Success Stories: SEP'13 From Nanny, to Filmmaker...

Hi Stage32'ers. I've been a member on this site for almost 2 years now. I want to share a little bit of myself with you. Before I get started, I want to commend every single person who has a dream to be successful in this industry. It is hard, and I know so well what the struggle is like. Keep at it, believe in yourself. I graduated from LAMDA, a prestigious drama school in London, UK. Upon graduating, I moved back to Los Angeles (my hometown), to pursue my career as an actor and filmmaker. I'm in love with creating and performing. It is my drive, my passion, my love. I made a living as a nanny for several years. My goal was to get as close as possible to industry professionals, just to have a feel for what it's like to be "inside" of all the excitement. So I nannied, for quite a few families in the duration of 3 years. I was miserable. Even though I was meeting industry people left and right, it didn't matter, because I was "the nanny". I dealt with depression, thinking I would never achieve my dream. June of 2014, my 24th birthday. My friends were making names for themselves as "director", "actor", "writer" etc, and I was still, "nanny". For my birthday this year, I gave myself a gift. I took 10 whole days off of work, and did something I never thought I could do before. I went to Joshua Tree, which is the desert, in California. I enrolled in a mediation course, where I had to be in silence for 10 days. Craziness. I am Greek and Persian, so talking is all I knew. I went anyways. I sat in the desert for 10 days, reflecting on my life, and myself. Inside me, I felt a small inkling. This feeling told me, "Sophia, you are what you believe you are...", My dream is to make films, that's all. I came home, CHANGED, rejuvenated, self-loving, self-believing! I knew that the key to my success, was just to succeed. Stop dreaming, and DO! I quit my job as a nanny, the only form of income I was making. Within one week, I brought my crew together, and we made a film for the 48 Hour Film Festival, we won the Audience Choice Award. A week later, I got a call to direct a movie in Mississippi... I, Sophia Kiapos, was going to direct my first film. Not knowing WHAT I was getting myself into. "Olivia Martha Ilse" was the name of the project. The film was an adaptation on Anton Chekhov's, "Three Sisters". I was being flown out to Mississippi to direct a film. AND, they invited my entire crew from the 48 Hour Film Festival to partake on this wild opportunity. Below is the IMDB link to the film. It's now in post-production, and we are submitting it into every single film festival out there. I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to direct actors that I look up to. James Frain (Tron, The Tudors, Elizabeth), Tammy Blanchard (Blue Jasmine, Into The Woods, Bella), and Tonea Stewart (A Time To Kill). The moral of my story is, FOLLOW YOUR DREAM. TAKE RISKS. BELIEVE IN YOUR PURPOSE. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3908264/?ref_=nm_knf_t3 Now, Canyon Ranch Cinema is in the works of our third project, a horror film. You can also enjoy our short film for the 48 Hour Film Festival here: http://vimeo.com/105534926 -Sophia Kiapos sophiakiapos@gmail.com http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3017372/?ref_=tt_ov_dr