Are you an aspiring filmmaker looking for inspiration? Look no further than Ana Lily Amirpour. This productive, non-conventional filmmaker has a unique approach to filmmaking that we can all learn from. In a 2017 interview about her film The Bad Batch, Amirpour described filmmaking as an absurd exercise in pain, an endeavor only a handful of “insane” individuals ever embark on. But she also emphasizes the importance of gathering a group of peers who are down to do the thing.
Amirpour embodies what it truly means to just go for it. Here are just three of the many ways she does it:
1. A “No” Is Permission to Go Do it Yourself
When UCLA declined to fund and provide equipment for her first short film, Six and a Half, Amirpour did it herself. She bartered time and efforts with her contemporaries and paid for film materials with her own money. She threw down her own money for the film and showed up for her peers when they needed her. And because she put in the work, those peers showed up for her.
2. If You Think Something Is Dumb, it Probably Is
Amirpour took her experience working on a short film in Berlin and used it to fuel her determination to make her film A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night on her own terms. She recognized the importance of clearing away all things “dumb” that obstruct one’s vision. To gain that matrix-code perspective, you need to recognize that which is stupid, that which you know in your heart serves no purpose, and toss it out the window.
3. Grab Your Idea the Moment You Know it Works
Amirpour’s willingness to grab an idea when it’s good is a principle we can all learn from. When she put on a chador that was to be used as a costume for an extra and felt like a stingray while wearing it, she knew she had something. That simple image sparked the genesis of Girl. When a filmmaker knows they’ve got something substantial, they poke at it with the stick of “intent” and follow it down whichever hole it scurries into.
Amirpour’s films are an effusive example of film heritage beamed through the prism of an intentional mind. That, in and of itself, makes her filmography worth the watch. So, if you’re an aspiring filmmaker, be like Lily — just friggin’ go for it.
