Artwork for podcast The Documentary Life
The Imposter Syndrome + Conversation with Doc Filmmaker, Lourdes Portillo
Episode 518th December 2017 • The Documentary Life • The Documentary Life
00:00:00 01:00:53

Share Episode

Shownotes

Do you consider yourself a documentary filmmaker or is that a term that you are hesitant to give yourself?

Is there something that is holding you back from your first documentary film?

Perhaps what’s keeping you from being a doc filmmaker, or making your doc film, or living your doc life, is something called imposter syndrome.

 

Imposter syndrome is a concept that basically describes the inability of an individual to internalize one’s accomplishments as well as having a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud.  And I’m convinced that so many of us doc filmmakers experience this at some point in time in our own doc lives. Which is what we’ll take a look at in our opening segment of today’s podcast.

 

Topics Discussed

  • Definition of imposter syndrome and how it applies to us #doclifers
  • Why you are already a filmmaker qualified to make a documentary
  • How you can overcome the fear that you are under-qualified to make your doc film

 

Podcast Conversation

In our shared conversation, I sat down with Academy Award and Emmy Award-nominated doc filmmaker, Lourdes Portillo. On the eve of her being awarded the prestigious International Documentary Association (IDA)’s Career Achievement Award, we have a frank and open conversation about the state of documentary: what it has meant for her in her life as well as what it might mean for future doc filmmakers and..

  • how she became an Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker with her first film without ever having any prior filmmaking experience
  • how aspiring filmmakers today make the mistake of concentrating on all of the shiny and latest camera gear and forget the most important element to a documentary: story
  • advice for writing your first grants for your first projects
  • what it means to be awarded an IDA Career Achievement Award

 

Film Trailer

Trailer for Lourdes Portillo’s brilliant personal documentary The Devil Never Sleeps (as discussed in the episode)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA_jAVoY2qY

 

Subscribe

Apple | Spotify | Stitcher |

 

Rate and Review

If you have found value in this podcast please leave a review so it can become more visible to others. Simply click the link and then click on the Ratings and Reviews tab to make your entry. Thank you for your support!

 

 

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube