Watch

Filmmaker from Kenya Shares His Motivation

Creator:
Published:
March 27, 2024
March 26, 2019
Listen to how this award-winning filmmaker answers 'why people create films?' as he defines what motivates him.|Listen to how this award-winning filmmaker answers 'why people create films?' as he defines what motivates him.

Tony Koros is an award-winning filmmaker and television writer. He shares how he overcame his fear of disappointment and learned to trust God and himself.

"What I've been saying to myself lately is, 'perfect love drives out fear' — and that's a useful sentence in almost any situation," he shares.

Video Transcript

From Kenya to New York City: Tony is an award-winning filmmaker and television writer.

Tony Koros: What I love to do is present Kenyans the way I know them — beautiful, complex, and angry, and fun, and silly, and mean, and just full, complex human beings whose stories deserve to be told.

There's always a moment when I'm writing when I'll feel like things are just like magic and everything is coming out of me and I'll read it back and I'll go, "This is horrible."

It's very rewarding to get to the end of that journey — to feel like I stuck it out and I told a good story. My most recent film is called Tithes and Offerings.

Actor and actress exchanging lines in a film, with some words in Swahili:

Ah my sister, how are you?

I'm fine, thank you.

You look lovely today.

Thank you, pastor.

The glory of the Lord, eh?

Yes.

Welcome, welcome.

Tony: What I've been saying to myself lately is that perfect love drives out fear, and that's a useful sentence in almost any situation. But for a long time, I feel like I was driven by fear — fear of disappointing people, fear of writing badly, fear of trusting God, trusting myself.

Actor and boy speaking in Swahili in a film.

Tony: My faith influences my work and the choice of stories I tell, and I love to be able to include images of beauty in my work. We don't get enough of that, and I feel like it's necessary. Because many times you won’t be able to communicate your faith through your very well-reasoned arguments; or you could, but that just won't have the same emotional impact as just an image of beauty that you find in the world.

I write because of the people who helped me get here. I write because of the stories I'm telling. And sometimes I write because it's all I am trying to do. There you go.

Creators:
Grotto
Published:
March 27, 2024
March 26, 2019
On a related note...
Why I'm Catholic: God Loves Me

Why I'm Catholic: God Loves Me

Grotto

3 Times Commitment Makes the Biggest Difference

3 Times Commitment Makes the Biggest Difference

Isaac Huss

What’s on the Other Side of Our Fear?

What’s on the Other Side of Our Fear?

Meghan Franklin

Time for a Raise? Here’s How to Go About Asking

Time for a Raise? Here’s How to Go About Asking

Aldrin Nacu

3 Things New Managers Should Learn to Say Often

3 Things New Managers Should Learn to Say Often

Ben Wilson

We’re Not That Different

We’re Not That Different

Katie Ekblad Traver

‘Real+True’ — A New Platform Bringing Depth to Your Feed

‘Real+True’ — A New Platform Bringing Depth to Your Feed

Grotto Shares

The Power of a Simple Haircut

The Power of a Simple Haircut

Grotto

Jesus' Favorite Podcast EP 6: Feeding Faith with Kevin Gillespie

Jesus' Favorite Podcast EP 6: Feeding Faith with Kevin Gillespie

Ebony Moxey, Javi Zubizarreta

The Cannonball That Created a Saint — and Changed Catholicism

The Cannonball That Created a Saint — and Changed Catholicism

Mike Jordan Laskey

Preparing for a Job Interview? These Improv Skills Can Help

Preparing for a Job Interview? These Improv Skills Can Help

Anna White

How to Be More Productive in the Age of Information Overload

How to Be More Productive in the Age of Information Overload

Josh Flynt

8 Ways We Can Join the Fight to Help the Earth

8 Ways We Can Join the Fight to Help the Earth

Lauren Fritz

What I Gained By Seeking Out a Mentor

What I Gained By Seeking Out a Mentor

Andrew Mentock

4 Creative Ways to Stay in Touch with Friends Post-College

4 Creative Ways to Stay in Touch with Friends Post-College

Mariah Cressy

My Hands Were Made to Serve

My Hands Were Made to Serve

Chelsea Kau

"Brief Encounters of the Jesus Kind"

"Brief Encounters of the Jesus Kind"

Marjorie Maddox

Sit, Stand, Kneel: A Guide to Catholic Mass

Sit, Stand, Kneel: A Guide to Catholic Mass

Grotto

Road Trip These Pilgrimage Destinations

Road Trip These Pilgrimage Destinations

Mary Frances Myler

Actor Hasn't Forgotten His Immigrant Roots

Actor Hasn't Forgotten His Immigrant Roots

Grotto

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.