Today we’d like to introduce you to Bessy Adut.
Hi Bessy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Thanks for having me. I feel like I came a long way but have a ways to go. I started long time ago, when I was a child. My dad had a video production company, and I had an opportunity to put my hands on video cameras as little as 8 years old. I liked being both behind and in front of the cameras. When I gathered a video camera to film, we filmed all sorts of things with my good friends. Music videos, street interviews, little movies made with Barbie dolls -similar to Spielberg making his films with a Super 8 with toy soldiers – an unforgettable Hansel & Gretel adaptation with my friend and her twin sister & brother in the backyard garden of their home. I have an interest in all the 7 arts and have tried them all. I went to dance/ballet, got music lessons, voice training to a certain degree, along with some piano and guitar, and did some mud sculpture and literature. I always loved writing compositions, essays, stories, and reading books, performing in theater, architecture drawings, and finally, Film. I have studied Fine Arts in High School, focusing on drawing and painting. However, I was more interested in surreal and abstract art whereas Pera Fine Arts was focused on a traditional, classic style. Then I decided to study Film & TV; I received my BA in Communications. Graduated with Honors as #1 of my department and earned a Fulbright Scholarship. That’s how I made my way to Los Angeles and continued my studies at CalArts, Film Directing program, and earned my MFA degree in Film/TV. After graduating from Film School, for almost 20 years since I came here, I have worked in several Film & Television Productions wearing different hats, such as Assistant Director, Script Supervisor, Associate Producer, and Production Coordinator. I wrote/directed/produced, and acted in several films.
I went to UCLA Professional Screenwriting Program and wrote 2 original feature screenplays along with a TV show on top of other screenplays I wrote earlier. However, I couldn’t figure out how to sell my screenplays as I lacked proper representation.
After working in documentaries both back home and here for an Academy Award Winning Director and experiencing Sundance Film Festival, I decided to make my 1st directorial feature debut as a documentary hybrid production. I have been working on a project for the last 3 years. I developed it with a pitch deck, proposal, some teasers and applied to a few grants however when funding seemed to be really hard, I have recently came to a conclusion, starting off with a web doc series on YouTube and doing an audio Podcast on Podbean distributing to Spotify, Apple, and many more Podcasts would be the best I can do.
That’s where I am on my journey right now. We film/edit new episodes biweekly. Our goal is to make 24 episodes total in 2024 and to continue till we reach our big goal to turn this into a feature film to follow with a doc series streaming on one of the bigger platforms.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wish it has been a smooth road. It hasn’t been for me. My biggest struggle, firstly, is being an immigrant on her own in this country. I have immigrated in 2006 -2009 for grad film school. I had to go home for a few years because of a Fulbright Scholarship and came back in 2012 to direct/host a documentary project, “Mysteries of Cinema,” and became a permanent resident. One of the first struggles was to earn my right to work legally through a green card; thankfully, I do hold American/Turkish citizenship now. However, when I thought having a BA & MFA degree in Film and right to work would get me to the places I dreamed of much faster. Unlike I have anticipated it’s taking much longer. I don’t have the advantages and family support most people I know have. I do have to hold a day job and try to balance it out with my dream job. I have worked in Film & Television for many years, however the unsteadiness and inconsistency nature of it brought me to a conclusion to have a steady job in another industry and try to balance it out. I’ve been doing that for a while now, and it’s been working out. However, I get no rest. I work every day my day jobs and whatever time Iittle I have time left in the evenings I try to write or read my books. On my off days, I am busy filming/editing and developing my project “Searching for Goodness.” I am so very grateful for the help I am getting from my co-producer and some of my friends. My family is emotionally supportive, and that is a blessing. Pressure of being an only child also motivates me because I do want to be able to take care of my aging parents. Being away from home, only being able to see them maybe once a year, losing some friends back home as hard to consistently stay in touch, having to rehome my cats as I couldn’t afford to live on my own, and many other things have been some of my struggles. Emotionally I do struggle too because not being able to do my art, my passion as a full-time job and get paid for it, after many years of hard work and education, is a hard pill to swallow. I wish I were getting paid to direct films or episodic television, or commercials by now. I had to carve my own path, thinking outside the box. And I am still carving it. Instead of getting paid for it, most of the time, I am paying out of my pocket to be able to do my film career as of now. I am writing voluntarily and making my project the same way. My hope is eventually for all my hard work to pay off.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in Film Directing. I have earned my Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Directing at CalArts, but I also write screenplays and books, which I have studied to excel my skills at UCLA. I love writing and working on my first book series to publish in a few years. I have been journalling my entire life as well as making films. Writing/Directing would be my top work. However, as I couldn’t find “The Producer of my Dreams” who takes care of all my finances, budgeting, scheduling by myself for many years so I had to learn to be a Producer, which I am lucky now that I get to share this responsibility with my Co-Producer Armin Nasseri who is a great director working on his 2nd feature documentary film and won 40 awards with his 1st feature film already. It’s been a blessing. And I also like acting/hosting. I have some acting background from high school and college, I took some acting classes and been in theater performing. As of now, I present some of my episodes myself. I enjoy being in front of the camera as well as being behind the camera directing. I also had to learn to do camera work and editing. Pretty much all the struggles caused me to do a little bit of everything. I film and edit, too. I specialized in “do it yourself.” Do what you can with what you have till you can do with more and more resources and help. I am proud of many short films I have written/directed/produced in the past. Some of the most award-winning ones are “Escape Room” and “Strange Little Girl.” Currently, I am proud of our ongoing project, “Searching for Goodness,” which we stream on YouTube practically for free for the time being. It can be searched and found on any podcast, my favorites being Spotify and Apple. The artist I interviewed today sent me a message saying, “Thank you! You are very professional, ambitious, and motivated. Best of luck to you.” I am proud of that. I haven’t given up and don’t intend to quit till the big win and even after. 🙂
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I have attended a Women Mentoring Program once time, and a visit to Warner Bros Studios, as well as the advice and experience of that director, Dawn Fields, has been eye-opening to me. I had a Manager Matt Chasin, he has done some great introductions helped me advance with my project as well as inviting me to several networking events.
In terms of networking, the ones that work best for me are either I work I am a part of in the crew, whether I am a director, or some other role such as an Assistant Director, which is much more enjoyable for me. I really enjoyed the screenings of Storage of my filmmaker/writer friend Colin Costello, who has been a Mentor to me in many ways. I have worked with Tane McClure on a few film sets, and her film festivals have been a great experience, too.
I do go to red carpet events and parties, too, sometimes, but unless I have a project involved, I haven’t enjoyed them as much because I am not after the social lights. However, ever since I started writing as a journalist at Salom and making my documentary series Searching for Goodness, I am constantly on a talent hunt, so now networking is always enjoyable to me.
I do like meeting new people, listening to their life stories, and bringing them under the spotlight. Networking, and currently, what I am doing is working out for me. I think with baby steps; I keep climbing to the dream mountain over the rainbow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sfgpitch.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bessyadutofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bessy.adut
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bessyadut/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bessyadut
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtJoUBKp1G77xB_gKCbr3dg
- Other: https://sfgproposal.com
Image Credits
Barry McDaniel – NEW FACES LA also a creative collaborator as a Photographer for LA Voyage Portratits and Director of Photography in our Searching for Goodness episodes special thanks.
