Rising Stars: Meet Krish Chandak of Burbank

Today we’d like to introduce you to Krish Chandak.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was in fifth grade when my friends and I participated in a short filmmkaing competition. We made a banger five minute movie about futuristic cars, shot it on an iphone, edited in Kinemaster. From Kinemaster to Avid Media Composer, I grew as a filmmaker. Since fifth grade I loved making videos, shooting interviews and entertaining my friends and family members. Up until tenth grade I always wanted to persue a career in Architecture but when I was in eleventh grade, my dad told me, do not be afraid of doing something unconventional. I found out that I could not do anything else but make films. When my entire family had a business background, I was the crazy one who wanted to persue filmmaking. So, I packed my bags and took a flight to Los Angeles, the city of dreams, to study films in New York Film Academy. I worked on more than fifty short films and music video shoots and got my hands on every challenging role on a film set. After three years of fun and experience, I decided that ultimately I want to produce and direct only feature films, nothing else, no distractions. Currently, I’m working on two features, one in pre-production and the other in development. I hope to finish them both by mid-2027.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As a south asian filmmaker with a fixed set of ideas and thoughts, I felt that the biggest struggle I faced was understanding human psychology and what they like to see on the screen. When you work on a project for an entire year and when some people find it brilliant but the others think it is mediocre, you get very demotivated as a filmmaker. I realsied that I am only making films and not really watching enough. If I watch one movie per day, I’d still have enough movies on my wishlist until my last day. That thought inspired me to watch as many international films I can, I started watching French films, Russian films and Black cinema. Another main aspect of being a writer, is the life and experience you have had. I decided that I need to live in the moment all the time, meet a lot of people, have fun and laugh. As I still struggle to crack the code of brilliance in cinema, I am enjoying every moment being in it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am A Writer and Director from India. I curate stories, bring it on paper, then to life, store it in a camera and share the experience with everyone. I specialize in handling sets as a first AD but I consider myself as a the best writer. My first short film that I shot in LA, titled ‘ God’s Second Best Man’ was an official selection in over ten film festivals and I got a chance to screen the film in the world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. I’m a wierd person in general and my curiousity makes me explore interesting things, like taking a hike to the hollywood sign or finding a hidden lake, going to a roadtrip with friends or partying in a Rave in DTLA. Thus, I feel, as a writer, I am a combination of wierd and crazy. I am simply ‘me’ and that makes me different from others. Other than writing and directing I work as an Assistant Director. The person who runs the set and leads the crew. I feel, my understanding of writing and stories with the combination of my passion to get everything what a director wants makes me different from other First ADs.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I personally don’t believe in the idea of a mentor. When I hear rumours and controversies about the biggest celebrities and achievers, I understand that everyone is a human and everyone makes mistakes. As an individual, you have a different way of living and different priorities from the one breathing next to you. So, i don’t think you can have a mentor that can help you reach your goal. I’d rather work with multiple mentor figures and learn more than what one person can ever teach. The biggest advantage of moving to LA was getting the opportunity to work with people from all around the globe. I learnt about their film culutre, their ideas and concepts and their way of living. Being an extrovert might be scary or tiring but it’s a part of the job. You don’t have to meet hundred people everyday but if you make two new friends and have real value conversations with them, you are golden on the track of networking. Thus, I prefer quality conversations over quantity of instagram handles, in a networking event

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krishchandakk?utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093458047735&mibextid=wwXIfr
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krish-chandak-3a712337a?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios
• Twitter: https://x.com/krishchandak123?s=11
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/fVSzQgyIIZs