Meet Sophie Pegrum | Documentary Film Director & Cinematographer

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

Hi Sophie, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
If you are passionate about the film you are making and it truly has merit, you always keep going. Sometimes you may stop a project and pick it up years later. Or see it as a stepping stone to some other wonderful story that you want to tell. As a documentary filmmaker, and an artist there really is no such thing as giving up. Life has a multitude of paths. In terms of finding grants and funding, or being accepted to film festivals or finding distribution for a film, I get so many rejections on a daily basis that giving up is just not viable. I have to accept that rejection is simply another signpost to remind me to keep going! Sometimes, giving up an idea simply means a better one is waiting in the ether.

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 am really happy that my last documentary film “Wings of Kyrgyzstan” about the semi-nomads and maverick horsemen of this little-known country in Central Asia had a broadcast in France and Germany earlier this year and is now being invited to some wonderful film festivals here in the US and abroad. It’s one of a series of documentary films I’ve made about humankind and horses. I love working in the field, meeting people, listening to their stories, learning about their lives. Filming horses is like filming gods. I love being out in the middle of nowhere with the wind howling or the snow falling with the instrument of my camera. I’ve learned to go with the flow and trust that something good and different is around the corner. Even when everything seems to go against you. The more I travel, the more I believe that the best things in life are right in front of us. The bird singing in the tree in the morning, the man humming to himself at the bus stop, the way the light filters through an old curtain in a remote hut on a mountainside. Was it easy to get here professionally? That question begs another question – where am I professionally? As artists there is no end goal. Each work and gesture stands both alone and also as part of a continuum.

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?
The Santa Monica Mountains are a touchstone. I’d start here with a brisk hike to a spot where we could soak in the full vista, from downtown to Malibu and out to the islands. A visit to the Old Place near Malibou lake for breakfast where I’d sit at the bar and drink coffee and order that insane cinnamon bun. Drive along Mullholand past Paramount and Gilette Ranch early in the morning when the marine layer is flowing over the mountains. I’d pick up some tasty veggie Indian food at India Sweets and.Spices and browse through all their aisles of wondrous spices and naughty chocolate biscuits. The beach is a must – I like Topanga beach as you can run through the tunnel and have lunch at Thai Cholada while it manages to stay open. I love Taverna Tony in Malibu and Paradise Cove is a fun spot for visitors. Got to get in a gelato at Grom too. The Getty – I love both of them. Topanga Canyon is fun for shopping and a must is a visit to the bookshop at Inn of the Seventh Ray to fully soak in the esoterica.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m so blessed in my life to have a circle of incredible humans who both challenge and champion me. There are two special women that I want to give a special shoutout to. Candacy Taylor works harder than anyone I know and is so incredibly inspiring to me. Her recent book “Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America” was an immense labor of love. She drove hundreds of thousands of miles to document and tell the story of black mobility and culture through the lens of the Green Book and is also producing a related exhibition with the Smithsonian, a Children’s Book and a walking tour app. And she’s done it with grit, determination and brilliance. Jen Miller is a longtime friend and my partner in crime in our production company – Horsefly Films. We’ve travelled to so many places making films and photographs – fulfilling our passion to tell stories and creating a host of wonderful memories together. She’s a razor sharp wit, an amazing mother, writer and photographer and I count her amongst the most influential people in my life. They are both bad-ass trail blazers. Lucky me.

Website: sophiepegrum.com
Instagram: sophiediapegrum

Image Credits
Sophie Dia Pegrum, Miranda Morton Yap, Gulkaiyr Ismailova