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...
The El Paso Pilgrimage

The El Paso Pilgrimage

Grotto

Uncovering the Untold History of Black Nuns in the US

Uncovering the Untold History of Black Nuns in the US

Grotto Shares

How to Have a Happy Thanksgiving This Year

How to Have a Happy Thanksgiving This Year

Grotto

8 Pay-It-Forward Ideas You Can Do on a Budget

8 Pay-It-Forward Ideas You Can Do on a Budget

Jessie McCartney

5 Tips for Dealing with the Restlessness of Adulthood

5 Tips for Dealing with the Restlessness of Adulthood

Mary Cunningham

Cocktail Recipes for the Bud Light Drinker

Cocktail Recipes for the Bud Light Drinker

Isaac Huss

Conversion of St. Paul Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Conversion of St. Paul Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

Memento Mori: How Remembering Our Death Helps Us Live

Memento Mori: How Remembering Our Death Helps Us Live

Jacqueline Rose

Free Download: 3 Nourishing and Budget-Friendly Recipes

Free Download: 3 Nourishing and Budget-Friendly Recipes

Hannah Chartier, Grotto

Reviving the Ancient Art of Stained Glass

Reviving the Ancient Art of Stained Glass

Grotto

How One Father Held onto Faith in Hard Times

How One Father Held onto Faith in Hard Times

Migs Mignanelli

"Bike Man" Has Kept His Community Moving for Decades

"Bike Man" Has Kept His Community Moving for Decades

Grotto

How I Learned the Value of Meaningful Work

How I Learned the Value of Meaningful Work

Isaac Huss

Why I'm Actually Excited About Lent This Year

Why I'm Actually Excited About Lent This Year

Isaac Huss

Gold Medalist Bobsledder Speaks on Importance of Faith

Gold Medalist Bobsledder Speaks on Importance of Faith

Grotto Shares

Marine Restorer Educates and Inspires Children

Marine Restorer Educates and Inspires Children

Grotto

Good and Decent EP 15: Occupation Proclamations

Good and Decent EP 15: Occupation Proclamations

Grotto

How Welcoming Interruption Can Impact Your Life

How Welcoming Interruption Can Impact Your Life

Jessica Mannen Kimmet

You are Wonderfully Made | #GrottoMusic

You are Wonderfully Made | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

I'm 25 and Nearly Broke — Does Tithing Apply to Me?

I'm 25 and Nearly Broke — Does Tithing Apply to Me?

Andrew Mentock

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

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