Meet Quentin Dupuy | Filmmaker and photographer.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Quentin Dupuy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Quentin, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

Taking risks, as the expression implies, is always scary. But to me, taking risks is the difference between staying where you are in life, whether professionally or personally, or changing. Of course you can fail, and I did, but in my experience, I’ve never regretted taking risks. Even when things didn’t turn out the way I wanted, I’ve either learned and ended somewhere unexpected with new opportunities.

Every time I felt unsure, scared of doing something, but doing it anyway is when I saw some progress in my life. I never stopped being scared, but it’s now easier for me to take a chance. I think that’s the way I see it now, it’s more “taking a chance” rather than “taking risks’.

It doesn’t mean being reckless of course, but it means putting yourself or your work out there and seeing what happens. It has always been an opportunity for growth and it is something I long for. Growing, learning, staying curious, trying to be a bit better every day, and never stop learning.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I’m a director and photographer. I (hopefully!) tell stories visually. My dad took me to see Star Wars EP IV A New Hope when they were re-released in cinemas for the special editions in 1997. We went to one of the most famous theaters in Paris, Le Grand Rex, and I vividly remember going out of the film and thinking “that’s it, that’s what I want to do with my life”. It was eye opening and the fire of my passion for filmmaking never went away since that day.

I know, I know, it’s cliché as hell, but I swear it’s the truth! Star Wars and sci-fi in general are still major influences on my work today.

Since then, I have always studied and worked to achieve that goal of making films. I went to film school in Paris, got jobs as a trainee and worked my way up from there. I then created my production company called Velvet Sun Productions.

It was not easy and it still isn’t. Making a film, regardless of the length or genre of it (features, short-films, commercials, music videos etc…) is a giant jigsaw puzzle. Every time the challenges are different and you have to find the people and the money to gather, create images and at the end “a film”. I’m proud and happy to see that all that hard work I’ve put in these past few years is starting to pay off, as I’m now developing my first feature in English! The trick in this business is to never give up on your dream.

I always find it magical. On set, the reality of the film, of the story is only real between the ‘action’ and the ‘cut’. Then you leave the set, like it never happened, but on the celluloid or the memory cards that moment of “reality” exists forever. That’s the magic of filmmaking to me. The truth of the actors’ emotions, the lights, the camera movements, the set design, everything is there on screen, real and fabricated at the same time.

I’m sure how I overcame the many challenges I faced so far except by a blind faith that I’ll find a way to make it work! Jokes aside, the best way I found for myself is to set up deadlines and tell people about it! You have no choice but to find a way to make it work after that!

I don’t think it’s my place to tell what sets me apart from others, but I’d say that every artist out there has their own voice and I hope that I have mine. I’ve been lucky to win a couple of awards so far with my short films, but the real reward to me is when my work reaches out to someone emotionally. That’s always the goal, when you do a film and someone comes up to you and says that it spoke to them. That they found meaning in it for themselves.

There’s no greater joy for me as a filmmaker (or a photographer) to have at least just one person connecting to your work, whether it’s helping them, entertaining them or else! The only thing I can control is to work hard and to do my work with sincerity and integrity, and I always try to think about each project as if it were the last one I’ll ever do. I feel extremely lucky to make a living out of my passion and I try to never take things for granted.

I’m usually extremely hard on myself about my own work, because when you make something it’s easy to see the flaws and what you’d do differently, but with time I learned to be kinder with myself. Not to say that you should not be critical about your own work and learning, you should never stop doing that, but I also allow myself now to recognize what worked and what I did nicely and well, instead of just seeing the negative. I’ve also learned to let go. Once a project is done and released, it doesn’t belong to me anymore, it belongs to the audience and I just try to focus on the next one!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Los Angeles is a city that you can spend a lifetime discovering. I guess I’m a bit biased but I would take them around the studio lots, Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign first, to get that out of the way! I like to get lost in cities when I visit, and find places that are not necessarily on the guides (even if some are there for a reason and should be visited or seen of course!). I would at least drag them for a hike or two, a day at the beach as well for sure as well as Santa Monica, Venice and El Pueblo of Los Angeles. I’d probably design a tour of the city based on its history and the history of filmmaking and see where it leads us! Of course, this would not be complete without a few museum visits, so probably the Getty and the Academy Museum.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

There’s no question that I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for a lot of people that put their trust in me and my work. I truly believe in the saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. I’ve always chosen to go “together”. Filmmaking especially is a team effort. It is true that a director usually get the credit (and the blame!) for a film, but nothing would be possible without a great cast&crew. It’s like a conductor, you won’t go far without the best musicians supporting your vision. My first supporters in my passion for filmmaking were my parents and I cannot thank them enough for believing in me and encouraging me to follow my passion and making it my life and job. A career in film is definitely not considered a “safe choice” as far as careers go, so it means a lot to me that they never tried to steer me away from it.

That also goes for my personal life. Everyone encounters hardship or setbacks in life, and I’ve been very fortunate to have people to be there for me when I needed them, and I’m sure they know it goes the other way as well.

I wish I could name everyone here, but it’ll be extremely boring for your readers cause there would be a lot of people in the list, so I know they’ll recognize themselves! This is for all my family members, friends, mentors and everyone that was and still is there for me. THANK YOU.

Website: www.quentindupuy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenextquentin/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenextquentin

Other: My company’s website, Vimeo and instagram: www.velvetsun.fr – https://vimeo.com/velvetsunproductions – https://www.instagram.com/velvetsunproductions/ My latest documentary (about boxing) can be watched here: https://vimeo.com/448949479 ————– Note: my personal instagram is where I’m most active nowadays, so if possible, don’t hesitate to put first in regards to the others links. Thank you! 🙂

Image Credits
All images are my own except the one where you can see me with a camera (this was taken by Clément Duval) and the one on set with the DoP on the left with his arms above his head and where I’m on the right is by Olga Sauvaire.