We recently connected with Carolina Massote and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Carolina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Because of the massive instability in this industry both in Brazil and in the US, I learned how to get my income from other types of work. Of course, nothing fulfills me as writing does, but I also realized that I can make a steady income as a translator and as an English teacher.

Therefore, since I don’t have that concern when it comes to most of my screenwriting, I am much more interested in the independent work of folks all around both countries. I have a small production company, Formiga Rosa (Pink Ant) that already has an employee, Lucas Vinicius, who helps me take care of my YouTube channel. But my goal is to start hiring actors, producers, and writers, but never losing that sense of freedom to create that makes this job so meaningful for me.

Then, I want to be a boss/leader that people want to work for. I realize that there are a thousand other gigs out there, and you have to want to stay in my company. So, I need to respect you as a professional by paying you a decent salary and actually listening to what you have to say.

Having been through major outlets (i.e. The Guardian, NYT, and Rede Globo, the biggest TV network in Brazil and the fifth one in the whole world), and especially being a woman, I simply know what it’s like when people just don’t listen and don’t take you seriously.
And then being foreign in a country that I love as much as I do America, but still being an outsider. Then it’s not as much about being listened to, but being confident about who you are.

I feel all of that. So, I want my people to feel valued and supported.

Carolina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a small-town girl who was born and raised in the countryside of Rio de Janeiro. When I was 16, I left my parent’s house and moved to the Rio capital to study.
I went to Journalism school and then I got a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication Research.
I spent a few years working as a journalist, but because of my dissertation on Hunter S. Thompson, I was invited to work at Globo.
There, I began to understand everything about scripts and worked with some of the best writers in the industry.

After three happy years in Globo, I decided to move to the US and got my visa student following my approval to UCLA’s Screenwriting for TV Professional Program.
Since then, I have taken a work visa in the US and have been working in independent movies in both countries.

I consider myself extremely lucky and blessed to be able to do so.

I am proud to have developed so many different skills during all these years – I began as a journalist, but I am also a translator, an interpreter, an English teacher, a screenwriter, and an author.

I learned how to edit videos, I learned a little bit about Direction of Photography, I learned how to act with theater lessons so I could understand a little more of the actor’s point of view, and I even learned how to direct actors. This last one, I didn’t know I could do until my friend Sian Vilaire told me so – and then my friend Gareth Williams told me I would be very good at this job.

These are two of my American friends who could see a potential in me I wasn’t even able to see, and for that, I will forever be grateful. It’s one of the many, many gifts this country has given me over the years.

My Formiga Rosa channel has a lot of my personality in it. I am constantly talking about this industry and throwing jokes here and there. My sarcasm is very much obvious in everything I do, and I think it is spread throughout our videos.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I value every person that works with me. Of course, as a boss and a business person, sometimes you have to give them some tough love like my former bosses did so many times with me. People need to be given directions. Deep down, we’re all still little kids.

But that doesn’t mean we should make them feel as if they are disposable. They’re not. As much as the mogul of entertainment would very much like that, you can’t replace human abilities with IA. You just can’t.

So, I think my goal is to try to improve the business as much as I can. Of course, I’m just one tiny person, but I would like to leave that trademark behind when I’m gone. Kindness gets you a long way.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There was a Brazilian poet who once said that Art exists because life isn’t enough. I think that’s beautiful. And it sums up what art does for us.

Can you imagine what the pandemic would have been like if there wasn’t art? If it wasn’t for all the streaming services, the books, and all the excellent pieces available, it would have been so much more challenging.

So, there it is. When you bring joy to people, all the struggles you have to go through as an artist are worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/cmassote
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvx2htHeIZ55y7_B_ynMLSQ