Meet Van Ditthavong | Filmmaker

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

Hi Van, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
When I was 18 years old I didn’t have the courage to pursue what I really wanted to in college, but instead I stuck it out and got a business degree. Even though I secretly pined to be the next Emily Dickinson, Charles Bukowski, or Edgar Allen Poe – I knew the realities and blamed it on circumstance, laziness and wishful thinking. When I was 25 years-old I didn’t have the passion, so I quit my corporate job and spent the next decade trying to find it – working as a busboy, a floral designer’s assistant, a men’s magazine writer, a delivery person, a caretaker, and then an editorial photographer. My path was getting clearer and clearer as I discovered that creating visual stories was like writing poetry – it was all based on rhythms, compositions, message, and living life. I was moving towards a purpose and it felt great. When I was 34 years old I finally didn’t have the fear, so I woke up one day and told my wife I wanted to make movies. Even though I didn’t know how to make a film, I knew I had something to say and that’s all that mattered. I would spend the next decade working on storytelling and screenwriting, hoping to become a better filmmaker but knowing I had found my calling. So here I am today, a refugee from Laos who at 44 years old directed my first feature film titled ALL ROADS TO PEARLA which was released by Gravitas Ventures. I also started my own production company goPOP FILMS and I’m actively developing + writing more scripts to produce and direct.

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 an intuitive filmmaker and rely a lot on “feeling.” I follow my gut more than my intellectual or rational side. That’s how I feel I can establish the tone of my films and adapt to challenges better. I’m attracted to aesthetics and performances that help heighten reality and showcase emotionally damaged people. This guides my stylistic choices, blending genres if needed. Creating stories through strong visuals and wild imaginations – I want my films to be raw and heavy like oil paint. Dripping with Love and Pain.

However, I think pursuing anything creative and trying to make it a sustainable career involves a bit of delusion, a lot of perseverance, and weird determination to keep any momentum you generate alive and going. There are a lot of chances to quit in this industry. And a lot of voices that want to make you stop, including your own. But there’s really no one way to go about it. Everyone has their own process and motivations, and hopefully in the end you don’t turn something you love into an albatross.

In the end, I am very grateful for all the experiences that I have had – good and bad because life has taught me a few things – be thankful for the present day, be relentless in your pursuit of learning, and be nice.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Day 1 – Lunch in Thai Town Day 2 – Hiking at Griffith Park
Day 3 – Drinks at Club Tee Gee in Atwater Village
Day 4 – Dinner at Smokehouse in Burbank
Day 5 – Coffee at Alcove in Los Feliz
Day 6 – Driving along the PCH
Day 7 – Sushi Dinner in Little Tokyo

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?
I am lucky to have two women in my life who continually help push and guide me through with their support. One is my mother. She loved the best things in life: family, cooking and sports. If my dad was a dreamer, she was the doer. She got things done. Unfortunately she lost her battle with breast cancer 16 years ago. I was her caregiver for her last 4 months and our relationship really grew close during that time. She taught me a valuable lesson: Life can be wonderful and cruel but life is beautiful, warts and all. Sometimes I feel like I’m living for two people, so I try to soak in everything even if I don’t want to. The other person that I owe a tremendous amount to is my wife. I am fortunate and grateful to find a partner who is just as crazy, adventurous and offbeat as I am. Her curiosity and thirst for learning is contagious, but her capacity to understand and empathize is what makes her unique. Plus, she puts up with all my kooky ideas with a smile.

Website: gopopfilms.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanditthavong/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VANditthavong