We were lucky to catch up with Sahvannah Rae recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sahvannah , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
I can’t pinpoint exactly when I lost my sense of curiosity as an adult, but I can pinpoint the exact moment I regained it. After quitting my job and facing the daunting question of “what’s next,” I realized whatever it was it was, it going to be filled with the kind of art I would be proud to spend my life creating. After graduating film school, I spent 3 years taking the typical “climb the ladder” approach to the industry, until I admitted to myself that the lack of risk was slowly driving me insane. I had replaced my curiosity with complacency and therefore lost my keen sense of purpose.
So, against all words of advice, I let go of societal expectation and fully immersed myself in my own potential as a writer. I invested the next year of my life without a paycheck, molding my craft and discovering my voice as a creative, and it was the most important investment I have made in my career thus far. If I hadn’t left the social norm, I would have never discovered what it meant to bet on the undiscovered creative potential lying dormant. It took a year of experimenting to learn how to trust my creative instinct and become confident with my own inventive process. Giving myself the space and time to figure out my voice as an artist allowed me the credence to start my own production company, Skye Film Studios, alongside my sister and producing partner Skye Blue. Since opening in 2022 we have debuted our first short film that has just won its 6th consecutive film festival, wrapped filming on our first feature that will be released in November 2023, and finished my first novel that will be released in September 2023. All of this would never have been possible if I didn’t take the time to discover myself as a writer, as a director, and above all as a creative. It took leaving everything behind to lean into myself and redefine what success meant to me. The best investment I’ve made as a business owner is in my own ideas and the time it takes to let them form a personality of their own. This investment gave me an unfaltering belief in myself and my future as a creative as I found a newfound curiosity that I had no idea I had lost.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a second-generation Mexican American screenwriter and director. My love of filmmaking began with my passion for stories. Storytelling is one of those rare things in life that has always allowed me to feel bigger than myself when I’m honest with the words that I write because I inherently know the human experience is universal. The stories of mine that I find most immersive are the ones that are mirrors of my own struggles, questions, fears, and experiences. They become memorialization’s of who I am in that moment of my life. And to share those with the world is terrifyingly incredible. Chancing that type of vulnerability is the greatest risk, but also offers the greatest reward. As a filmmaker, I aim to focus on raw, unique, and female character-driven films. I strive to create thought provoking content that pushes the mind and challenges perspectives. I made my directorial debut in 2018 with my short film “Ava,” and after 5 years of establishing myself in the industry I created my production company, Skye Film Studios, alongside my sister and producing partner Skye Bleu. Skye Film Studios just wrapped our first feature film that will premiere in November of 2023. Through Skye Studios we have created a platform that will leave behind a legacy of films that prioritize showcasing the worst and best parts of the human experience in the most genuine way.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
The greatest thing society can do to support artists is to keep a keen sense of curiosity at the forefront of everything it does. As we grow older, adults begin to lose their curious nature and with that, their sense of awe. The world is filled with hidden wonders, and it would be an injustice to not spend our lives discovering it. Having a sense of curiosity for other cultures, for the nature around us, for different kinds of art, and for the people we have yet to meet will serve us more than any amount of realism. Keep being curious, and you’ll never stop falling in love with the art around you.
I think cinema has always been a reminder of this. Films remind us to stay curious as it shapes perspectives, brings awareness to issues, and creates a necessary sense of empathy that is widely lacking in today’s population. Films open our mind to new ideas, original thoughts, and can make us care for characters we have never met. It will never cease to amaze me how something as simple as cinema can expand a person’s emotional spectrum and make them better than they were in a matter of minutes.
Stories are the legacy left behind by those brave enough to share their deepest secrets with the world, and film is the vessel in which they are told, and society should treasure this kind of honesty. Cinema inspires society to be honest and unique because when an artist is honest in their art, countless others are able to relate and create a community of authenticity. Cinema brings people together unlike anything else I have ever seen. When people discuss their favorite film, they light up in such a way that makes me believe there is nothing more personal than a story you feel has been written just for you. Cinema makes many people one, and that one is better in every way. Keep going to the theater, keep giving new films a chance, and keep treasuring the art around you.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of filmmaking has been discovering the process of witnessing a concept of mine slowly become its own reflective embodiment with a personality and perspective of its own. The stories I tell oftentimes end up surprising me on where they end up going and what they end up teaching me about myself. Seeing a story I had envisioned come to life on the screen is a reminder of how powerful our thoughts can be when we act on them. I believe stories are an extension of ourselves and the most important thing we can do in this life is share that vulnerable extension with others. It’s the most rewarding to witness a thought of mine become a story, that becomes its own kind of entity. I have always been fascinated in the idea that anything I can imagine, I can make real through filmmaking. The films I create always begin with a seed that is a mirror of my own fears, traumas, angers, or happiness’s.
Filmmaking is much bigger than one singular person and every film that has ever been created was a compilation of countless individuals and their original ideas. It has always been the greatest reward to see how a film of mine can bring creatives together in an environment that promotes authentic art. My drive is centered in those opportunities to collaborate with other professionals on something as personal as my own story. Filmmaking has taught me how to be inspired by everything around me, and my films have become so deeply impeded in me that they often unveil a part of myself I had no idea was there. I feel privileged to make filmmaking a career and storytelling a priority for my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: skyefilmstudios.com
- Instagram: @skyefilmstudios
Image Credits
Skye Bleu