We were lucky to catch up with David Liban recently and have shared our conversation below.
David , appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
I feel very fortunate to be in a situation where I can be an artist. My situation is unusual in that I have both a ‘regular’ job and my creative outlet. I am a professor of film and television and along with that comes the expectation that 40% of my job is to be creative.
David , 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?
I have always been a cinephile and wanted to be a filmmaker from my early teens. I saw another kids animated film who created the illusion of a room full of furniture and objects dancing to Steve Wonder’s “Superstition.” I was amazed that this kid did this and then went and tried it myself. I did a bunch of stop-motion animation with my dad’s super-8 camera and I was hooked. THEN, I saw Star Wars that the deal was sealed.
When I got into college I wanted to study film and I had the support of my parents. My mother was an artist, so she got it. My father was an academic who taught math, but he understood that college was a liberal arts education and not a vocational school, so he too was very supportive about majoring in film.
Then I went to Brooklyn College where I got my MFA in Television Production, which I did with the goal of being in academia like my father. Soon after, I got my first teaching job at Savannah College of Art & Design and from there I did the academic shuffle where I moved on to University of Memphis then George Washington University till I found my dream job at CU Denver. At all those institutions I was teaching film while making films. I built my portfolio by making shorts, documentaries and now I focus mostly on feature films. My latest feature is called, Publish or Perish and will be releasing on Amazon, VUDU and on-demand on August 18th.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I am often asked about my inspirations and it can be a hard question to answer. I am inspired by books, movies, tv shows, video games and experiences in my life. All of it inspires. I do have my favorite films that I draw upon and directors I admire a great deal and whose career I’d like to emulate. Films or art that have moved me in some way inspires me to want to do the same. That is, to engage and reach an audience with the stories I want to tell.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
There is nothing more rewarding than being with an audience who is watching your film and having them fully invested… are they laughing? Crying? Gasping? … in all the right places? It’s an amazing experience… if you’ve done your job well.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.tinyfistfilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/publishperishmovie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/publishperish/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-liban-6917581/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/feral_filmmaker
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@publishorperish_movie
Image Credits
Photos by Kelly Spencer, Cynthia Cazanas Garin