Meet Savanna Crasto | Director, Producer, Writer and Actor.

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

Hi Savanna, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
The most important decision I’ve made, and that I continue to make is choosing to focus on how I want to move through the world and what I want for my life. Especially with the amount of emotional and physical work involved in creating a film, it can be easy to get caught up in group settings that don’t necessarily align with who you are. I’ve realised it’s a pretty dangerous place to be in because you feel the comfortability of having a community but I think the wrong community for you, the wrong people can make you smaller than you are. For me, there’s not much I love more than an artist pursuing a craft from a place of generosity so when I’m looking at the people around me that’s something I put a lot of attention towards. There’s a big difference between someone who first and foremost wants art to work for them compared to someone who first and foremost wants to work for art. The single most important decision I’ve made is to take a step away from the industry, the activity, and focus in on, as corny as it sounds, the genuine expressions of love. Just as it is with people, there’s a big difference between a piece of work that’s been nurtured by someone who wants nothing more than for it to be itself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Well, I don’t view my art as “My” art, I see it more as an expression of what I believe it means to be human and that maybe it resonates with a larger collective making it ‘our’ view of what it means to be human. I believe in 99% certainty and 1% ‘what if?’ I think ‘we know what we know until we know something else’, so when it comes to film I definitely see the world through that 1% certainty lens. I like the idea that things could be immensely more complex than what we perceive. That the way someone else views the world could be completely foreign to the way I do, almost as though we are all living in different worlds that co-exist. I like the limitlessness of that belief. It opens up so many possibilities, that 1% could change everything. I think film fosters that 1% and allows it to go from intangible to tangible, it’s a medium that can create bring a thought into the physical and what I love most about my artistic pursuit is that I don’t feel the need to justify it to anyone. It’s an expression of the world and I see value in that, just as I see value in anyone’s expression. I find it very intimate, the pursuit, the creations, it’s almost as though it’s like a little egg that I get to take care of, that I get to watch explore what it could mean to be human. It’s interesting, because the more I focus on that, the more I want to protect it, be diligent about what and to who it is exposed, and the more I see who has good intentions versus who wants to use it. Maybe it’s more like a child that I get to take care of rather than an egg. I’ve spent a lot of time looking for someone who I don’t feel like I need to translate how I feel to ( in terms of the arts), but I don’t feel that disconnect with film. It just seems to get it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A week-long trip in LA is not nearly long enough if you take into account all the famous spots, but keeping it “LA vibe” centred, this is what my itinerary would look like.

Sunday: Early morning walk up the east side of Runyon Canyon. Beverly Hills Farmers Markets. Lunch at 208 Rode. Visit The Brainwash Museum. Get a little bagel from Pop’s as we walk back to Franklin Ave along Santa Monica Boulevard. Afternoon bbq on my apartments balcony. Then to the American Cinematheque (Los Feliz Theatre, The Egyptian, and The Aero. See what is playing and go to a screening. The American Cinematheque is indescribably great.). Go to Boardeners (down an alleyway on Hollywood Boulevard) for dinner and drinks.

Monday: Breakfast at Dialog on the Sunset Strip. A walk along the Santa Monica beach strip. Check-in at the aero to see what’s playing. Griffith Observatory (be there for 3 pm Winter for a late lunch picnic, so you get the sunset and then the night skyline). Get a burger at Carney’s for dinner (+ make a game plan to find a member of the Magic Castle so we can be their plus ones for the evening)

Tuesday: Breakfast at Piknik at Echo Lake. The Academy Award Museum. Have lunch at Mamie (Italian deli). A walk along Hollywood Boulevard (Because you’ve got to take in the wild nature) and stop by Ovation Hollywood to see the Hollywood Sign lookout. Dinner at Harlow followed by a drink at The Farmosa (Or vice versa), and then catch a movie at the New Beverly Cinema.

Wednesday: Paramount Pictures Studio Tour (I said I was going to try and avoid the more known spots but this one is just a must) The Dolby (Depending on the time of year, I would definitely take them to PaleyFest or try and get into The Independent Spirit Awards down in Santa Monica) or go down to The Light House Cafe for dinner and drinks.

Thursday: Go to the grove to collect brunch food (and either eat there or go back home and have brunch at my apartment).
Horse riding by the Hollywood Sign and picnic at Lake Hollywood Park. Dinner at Musso and Frank Grill. Go to a movie at the IMAX cinema at the The Chinese Theatres (added bonus is the cemented hand prints from artists)

Friday: Grand Central Market. The Last Bookstore. Go to the The Messengers Art Gallery and potentially catch an exhibition.

Saturday: The Getty Villa Museum. Dinner at Chateau Marmont. The Roger Room. Whiskey A Go Go, The Viper Room, The Roxy Theatre (A night out on the town and a boujee end)

My favourite part of LA is the arts culture. Follow the art and you’ll find something incredible and definitely subscribe to the American Cinematheque. You don’t have to be a member to go to some of their screening and events.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
When I look at the support I’ve gotten, I look specifically at the people who’ve supported me when I wasn’t filming a film, winning an award, or being published. To believe in someone unwaveringly, especially when they have nothing to offer you is something that I have always thought is the testament of a truly good and kind person. I’ve been fortunate enough to have met of few of these people and organisations. Australians in Film, Friends of the Arts Foundation, my family, Violet Crasto, my agents at Kubler Auckland, Electra Rorie, Tim Ross, Beatrice Valek, Tom Morgan, Jacob Moran, Zoe Fishpool, Jake Moss, Joshua Evans, and most importantly, Daniel Crasto, my younger brother who makes sure I know every day that he’d fight someone for me. All these people have shown me that I don’t need to prove my worth or offer them anything in exchange for friendship, and because of that, I attribute all current and future success to them.

Website: https://www.thecolourseries.com.au/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecolourseries

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWUpNe7pg5FoppBSG1-Iolw

Image Credits
Red Headshot- Tim Ross Photography.