We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deaniera Wibisono a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Deaniera, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

I had previously done a lot of accounting, operational, and marketing work for my non-industry related experience. Afterwards, going to grad school for screenwriting seemingly used none of that knowledge. But continuing in the film industry and looking for entry level jobs, it was tremendously helpful. PA or any assistant position will require coordinating and budgeting that isn’t particularly taught on the creative side of film school. So in the end, experience outside of the creative is very useful within it.

Deaniera, 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 am a screenwriter! Aspiring, perhaps, but also manifesting. Primarily, I write heists and horror, but it’s been difficult to get through a writer’s block. So recently, I’ve turned towards TV, back to what made me happy as a kid. Teen dramas! Everyone’s a little lost in high school, prey to the misconceptions of children. So, stories where an unassuming kid is thrust into a heroic path of prophecies and quests were my safe space. They were hopeful, they helped me feel a little less lost. At times when I felt like the good guy, these stories would uplift me. And especially at times when I felt like the bad guy, these stories would console me. Until, in the end, when the good me and the bad me both felt understood, I was able to thank these fantastical teen drama shows by writing a few.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The stories I write and my. resilience come from my parents. My father is a sad, sad man. He is the product of two communities that despise each other, he was born with Eastern features but dark skin, the classist Chinese and the patriotic Indonesians judged him severely, but what my Dad felt as a man in between identities was never recognized or reflected on. My mother is an unforgiving woman, it makes her hard and it makes us angry to know that she’s mad because she’s hurt. Dad inhabits inter-island tensions, prejudice as far as the history of our country goes, but Mom is the result of a Dutch crime the world at large hasn’t recovered from: colonization. I carry within me the hurt of my Mom and Dad, but even generations apart, the expression of these emotions have no way to be seen, heard, or shared. Through my craft, I hope to make plain to people this information, straightforwardly, emotionally, and well.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Once upon a time, someone asked me about an island in Indonesia— I had never heard of that island. Of course, as a proud Indonesian, I didn’t admit that. But so began my journey to re-discover Indo through writing about it. Not only are there too many stereotypes of Indonesia to be explored, there are stereotypes of Indonesians on other Indonesians, and the stereotypes we place on the world. As much as Indonesia would like to please everyone, it has to stand up for itself as a home to its people. All these ideas floating around in my head turned into a story of a travel agency that realizes it can only change the world one person at a time. The script was so fun and I learned a lot writing it– more than anything, I felt so lucky that being creative was my outlet.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deanierawibisono/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deaniera-intan-wibisono/