Inspirational

Writing about oneself is sometimes challenging because you feel like writing your whole life on a piece of paper, at the same time you see limitations in writing. You want to write only what is necessary to fit the platform or your desired audience. My name is Michael Asonganyi and this is how I became a filmmaker in the African film industry. I was born and raised in Cameroon and at the age of 23, I moved to study in Sweden where I met my wife, a Norwegian national studying at the same Univer...

For the last 30 years I have been writing poetry, lyrics and songs, yielding some great achievements along the way, mostly with my songs, but I have had two poems published in the past and have continued to write for the sheer joy and love of writing. I've always enjoyed poetry and it's a shame that over the centuries, it has dwindled as a definitive form of communication, but people do still enjoy writing it as a way of expressing feelings and events that maybe are difficult to express verbal...

Today is an exciting day here at Stage 32 - we want to congratulate our Stage 32 members, educators & executives who worked on 13 films (that we know of!) that are officially nominated for the 2017 Oscars!   CONGRATULATIONS TO STAGE 32 MEMBERS WHO HAVE FILM NOMINATIONS:   Toni Erdmann - Congratulations to Stage 32 member, producer Michel Merkt Elle (Best Actress) - Congratulations to Stage 32 member, producer Michel Merkt My Life as a Zucchini - Congratulations to Stage 32 members, pr...

When I was a little boy about eight or nine, I happened to be playing in front of the TV in our Chicago apartment one day, when an old black and white English movie came on. I knew nothing about acting, though I had once played a tree in a skit. But there was one actor on the screen who I could see was doing something remarkable. He was just different, unlike any of the other actors, though I couldn’t say how, but I could see that 'something' right there on the screen.   What he was doing, how...

As the leaders in online education for film creatives, we're extremely proud to introduce our 2017 Online Film Conference Series. Throughout the year, we'll be announcing events designed to give you timely, applicable information designed to help you succeed in 2017 and beyond. We kick it all off today with our 1st Annual Online Film Finance and Producing Conference!   No planes. No hotels. No expenses. No new wardrobe. No outrageous badge prices. Just you, your computer and you...

I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker around sophomore year in undergrad. I took this class called "Make a Movie" with Billy Field. He threw a camera in our hands and just told us to go make something. Now, the piece we made is something I'll never share, but it helped me to realize I loved filmmaking, and it's something I could do with my life, and be happy.   The best lesson I've learned throughout my films is what it means to be a leader. Yes, you need to have a creative vision, but being on se...

Last night was a very special one around these parts as our good friend Michel Merkt captured the Golden Globe for producing Best Foreign Film winner, Elle. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, Michel has not only been a staunch supporter of all we do here at Stage 32, but he has worked with and mentored so many 32'ers through the years.   Michel was kind enough to invite me to the premiere of Elle at the Cannes film festival last year. To be invited to be part of his tribe during this...

I am extremely proud to announce that two members of our global community are nominated for a total of 4 Golden Globes this evening. First up, it’s my dear friend, Michel Merkt. Michel is an enormously accomplished producer who had 8 films at Cannes this year including 4 in competition. Tonight Michel has 3 nominations. In the Best Foreign Film category, Michel is nominated for producing both Paul Verhoeven’s terrific film, ELLE and Maren Ade’s international hit dramedy, TONI ERDMANN, which ha...

In late 2013 I had started working on the script of my short film In Loving Memory. I had already made my first independent short film Disarray in 2012 at the age of 22 and had been working in the business with my father. He was an acclaimed Bengali filmmaker, Anjan Das, who I assisted in his last 3 international award winning features Achin Pakhi, Bedeni and Banshiwala. I was an Associate Director in my dad's last film Ajana Batas.   My father, Anjan Das, critically acclaimed filmmaker &...

The subject line of the email read "I’m so sorry”. It was from one of the Emmy-winning producers I had been working with for several years on my award-wining true crime drama, CONFESSIONS. After multiple rewrites and the involvement of two notable directors, the latest option was expiring and the project had hit a wall. I had been here before – a rocket ride to the one-yard line and the brink of a “go picture” that suddenly gets stalled. October, 2013. I met Joe Burke over a drink, a friend...