Runyararo Mapfumo has a resume dotted with impressive collaborators: BBC, BFI, and Google Arts, to name a few. But the London-based filmmaker is no stranger to scrappy productions. “We started out guerilla filmmaking,” she says. “I was writing projects that I knew we’d be able to make without any money and really limited resources. It was a way of telling the stories that I wanted to tell, but making sure that we’re actually able to do it.”  After getting her start shooting film on the fly with her sister, Runyararo now releases work under the moniker of her production company DessyMak, including the stand-out short “Masterpiece.” A charming comedy about a group of young men trying to interpret their friend’s art, “Masterpiece” nabbed a Vimeo Staff Pick and helped solidify Runyararo as a filmmaker on the rise.  We had a chance to sit down with Runyararo to hear more about how she embraces collaboration, what advice she has for aspiring filmmakers, and how she uses Vimeo tools throughout her creative process. 

Tell us how you got started as a filmmaker.

“I started as a filmmaker through drama first, when I was a kid. I got onto a couple of sets and worked out that there’s people actually behind the camera. I was always much more interested in what that side of filmmaking is like. When I got older, I really fell in love with the writing and directing. I went to university and I studied film and visual effects. I’ve always loved films that have those visual effects elements as part of the story.”

What would you say is the most rewarding part of making a film?

The most rewarding part of making a film is definitely the relationships that I build with all of the people that I’m working with, whether that’s cast or crew. And I think for me that’s always really important, to make sure that we have a great mix of people who I feel like I can work with creatively, but also who I enjoy being around. You get a real sense of community building when you’re doing something like a film. Having that mix of personalities of people who have the same interests as you, but bring something completely different, that’s the part that I really love.

What is the most challenging part of making a film?

It’s just getting the resources. Whether that’s the funding or, in some cases, just time. You never really feel like you have enough of one or the other. And you do still get lots of rejection. I know that people say that a lot, but you have to really push through.

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?

Just keep moving. Whether it’s success or whether it’s disappointment and failure, don’t dwell on it for too long. Have some time to enjoy a moment or just acknowledge your disappointment and then just keep it moving.

What’s your advice for choosing strong collaborators? 

I think it’s really important to know why you want to work with a particular person. Otherwise, you find yourself in a position where creatively maybe you’re just not speaking the same language and that can be really difficult. In terms of working with new collaborators, I just pull sources from different places and have a general feeling of what I would like a project to be like. That other person will usually work within that, and give out different ideas or give me their thoughts on it. Try to find people who are doing something that you’re excited about rather than pulling a creative person in and that’s not what their taste or their set of skills are.

When did you join Vimeo? 

I joined Vimeo in 2012. I joined when I was still at university and that was my way of uploading the projects that I was working on. I chose to upload my work onto Vimeo because I actually go onto Vimeo a lot to view projects as well. I love the Staff Picks, and there are quite a few channels that I really keep an eye on and enjoy watching. So I just wanted to keep everything concise and I find it actually really easy to use. It’s very simple, to the point.

Why do you showcase your work on Vimeo?

I just really liked the way that it looks. I think it’s really neat, really simple, and I’m always just looking for something that’s not too distracting. I found that being on Vimeo it’s really easy to share, and embedding links has been really simple.

How do you use Vimeo in your work? 

I use password protected links to share my work with different people. So usually I will just create a Vimeo link, have a password, and then I can send that across without having to send across huge files. And that seemed really simple and really helpful in sharing my work with people. That’s been a massive time saver.

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