A Cultivator of Ideas 

An interview the Dom Fred 

I once heard the theory that creative ideas float around in the universe waiting for people to snatch them up and bring them into being. It’s a beautiful visual, all these brilliant ideas just waiting to be adopted. This might explain why some people seem to always be moving and shaking around their chosen field of art, the constant creators. I am fascinated by those artists, envious really, of their dedication and motivation to continue to birth beauty into the world. I had the honor of conversing with a friend recently who embodies this drive of creative domination in film, French filmmaker (director-writer-fight coordinator-producer) Dom Fred. I’m hoping through his wisdom I can find motivation through my sludge of procrastination to continue to create opportunities of my chosen art forms.

“We are in a world of evolution and movement. Life is made up of starting over, of renewing arrivals and departures,” Fred said. “The cinema or audio-visual sector lives on imagination and new creative ideas.”

During my Boss Lady time, I do really well at multi-tasking. I can tackle my braille work while organizing my blog posts while setting up my contract schedule while proofreading my braille manuscript, the more plates the more balanced I feel. Yet, when it comes to working on creative projects, I feel like I’m getting tangled in the yarn I’m trying to crochet. That’s not to say I don’t have an influx of multiple story ideas, but I just can’t seem to focus on more than one at a time. 

That is were Fred is drastically different, he often works on several projects at the same time, and usually wears multiple hats, like director and fight coordinator, or even serves as a collaborator with other directors. As we dive deeper into our conversation, I was desperate for some tips. How does he stay so productive and fresh with creativity?

“For over 15 years now, I have been working in digital advertising, so it’s easy for me to write and instantly reproduce my idea with 3D characters and environment,” Fred explained. “On short projects, I often do post production, 3D animation, sound FX, and sometimes onscreen fights. On big projects, I take care of fight scenes and post production. This leaves me a free field of creation and imagination to explore other creative avenues.”

It does seem that plate spinning for Fred in fact facilitates opportunities for creativity. When you are focused on one hat wearing area, like directing, that allows artistic energy to flow to other hats, like fight coordinating. In a way, doing multiple things allows one to see a spectrum of color flowing into your own artist zones. Which begs to question, is there a benefit to working on multiple projects at once?

“I don't know if there is an advantage to being on two projects at the same time, but if you have the opportunity it is good to have several universes at your fingertips,” Fred said. "For me, it is a challenge to be on different creative projects and to share our ideas with creative people. We listen, we exchange, and we take note of the points essential to the good modeling of our ideas. The result remains at the end!”

Things began to make more sense, working on multiple projects isn’t a way for people to express their creativity, but instead it’s a learning experience. When we collaborate with people, we are sharing a part of ourselves with each other, and the combined outcome will always be the best option. I have always loved collaborating with people, I’ve grown so much from my coworkers, but it never occurred to me that that participation helped cultivate my artistic growth.

“We learn every day in this profession,” Fred added. “I often write according to the project, but I direct a lot of short films to learn how to be a better director.”

My path crossed with Fred at the 2018 Iron Dragon TV Action Fest, where he had two short films a part of our official selection. Even this year, he also submitted two films into the festival. It was hard for me not to see a correlation, he always seems to have multiple films released at the same time. That was not the case, they happened to be released around the same time. I had a lapse of judgement, but in the quickness that productions can be produced now a days, it’s easy for someone to get confused.

“The sector of new technologies, digital special effects and highly developed software, allow us to be on several projects with fast digital calculation times,” Fred explained. “Basically, these are short film projects developing ideas or artistic creation that is therefore possible to be on several different projects over one, two or five years.”

That brings us to one of his current projects, the 2020 IDTVAF winner of the Best Fight Scene, HAPPY BIRTHDEAD. Without giving too much away of this entertaining and action packed short film, a birthday present is misinterpreted by the recipient. It is a straight-forward premise, executed brilliantly. We are now at an age where filmmaking equipment are at our fingertips, and it made me wonder about the intention behind HAPPY BIRTHDEAD. With Fred’s various film connections and past collaborators, was this a scene he wanted to create or an idea of a longer project he wanted to film a concept reel for?

“This project was born out of a need for collaboration with professional stunt actors in France. We tried for a year to find favorable time with all of our schedules,” Fred explained. "Screenwriter Jérémy Margallé wrote a wonderful script and, after a round of table with this superb team, we were able to define a shooting day. The result is just amazing, and we hope in the future to make a longer version of the film.”

One consistency, no matter what type of film Fred is involved with, always has an element of martial arts. A martial artist himself, Fred’s films are always more than just physicality, there is a beauty and respect circling the action. His films seem to be an homage to martial arts, showcasing the art within the marital movements. This aspect has become a cornerstone to his films.

“I find martial arts to have a great philosophy, and the art itself is visually beautiful. Showcasing martial arts in front of the camera is mostly a need for screen sensation and wonder,” Fred added. “Also, the presence of digital effects in combat which gives me the opportunity to highlight my mastery of digital post production tools.”

It’s not a priority for his films to always contain martial arts, though. Fred explained that while he does define himself as an action director, the use of martial arts is more due to his mastery of the subject than the need to showcase the art on screen. This can also be seen in Fred’s second 2020 film, IMMORTAL. In this film, his mastery of both martial arts and digital effects allows for the creation of an inventive supernatural action film. It’s another example, however, of how when you allow your mind to traverse multiple artistic planes, creativity increased tenfold.

This isn’t to say that Fred is always hustling when it comes to creativity. Just like everyone else, there are those days when the faucet runs dry. If there was ever a living embodiment of that, it is the year 2020 and the global Covid-19 Pandemic. Whatever our hopes and desires for this year were, they were decimated by a microscopic enemy. Life was forever altered, and the world will never be the same. The weight of this unseen villain has played against us and has been hard to deal with, not only personally but professionally.

“The current situation of the pandemic is difficult for all of us. It affects our motivation and our will to artistic creation, for the moment we are waiting for measured news,” Fred said. “I remain confident and in the hope of getting back to filming.”

That’s the thing, though, hope is our most prized weapon in our battle for normalcy. We have to fight for motivation through hardships as much as we have to focus on our motivation with spinning plates. If we expand ourselves in different areas we find our best self, why should trudging through the muck that is this year be any different. 

I will take the clarity I’ve gained through my conversation with extraordinary filmmaker Dom Fred, and focus on creating learning experiences through my creative ventures. Being a cultivator of ideas is a version of self-care I am 100% here for.

Written by Lisa M Mejia
Images provided by Dom Fred