We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Fidan Manashirova a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Fidan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Growing up most of my life playing competitive tennis, I also shared a passion and love for movies and television series. I watched everything from sitcoms like Friends and Seinfeld to Disney Channel originals like Even Stevens and That’s So Raven. I equally had a love for watching dramas like Remember the Titans, Gladiator, and horror movies like The Shining (it’s my favorite movie!) and The Ring. After I finished playing tennis at Ohio State, I really thought about what I wanted to do next, and I decided to take the leap and move to LA with my savings from coaching tennis to pursue the entertainment industry in some capacity. I held a few pivotal assistant jobs in talent management and representation, learning from seasoned executives and producers, and eventually finding and sharpening my love for storytelling. After that, I followed a path to become a Producer in scripted TV series, focusing on early development and working with amazing writers and filmmakers to bring stories on screen!
Fidan, 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 got into the entertainment industry after I finished up my collegiate tennis career at Ohio State. I’ve always been a lover of film and TV, so I took a chance and moved to Los Angeles with an internship at a boutique talent agency as an executive assistant. After a couple of jobs working as an assistant for agents and managers, I found my love for storytelling and producing and got an opportunity to land at Netflix in their tv department. I worked my way up as an assistant there before getting promoted to a Manager where I programmed and developed original series for the streamer. I was lucky enough to work on series like Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass and Midnight Club. I’m super proud of another series I worked on called Devil in Ohio, because it was so dear to me as a fan of true crime and thrillers and as someone who went to Ohio State where the setting of the show took place. I love working with talented artists, writers, and filmmakers to get inspired and find ways to bring ideas to live action and on screens. I’m super passionate about working with and raising up fresh voices in the industry and giving opportunities to up and coming writers and directors. I currently work at Westbrook Studios as a Director of TV Scripted Development where we produce TV series, including Bel Air which is now streaming on Peacock!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have absolutely pivoted in my career multiples times and I think that’s one important key lesson that every young person that’s new in the work force shouldn’t be afraid to do. After working as an assistant in the entertainment industry the first couple of years of my career, I got burned out and switched industries altogether. I worked in fashion on the corporate level at Guess, Inc. followed by a short stint in the beauty industry working at Hourglass Cosmetics on their corporate marketing team. I learned a lot but it was ultimately not the industry for me and entertainment ended up reeling me back in after an opportunity to work at Netflix. I think it was important for me to be open about trying something new, and what was meant to happen ultimately did.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I grew up in a tough, immigrant family playing a competitive sport on a high level so one major lesson that I learned was to always work hard no matter what. Do more, exhaust yourself, suffer – for lack of better word. “No pain, no gain.” I used to perceive this lesson in a very physical sense because I was playing sports, but later in life when I eventually went to college and beyond that, I learned that working smart was equally as important. I learned that I didn’t need to practice hitting 200 serves after losing a tennis match, and that sometimes taking the time to positively reflect and think through a negative outcome after the fact is possible. I guess in a way, this wasn’t a lesson that I had to “unlearn” rather than a lesson that I needed to evolve and re-tool in the way I approached it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @fidonut
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/fidanmanashirova
- Twitter: @fidonut