Award-winning director David Olson taught himself film editing while he was still finishing high school and began filmmaking at only 17. And now, this self-made filmmaker is out to take the regional and international film festivals by storm through his thought-provoking works.
As a self-taught artist, Olson hadn’t been exempted from facing a rough and steep path before getting to where he is now. Problems concerning financial, educational, and emotional matters were among the significant challenges he had to go through for starting from scratch. But with burning determination and support from his peers, “I started out with no fallback and I’m still around today with no fallback”, he told POP!.
The young director has a good portfolio to his name, having previously worked on a wide variety of high-profile commercials such as Pepsi, Guess, and Volvo, as well as music videos of up and coming Filipino acts such as Mica Javier and Keiko Necesario, but film seems to take first place in his heart.
Earlier in his filmmaking career, Olson–who calls himself a junkrat filmmaker–worked as the Director of Photography and editor of the documentary The Price of Truth and the film Makeover. The latter has been presented at international film festivals such as the Hollywood Golden Age Film Festival in the USA, Florence Film Awards in Italy, Berlin Short Awards in Germany, and Venice Shorts in the USA, where he bagged the prestigious Best Editor award.
Olson then began unleashing his great directing potential through his critically acclaimed film The Dust In Your Place. Manifesting his interest in stories that delve into social psychology, this drama film told the story of a comic strip artist and his writer on the verge of having their separate ways over relationship conflicts. Unsurprisingly, he was able to present it in various distinguished film festivals, including the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Cannes Worlds Film Festival in France, Berlin International Art Film Festival in Germany, Naples Film Awards in Italy, and the HALO International Film Festival in Russia, where he won Best Director and Best Drama awards.
When asked further about his interest in stories that touch on the mentioned scientific study, he told POP! that it provides him the ability to expand his artistic horizon. By locating himself in the unique qualities and circumstances of his characters, he was able to go beyond just his personal experiences. “Having somewhere else to draw from just adds to your arsenal as a writer”, he said.
Currently, Olson is furthering his journey through a film written and directed by himself titled Living in the Dead of Night. Appearing to stay true to his interest in stories that delve into the complex human life, this one is a neo-noir coming-of-age film following the story of Hunter, a sheltered teenager finding his place in a strange and sleepless metropolis.
Our very own Zushmita “Sushi” Diaz, INQUIRER.net’s Community Engagement Specialist, is part of the cast, appearing as one of the wild girl characters in the film.
For his upcoming projects, Olson said he was preparing concepts that he intends to shoot next year with Cutaway Productions. “Some [are] written by me, and some are scripts from writer friends”, he disclosed. Moreover, he also mentioned plans to create another short film this year and focus more on the festival, which would feature it and his current film.
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