We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dereje Deres. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dereje below.
Dereje, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Growing up, I had seen movies and television, but I never held a camera in my hand until I found an opportunity in my neighborhood to participate in a film and media workshop.
Everything was foreign to me. The tools and terminology were comparable to learning how to walk for the first time on the moon. At times it seemed utterly unattainable. I had already graduated from college with a business degree. It felt like I was late to the game compared to my classmates.
But I kept at it, and the more I faced the challenge, the more rewarding and satisfying it became. I was hooked on this new world of storytelling, creating, and collaborating with my teammates.
I joined the bachelor’s program and continued the journey, including some great experience working on several short films; we entered film festivals. There were many proud and hard-won moments.
The biggest lesson in all of this was collaboration. Few art mediums require the extent of cooperation that filmmaking does. There are so many people’s talents that go into every film. It’s easy to get distracted by the big names, but collaboration has made every film in history worth watching. It’s how I can get ideas out of my head and into production.
Like most artists, I am rarely fully satisfied with what I have created. There’s always some idea and image I am striving to express. It’s a tireless striving, not necessarily for something “perfect,” but a fuller expression that will live up to your imagination of that idea, concept, or imagery.
If I could do every project again with what I know now. I would continue doing it all over again and again and again. This keeps me coming back for more as my skills grow – my expectations of myself grow. It’s an endless but rewarding cycle. 
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My journey led me to pick up a camera for the first time in 2012, and it has not stopped since.
I love taking anything I can and creating cinematic journeys which convey meaning and stories. I love and miss working in teams to produce films and always looking for people to collaborate with to make visions come to life through cinema.
The majority of the work I do for clients and play includes Wedding Films, Events, Nature, Documentaries, creating content for businesses, and more.
I love working with people to create films that exceed their expectations of what is possible, that jump off their ideas and stories to create something that is one of a kind, just like their story is.
One of the best things I get to do is to show a person how special and unique their story is. I love witnessing when people see their films for the first time and their pride in their own stories. It keeps me coming back to it! 
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The goal for me is to always stay in production, never be finished, creating and making, I’m always obsessed with getting that shot that I had in mind, but nowadays, I’m learning more to capture the moments as they are and keeping the camera rolling.
It all started as a passion and a creative endeavor. I can feel it when editing becomes mundane, and my wife watches the film I’m working on and tells me to re-edit the whole thing because it’s missing the “heart.” That’s when I knew I had to have a creative brain break, get into nature with my camera, and get inspired. Then I can come back to the project with that inspiration.
At the heart of it, I live for stories. Stories are within us and all around us. As long as I’m on earth, there will always be more stories to dive into. 
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The INTERNET.
For better or for worse, the Internet is an irreplaceable resource. It connects creatives and provides education and job opportunities. If I had the access to it that I do now earlier on. I can only imagine what I could have accomplished. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gladfilms.com/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/gladfilms?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DGladFilms?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/ouxj7khjLwc