This is my first entry in my blog, or should I say journal… I hate the word ‘blog’.
The last three years of my life have been quite chaotic, to say the least. Many things have happened, both good and bad. The ‘bad’ was mostly what we all encountered in 2020 and 2021 with the pandemic. But on top of that, I also lost two family members, burnt out due to my heavy workload, faced some health issues, and launched a couple of projects that failed, among other things. I was tired, lonely, grieving, and unhappy with where my life was heading.
But 2023 was a year of transformation. Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, I addressed my health issues, ran my first marathon, experimented with the digital nomad lifestyle in Tuscany, and paused my work as a film director to pursue a new passion that I now truly love: photography. I love the immediacy of photography, as opposed to films which can take months, if not years, to complete. I also love that it allows me to make interesting encounters by going outside and taking pictures of random people on the streets.
Back in June 2023, I had the chance to learn photography from two masters: Steve McCurry and Eolo Perfido. I met incredible people in this workshop and learned so much in just seven days. I have admired Steve’s work for a very long time. If I hadn’t chosen cinema as a career, I might have ended up being a photojournalist, traveling the world and telling stories with my camera.
2023 was also the year when I had a major epiphany: I am a storyteller. I love to tell stories through various mediums, whether it be cutting movie trailers – as I’ve been doing for the past eight years –, taking a photograph, directing a film, or even writing in this journal. I also realized that I wanted to meet other storytellers and learn about their work to improve my own skills. But most importantly, I realized that life was too short not to fulfill my lifelong dream of traveling the world.
So, in 2024, I will be traveling full-time and sharing my adventures with you through the lens of my camera. I’ll write about what I see, the places I visit, and the people I meet. You’ll also have access to a podcast where I’m interviewing inspiring storytellers, and hopefully, their experiences and knowledge will help us become better at telling our own stories. This is an amazing transition that I’m excited to share with you, the reader of this post.
Reflecting on the past years, I feel like my current path is very similar to the hero’s journey, as defined by Joseph Campbell in his book ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’. For those of you who are not familiar with this concept, here’s a summary from ChatGPT:
CHAT GPT
The Hero’s Journey, conceptualized by Joseph Campbell, is a narrative template involving a hero who goes on an adventure, faces a decisive crisis, and then comes home transformed. This journey is marked by stages such as departure, initiation, and return. Campbell’s model highlights universal patterns of storytelling found across various cultures and historical periods.
In other words, this year is going to be my hero’s journey, and I invite you to be a part of it.
See you next time.
