Joel Harris - Film-maker

Q: What inspires you and drives your work?
A: Being around other people who are really passionate about film. That energy pushes me toward new ideas—shorts, features, or even content for social media. For me, it’s always visual, always screen-based. The people who are out there making things are what inspire me most.

Q: Where do you see your trajectory heading?
A: I’ve just released some shorts that I’d been working on for ages, so now I feel ready for something bigger. I want to take a swing at a run-and-gun feature film. While building up to that, I’ll keep making shorts—sometimes with less pressure, maybe just for festivals or to share online. Ultimately, I want to create a body of film work, whatever form it takes.

Q: Is it hard to get established in the film community?
A: Not so much getting onto sets—it’s a pretty close-knit community, and you can get involved by helping, going to screenings, and meeting people. The real challenge is putting out your own work. That’s often a “you versus you” struggle—overcoming self-doubt and the fear of how others might judge what you’ve made.

Q: What challenges have you faced, and how have you worked to overcome them?
A: Recently, the biggest challenges have been mental. Editing my shorts took longer than I’d hoped. What helped was embracing collaboration—delegating parts of the process and feeding off the energy of motivated people around me. Isolation makes it hard; being surrounded by passionate collaborators makes it easy. Often, I don’t think about the finish line so much as the excitement of getting to work with people I admire.

Q: How do you manage distractions and stay focused on making?
A: I struggle with that. There are so many distractions—emails, admin, planning—that feel like doing the work but aren’t. The only real thing is actually doing the thing: being on set, filming, editing. I’ve learned that productivity comes from focusing on the creative act itself.