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Determination and perseverance has always been in my nature, according to my mother. She would tell the story of me at three years old, jumping into the deep end of the pool, dog paddling and barely keeping my head above water looking at her screaming, “Mom, I can manage!” So it’s not surprising I ended up in a creative field, which some days feels like the deep end of a swimming pool, still clinging on to the same mantra – I can manage.
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Hannah Hamza |
“Surround yourself with the risk takers, storytellers, creators, truth seekers, artists, adventurers and dream makers, but mostly surround yourself with the people who draw that same magic out of you.”
- aNOnYMOUS
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A neighborhood play was where I got my first shot at writing and directing. It was, in fact, my birthday so I decided I would create a play and cast all of my birthday attendees. It was a brilliant plot to make sure I was at the helm of the production, because you just can’t boot the birthday girl. Thankfully, the play was my first creative endeavor and not my last.
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My love of storytelling flourished into a full-time career shortly after college when I heard about the chance to be on Steven Spielberg’s new reality show “On the Lot.” It was like “American Idol” for filmmakers. At 23, I was just young enough to believe “why not me” and I set my mind on my mantra. I wrote and directed the war film, “Fire in Fallujah” set in Iraq, but in our case, we shot in a rock quarry in North Carolina. Out of 12,000 applicants I was selected as a participant and was on my way to Hollywood.
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I was not catapulted into instant fame. It was more of a slow and steady creative hustle working as a producer’s assistant, writer’s assistant, development assistant, I basically assisted anyone I could. I honed my skills at rolling calls, and I paid my dues. The struggle was real, but so was my passion to tell stories that could impact the world.
Creativity fueled me even when I experienced tremendous loss, like losing my mother to cancer. I was determined to live on purpose with purpose. So I quit my assistant job and did what I came to Hollywood to do – make films. I started a three-year journey of adapting the novel Kaffir Boy into a screenplay, raising the funds for the film and being bonded to direct my first feature at the age of twenty-six. |
“Life is about the journey not the destination”, could not be truer when I think about my creative career. I thought directing Kaffir Boy was my end destination, but instead I took a major detour in the form of a three-year battle with Lyme disease.
My mom used to say, “Easy lives don’t make great stories, but we’re all called to have a great story.” I‘ve clung to this truth, that my life is just one big story and all of the personal and professional obstacles are just part of it – part of shaping my character and my art. Pain and compassion have indeed informed me as an artist and advocate. I’ve had the privilege of living in countries, like Thailand and Greece, serving in refugee camps and documenting stories of heartbreak and hope.
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Marketing has been another amazing detour. As a creative director, I’m involved in ALL things creative – strategic content planning, shaping concepts, solving client challenges, molding stories, directing branded content, pushing design and, of course, collaborating with a super talented multidisciplinary team for brands like SAS, IBM, Spectrum Enterprise and GE. I've sharpened my storytelling chops to be able to blur the lines between “traditional” marketing and modern film making to become a brand ambassador who strives to tell bigger, bolder, braver brand stories that engages an audience across any medium.
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Every experience shapes you as a creative and becoming a mother was no different. Once I came through the sleepless fog of the first year, I felt like all of my creativity was gone. My inner critic was so intense, “Was I good enough? Could I handle motherhood and a career? Were my creative ideas ever coming back?” The fear was real, especially because my livelihood depended on my creativity. Then I read something by Brené Brown. Vulnerability, she suggested, was the key. Could I be vulnerable? Could I tap into this new experience and find new ideas, better stories, and new ways of seeing the world? I was in the deep end of the pool, telling myself I can manage – and then I did.
In addition to being a director, I’ve become a creative evangelist, inspiring and mentoring teams of creatives and marketers to face their fears and learn how to tell bigger, bolder, braver stories. I’ve had the opportunity to speak and teach about storytelling at conferences like Content Marketing World and Marketing Profs, and I continue to coach individuals on their creative journey. |
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