20 Years in Images: What I’ve Learned

When I look back at the past two decades, it feels like a film reel running at double speed: scenes of late nights on set, endless edits, festival screenings, client meetings, unexpected collaborations, and moments of silence where doubt felt louder than applause. Twenty years in images is both a lifetime and the blink of an eye.

The industry has changed drastically since I began. The tools are unrecognizable—what once required heavy equipment and weeks of work can now be attempted with a phone in your hand. Distribution, too, has shifted: screens have multiplied, attention has fragmented, and the way audiences engage with stories has transformed. Yet despite all of this, some lessons remain constant. Here are a few that have stayed with me.

1. Vision is stronger than technology

I’ve worked through endless “next big things”: new cameras, editing software, distribution platforms, algorithms that promised to change everything. Many of them did. But I’ve learned that tools amplify—they don’t replace. A strong vision can survive outdated technology, but the newest gadget cannot rescue a hollow idea.

2. Emotion is the universal language

Whether in a cinema hall, a small gallery, or a social media feed, what reaches people is not perfection—it’s emotion. A slightly shaky shot can move more than a flawless frame if it carries truth. Storytelling is, at its core, about resonance, not about technical polish.

3. Authenticity is rare, and therefore priceless

Audiences today are more skeptical than ever. They scroll past hundreds of images every day. They sense when something is staged, when a message is forced, when the voice is not genuine. Authenticity—being true to your own perspective, your own contradictions—is what cuts through the noise.

4. Collaboration is both fragile and essential

Cinema, art, communication—none of these are solitary crafts. Every project I’ve done has been a negotiation between visions: the director, the crew, the client, the audience. Collaboration is fragile because egos clash, but it is also essential because creativity multiplies when perspectives intersect. Learning when to fight for your vision, and when to let go, is an art in itself.

5. Change is the only constant

When I started, I couldn’t have imagined the role artificial intelligence would play in storytelling, or that festivals would one day stream films to audiences across the world. At times, change feels threatening, like a wave that might erase what you’ve built. But resisting it leads to paralysis. Embracing it—even cautiously—opens new doors.

Looking back, looking forward

After twenty years, I know less than I thought I did when I started. And that’s a good thing. Experience doesn’t mean certainty—it means being comfortable with uncertainty, and continuing to explore.

Images have been my language, my way of making sense of the world. They’ve taught me that beauty can be found in imperfection, that stories are bridges between strangers, and that no matter how much technology evolves, the need to feel and to connect remains.

The journey isn’t finished. If anything, it’s just beginning again, in a different form. And that, perhaps, is the greatest lesson of all: renewal is part of the creative cycle. You end one chapter, and you open another.

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