Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tori Ichikowitz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tori, 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?

This is a really funny question to me because I get asked so often, “Don’t you ever just want a stable pay check or some routine?” And genuinely, my answer is always no!

They say if you can wake up and live with yourself doing any other job, then you are not built for this career and I tend to believe that is true. This industry is about passion and talent and inspiration but more than that, it is about this incessant hunger to create that cannot be fulfilled otherwise.

I have tried existing in commercial 9-5 spaces and it slowly eats away at my soul. I do not like the person that I have to be when in those spaces. The routine, instead of being comforting, is truly suffocating. Something about my brain comes alive when forced into pressure-cooker, constantly changing, moving and planning mode.

However, this choice does not come without sacrifice. My time is mostly consumed by work. When friends are telling me about their partners or holidays, I am telling them about the latest job or project. It is almost impossible to find a work-life balance and I can’t remember the last time I just stopped or did not think about work at all. I will never be the friend who can plan trips or hangouts in advance, I’ll never be the person who consistently makes every date night. It’s a sacrifice we make in order to have the freedom to do what we do.

Creativity, for me, is freedom. It’s problem-solving through intuition, risk, and vision. I’m far more energized by crafting a story that says something real, than by tweaking a pitch deck for the third time. I’ve learned that I need to be in spaces that value originality, where ideas are currency and boldness is encouraged, not watered down. That’s where I come alive.

Tori, 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?

Hey! I’m Tori Ichikowitz—a South African-born filmmaker, director, creative producer, and certified chaos wrangler (in the best way). I split my time between Los Angeles and travelling the world, chasing stories that are a little strange, a little emotional, and always deeply human. I come from a theatre background and a past life as a fashion photographer who has been published in several global publications.

I fell into filmmaking the old-school way: by doing everything—producing, directing, writing, editing, even lugging gear through the desert. Starting out as a producer taught me the business side (aka: how to stretch a shoestring budget into a festival-worthy film), but directing is where my heart lives. My work often blends genre with emotion—think coming-of-age colliding with horror, or dreamy visuals packed with bite.

I tell stories that center the messy, beautiful in-between moments—especially honing in on female-led stories. Looking back on my projects so far, I’ve realized that my stories have a lot of angry women! In all seriousness though, too often, women’s anger and emotional depth are minimized or dismissed in storytelling. I want to help create narratives where women’s voices are heard in their entirety, where their struggles and triumphs are given the space they deserve.

My work spans from narrative shorts, to features, to commercials to music videos. I’ve had the opportunity to work with artists and other filmmakers from around the globe. It has been a privilege to bring so many different perspectives into the process.

Some of my most recent work has been accepted into several Oscar Qualifying film festivals and even received recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

If you’re into identity crises, weird vibes, cinematic beauty, and storytelling with soul—you’re in the right place. Let’s make something that matters.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think certain non-creatives really struggle to understand the way creatives need to love uncertainty and not knowing exacts. In the non-creative world, an unknown is your worst nightmare. People are taught to value structure and guaranteed outcomes—follow the rules, get the result. Unknown outcomes throw a wrench in that system.

Creativity, by its nature, embraces experimentation, mess, and uncertainty. But for folks who aren’t used to operating in that space, the unknown feels more like a threat than a possibility.

My life is one constant unknown and is filled with surprises – good and bad. I might discover something incredible on set and change an entire scene around that discovery or I might not know when or where my next job will be. I love living in constant state of flux and flow but this can sound downright terrifying to someone whose life revolves around predicting outcomes.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Not so much a book, but there was a TED talk by Shonda Rimes that changed my life. In her TED Talk titled “My Year of Saying Yes to Everything,” she talks about what happened when she decided to say “yes” to everything that scared her for a full year.

“The hum” is how she describes that creative flow state—that electric, all-consuming feeling where work doesn’t feel like work, where you’re firing on all cylinders and it feels like you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. For her, it came from writing, producing, building worlds. But when it disappeared, she realized that the hum wasn’t the work—it was her. And she needed to reconnect with herself to bring it back.

That idea “the hum being you” is what hits so hard. As creatives, we chase that hum constantly. It feels like magic, like purpose, like belonging. When it’s gone, we panic. We think we’ve lost our talent or that we’re broken. But what Shonda reminds us is that the hum isn’t external. It’s not success or hustle or output. Its presence. It’s joy. It’s connection. And when we nurture the parts of ourselves outside of the grind, whether that’s playing with our kids, cooking, laughing, or resting, the hum returns.

For me, that lands in a visceral way. It’s a reminder that creativity isn’t just about making things. It’s about being alive. And if I want to sustain the work, I have to protect the part of me that makes the work possible in the first place.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toriichikowitz/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tori-ichikowitz-b7b54a140/