Today we’d like to introduce you to Van Ditthavong.
Hi Van, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I was 18 years old, I didn’t have the courage to pursue what I really wanted to in college, but instead I stuck it out and got a business degree. Even though I secretly pined to be the next Emily Dickinson, Charles Bukowski, or Edgar Allen Poe – I knew the realities and blamed it on circumstance, laziness and wishful thinking. When I was 25 years old, I didn’t have the passion, so I quit my corporate job and spent the next decade trying to find it – working as a busboy, a floral designer’s assistant, a men’s magazine writer, a delivery person, a caretaker, and then an editorial photographer. My path was getting clearer and clearer as I discovered that creating visual stories was like writing poetry – it was all based on rhythms, compositions, message, and living life. I was moving towards a purpose and it felt great. When I was 34 years old, I finally didn’t have the fear, so I woke up one day and told my wife I wanted to make movies. Even though I didn’t know how to make a film, I knew I had something to say and that’s all that mattered. So I would spend the next decade working on storytelling and screenwriting, hoping to become a better filmmaker but knowing I had found my calling.
So here I am today, a refugee from Laos who now runs a production company and is embarking on shooting my second feature film BELLYACHE in the beginning of 2023. I am also the co-founder of TINY WINDOWS, an online platform and newsletter that curates a collection of classic and original short fiction highlighting authors from yesterday and introducing the storytellers of tomorrow.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road – filled with all the potholes facing most entrepreneurs and business owners. Then if you throw in the creative challenges as an artist and the discipline needed to constantly improve on your craft… things get a little more bumpier. But if you love it, and love the process, don’t stop.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an intuitive filmmaker and rely a lot on “feeling.” I follow my gut more than my intellectual or rational side. That’s how I feel I can establish the tone of my films and adapt to challenges better. I’m attracted to aesthetics and performances that help heighten reality and showcase emotionally damaged people. This guides my stylistic choices, blending genres if needed. Creating stories through strong visuals and wild imaginations – I want my films to be raw and heavy like oil paint. Dripping with Love and Pain.
However, I think pursuing anything creative and trying to make it a sustainable career involves a bit of delusion, a lot of perseverance, and weird determination to keep any momentum you generate alive and going. There are a lot of chances to quit in this industry. And a lot of voices that want to make you stop, including your own. But there’s really no one way to go about it. Everyone has their own process and motivations, and hopefully in the end, you don’t turn something you love into an albatross.
In the end, I am very grateful for all the experiences that I have had – good and bad because life has taught me a few things – be thankful for the present day, be relentless in your pursuit of learning, and be nice.
Contact Info:
- Website: gopopfilms.com and tinywindows.xyz
- Instagram: runvanrun
