-Who is Joseph Kusic?

Oh God, it’s a very existential question. um, I guess you can say a dreamer. I mean, that’s all anyone is really, being a storyteller and wanting to be one professionally means that you have to keep dreaming. Some people say that dreams are our brains getting rid of useless things, I don’t think so, dreams for me are the stories that I haven’t told yet. So, yeah, a dreamer. 

–What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

What inspired me to get into filmmaking was that, I remember when I was younger, before I could read, I learned how to work the remote. Even though I was really young my parents allowed me to watch the extended cut of Lord of the Rings, and the DVDs had extra discs, so, not knowing any better and not being able to read the disc, I just put it into the player and I hit the first thing that came up. It turned out to be the behind the scenes of The Lord of the Rings. Since then I’ve been obsessed with the filmmaking process and have been wanting to make films ever since. 

–Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?

I do think cinema can bring a change to society as much as it is a reflection of society. You look at the movies in the early 2,000’s and compare them to films today and they are very much a reflection of the time they were made in. I do think movies also can change a person for the better after watching a certain movie, because that film can speak to them. If a film teaches a good lesson, who knows, maybe that film has influenced a future leader. My hope is that it changes things in smaller ways, by that I mean that if one person has left the cinema with a better attitude than the one they had going in, or if it influences them and speaks to a person and helps them become a better person. Then that person has become a better person for society. 

–What would you change in the world?

What would I change in the world? I don’t know, it’s a tough question, and as a filmmaker, sometimes you feel as if the world is on your shoulders, because I think every storyteller can attest to this, we see so much. We tell stories of triumph, heartache, joy etc… My thinking is that you can only change the world after reflecting and changing yourself. If more people valued their worth and their wellbeing instead of focusing on what everyone else is doing, then maybe, just maybe the world would be a better place. It’s like what Tolkien said “If the world valued good food, above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier place.” 

–Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?

I think the film industry is changing for the better, now, where will it be in 100 years? I have no idea to be honest. I do think that the tools for filmmaking are becoming more accessible by the day and in 100 years it will be so easy for young filmmakers to achieve high quality shots or vfx to rival that of studio films on not even half the budget, but way less.