’t help in thinking that you have to work harder and be better than everyone else but being intentional about self-care practices was such a major tool that I have been honing, especially while going through an MFA program.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a freelance filmmaker/ director. As of now, most of my work has been narrative but am also looking to expand in both commercial and television directing work as well. I also write but I also love collaborating with writers. Though my focus is directing, I do identify as a filmmaker because I can wear many hats. I direct but I also write, produce, and edit if need be.
I’m truly passionate about creating engaging, diverse content that also inspires and educates. As a director, I’m most proud of the short film I directed ON THE CLOCK as it was my first bigger narrative project. It features a diverse cast and also illuminates the very real issue of young girls and women around the world who can’t afford the menstruation products they need and so they fall behind in school and in work. Though I didn’t write the script, it felt very personal. That short was a big career step for me as well: it got me representation (Creative Artists Agency) and exposure to the film festival circuit all over the world.
What sets me apart as a filmmaker is my commitment to crafting engaging stories but doing so in real, gritty, raw way. One of my biggest filmmaker inspirations is Alfonso Cuarón who is able to move across genres but hone in on that gritty/realist perspective.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’m very proud of being a finalist for Project Cre8, an initiative with BET and Paramount Players for funding a filmmaker’s feature for $1MIL in 2018. I was the youngest filmmaker selected to pitch my feature script, a true passion project for me. The script ELITE is inspired by my time growing up in the Bay Area and dealing with the all-consuming pressure of getting into an Ivy League college. Though the project I pitched wasn’t selected, it was really gratifying to pitch the story to execs at BET and Paramount Players. Though the studios offered me an option agreement, we decided to produce it independently.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tayoamos.com
- Instagram: @tayo.shoes
- Twitter: @tayolamos
Image Credit:
Kenyatta Collins, Lexus Macon
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