We were lucky to catch up with Brian Knight recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brian, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
It is April the 6th, 2021. I sip hibiscus tea in the small living room of a bright-pink stucco home in the Bo Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town. Hosting on this sunny afternoon is a man named Nasa who repairs and sells vintage cameras at the artisan market where we met a few weeks ago. He is soft spoken and devout, to his craft, his family, his readings and above all, his God. Our conversation strolls through musings of physics and philosophy, those familiar back alleys where old and young from places far-flung come to share such whimsies. However profound, it’s the sharing that brings us together.
As the day winds down and separate ways await, Nasa has a laugh at my expense. I’ve asked him, in his estimation, what is the best way to use the knowledge we’re given, such as it were.
“For me? It is just to enjoy, and remain contented with. Here, there are so many who are without joy. If I can show them, it is the will of the cosmos working through me.”
I tell him I am also compelled to show, although the contented part has always been a challenge.
“That’s because you seek meaning!”
He chuckles. I do, too. He’s right, as wise men are from time to time. The cosmos chooses those times with care and precision, and in this moment, a healthy scoop of irony.
“But the meaning you seek is not meant for you. No matter what, you will always be wrong.”
Well, then.
“And this is no slight,” he clarifies. “I say this because the frustration and limitation and discontent that you feel is the same of every philosopher, artist, scientist or priest that has ever sought answers. Because as soon as we come to define anything, it must change.”
He speaks of entropy and metamorphasis, but as in all good dialogue, the substance is in the subtext. What he’s really shared is a vital secret for any would-be creator: let go. Let go of the burden of perfection, the self-sabotage of certainty. Rest assured that you are not responsible for getting it right. The best any of us can do is seek, enjoy, and ultimately show. Because however profound, it’s the sharing that brings us together.
I came to South Africa for a meaningful project. As with any other, at all times along the journey, the true project is one’s self. The meaning is ever-evolving.
Brian, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Brian Knight. I’m an experienced wanderer, a born storyteller and a burgeoning healer. The alchemy in this brew is working to provide so much, and as a means to give it all back. I don’t have a brand. I don’t have followers. I love to write and relish the insane challenge of translating words into films. With the help of so many gifted people and an abundance of love, my first of many features will be pulled into existence this year.
Titled “Pantoum for the Wandering Soul,” it is a coming-of-age, youth culture story that explores the unexpected ways in which our childhood traumas unfold into the miracles of our lives.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My early childhood was idyllic. I grew up in a loving family, surrounded by opportunities and people of all ethnicities and identities to learn with and from. Life wasn’t without challenges, but that’s life, and in such sound conditions, one can believe there’s a way through them all.
When I was ten, my father was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. By the time it spread to his brain, I was twelve and those conditions for hope were crumbling. When he passed away, I was still surrounded by the same opportunities and people, and a family that held tighter onto love. But forced to pivot, to turn and face my challenge, I no longer had the belief that there was a way through.
What a gift that was.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
It’s not about me. I’m here to help throw a party, one that anyone in the world can feel invited to. Whether one comes or not is up to them. But man, the dream for so many is just to be invited in.
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Image Credits
Niki Artinian