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

Matthew, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I always think about what it would be like to have a “normal” 9-5 job instead of being a creative. I’m well aware that it’s very realistic and probable to have a career as a creative and have a house, partner and family. However, I’ve always put the hunger to make a living from my art front and center. It will always be my first love, and watching friends and family members clear various milestones (weddings, buying houses, etc.) sometimes has a bittersweet taste. You’re happy for them, yet you wonder if you could have the same things if you could just learn to shut off the part of your brain that craved artistic expression. I’m sure I would have those things, only problem is I wouldn’t be happy and that’s very important to me. Staying true to the things that make me tick and make me who I inherently am makes me happy. That being said, I’ve been in a creative dry spell lately and I seriously thought about giving up my creative tendencies to pick up another profession. I was thinking about becoming a school counselor or psycho-therapist even. I looked up different programs, talked to about a dozen different counselors and was honestly entertaining the thought of giving up being creative altogether (because for me it would have to be all or nothing…balance has never been my strong suit). But, I have a friend who was going through the same thing and actually left the creative world, after promising never to do so. And, let’s just say they’re not happy at all, and watching the dream die with them made me realize that I may be 40 and still renting and very much single, but I wouldn’t trade anything to be doing what I’m doing. Which is making money from my art. I’m so grateful and it makes all the sacrifices I’ve made all worth it. At least, so far.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve wanted to work in film ever since I was in elementary school, however I always wanted to be an actor. After realizing I wasn’t incredibly good at acting, I fell back onto something I had a better grasp of….writing. I lived out in Los Angeles for 8 years, fell into some precarious predicaments (started doing drugs and ran out of money, basically) and ended back in Michigan where I was born. I thought my career was over, not being out West, and my addiction still held a very large part of me. After a few stints in rehab, my father (who ironically ran the drug court in the city where I lived) decided the best place for me was at Grace Centers Of Hope. If you’re not familiar, it’s a faith-based rehabilitation program. So I went from living a very comfortable life, to waking up in a homeless shelter. In my head, my career was definitely over now. However, I met Kyle Couch (a resident who had been through the program and now worked in the video production department) and everything changed for the better. I always had the ability to write and create screenplays, but never the technical wherewithal to bring them to life. Kyle was great with cameras and editing and had the knowledge I lacked. Together we made a great team. We made a short film and entered it into a competition Channel 4 was putting on and won the whole thing! First prize was four tickets to Sundance. From there Kyle and I got a sizable amount of money to make another short film. This one much longer and lavish. After that the projects kept on rolling in, most of them unpaid, but slowly that started to change. I essentially became a writer-for-hire on various projects (mostly true life stories) as well as script doctor/consultant. I was asked to co-direct a feature I had co-written called If I Can’t Have You, and that’s how I was bitten by the directing bug really. I had directed two short films beforehand (both award winners; Drilling Dad and Entropy: or an irresponsible retelling of the illiad), I never thought I had the technical knowledge to be a director. However, I learned quickly that if you have a fantastic crew in place behind you, it’s very possible to relay your vision to each department head without knowing all the technical jargon. I’d like to think I solve the problem of writing stories my clients have wanted to tell for years, but haven’t figured out how to. I’m a great listener and have a way of really understanding my client and their unspoken needs, reading between the lines, or what have you. To be completely honest, I’m most proud of directing and writing a music video for a local artist Johnny Jermani. The video is called Switched on Me and it’s currently on YouTube. I’m most proud of it, because it was much less money than my day rate, but Johnny was just so passionate it rubbed off on me and we assembled an A+ crew and I wasn’t held down by any type of creative restraints. I was given carte blanche for the most part. Johnny knew he wanted to do a clockwork orange inspired rap video and I just ran with the idea. It turned out better than I could’ve ever imagined, thanks to the dedication of the whole team. I was just so proud that I did something I’d never done before (a music video) and in a genre I’m not particularly familiar with (rap) and created something that was both visually interesting and entertaining.

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

I’d say for me, more rewarding than anything in the world is being on set as a director and hearing actors saying and performing words you’ve so carefully written. It’s honestly something you can’t explain unless you’ve experienced it. And in the same vein, it’s very rewarding to see the dedication and respect the actors give to the material and it just blows you away.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It might be wishful thinking, but I really think the best way society can best support artists and creatives is by seeking out pieces of art whether it be novels, tv shows or films that are made by unknowns. There’s a lot of really good stuff out there that isn’t mainstream and if you just stick to the actors/directors you know or have heard of you’ll not only miss out on stuff you didn’t realize you liked, but your money is just going to support the same kinds of stories which will continue to be made.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: matthewsantia
• Facebook: Matthew Santia
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hrq-Ob41I