Rising Star Angelena Bonet: “Follow your dream because you are passionate about the arts, not because you want to be famous”
My advice to anyone starting out in the entertainment industry is to follow your dream because you are passionate about the arts, not because you want to be famous. You need to live and breath the work and becoming an artist takes many years of honing skills and knowing who you are. The definition of success is a personal one and for me it’s about having the courage to follow my dream and put my heart into everything I do. Failure shouldn’t be something that is feared because trial and error, learning and growing is what it’s all about. Everyone makes mistakes but learning from them is key. I don’t doubt there are many “successful” people in Hollywood that are really miserable so defining success for yourself before you start out is imperative. I taught myself how to edit and do every aspect of film production because I absolutely love it and it’s handy to be self-sufficient and create your vision without relying on anyone else. If you do what you love you will never work a day in your life. Be prepared to work very hard for many years and know that it’s better to have attempted something than to regret that you didn’t later in life. Go for it and believe in yourself!
As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Angelena Bonet. Angelena is an Australian multi-award winning documentary filmmaker, singer-songwriter and humanitarian. She has created five documentary films, their original soundtracks and music videos plus two web series Heart Of The Matter and The Angelena Bonet Show. She writes, directs, edits and produces her work in their entirety, including co-writing and singing the soundtracks and describes it as “purely a labor of love”! Angelena’s work includes a documentary feature film tetralogy consisting of Angelena: Change The World, Angelena: Heart Of The Matter, Angelena: Light At The End Of The Tunnel and Angelena: Warrior Woman which are all available to rent and buy on Vimeo On Demand. She has also created a documentary short film Change The World, currently on the international film festival circuit, which recently screened in Canada, Sweden, South America and Asia. All her films feature the Original Music Soundtrack she co-wrote and sung from her heart and soul with her late fiancé, Erick Deeby. He had written and recorded instrumental pieces of music for her between 2005 and 2007, then suddenly and unexpectedly passed away three days after they got engaged in August 2007. She then wrote the lyrics and melody to his music after his devastating death and during her time of deepest grief. She wrote the album like chapters of a book and features songs such as Change The World, Tragic Fairytale and On My Way and cites the writing process as cathartic and organic. She promised her late fiancé whilst in a coma that someday, somehow she would finish their special project and she has kept her word. She moved to Toronto, Canada in early 2010 to continue her modelling career and worked as an actress and TV Host. Then on May 26, 2012 she was a victim of a violent sexual crime whereby she was kidnapped and gang-raped but miraculously survived the attempted murder in her homeland of Australia. Suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a consequence of the horrific attack, orchestrated by someone that she knew and trusted, she vowed to never be silenced and chose to stand up and speak out, not only for herself but for every other woman and girl. Angelena is proud to share her story and songs, which have won over 200 film festival awards worldwide thus far, including numerous ‘Best Inspirational Film’, ‘Best Social Justice Film’, ‘Best Original Soundtrack’ and ‘Best Music Video’ awards. She has also won the ‘Humanitarian Award’ at the Jane Austen International Film Festival in the U.K. and the ‘Human Spirit Award’ at the DOCS Without Borders Film festival in The Bahamas. Her highly successful documentary film Change The World recently had a market screening at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Her online talk show Heart Of The Matter won the Social Awareness Award (Award of Excellence) at the Vegas Movie Awards for the October 2020 Monthly Edition. She interviews inspiring women all around the world and from all walks of life. Her show is dedicated to having women’s voices heard and is available on YouTube. Angelena has been a Jury member for the past four years of The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and is a judge for the upcoming 40th Anniversary 2021 Australian Directors Guild (ADG) Awards being held on December 3. Her single On My Way from her multi-award winning original soundtrack, is being released worldwide on November 15 and will be available on iTunes, Amazon and all leading online music stores. From Australian international model to multi-award winning documentary filmmaker, singer-songwriter and humanitarian her message is one of peace, love and unity.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in Sydney, Australia in the suburbs and it was a very normal Aussie childhood. I am the youngest of five children and have a twin brother so there was always something happening! I loved reading as a child, and still do, and the long summers were spent in my backyard pool, at the beach and playing with my best friend, Karen, who lived next door. My father played double bass in a band when he met my mother and in my teens she was in the Sydney Philharmonia Choir so every Christmas the family would go to the Sydney Opera House to watch her sing. I had my grandmother’s piano in my bedroom and my great grandmother was an actress and dancer in the Royal D’Oyly Carte Opera Company that toured South Africa in the late 1800s, married a Director and had my grandfather there before returning to Sydney. Music and the arts are very much in my blood and was a huge part of my upbringing. I first appeared on national television at the age of four on a preschool show called Romper Room with my twin brother. It was filmed at Channel 7 Television Studios near where I lived and I remember having such a magical day. It no doubt had an impact on me. I began ballet lessons that same year and piano lessons at six. Dancing was my passion and I studied jazz and tap from the age of ten. I then continued my dance studies as well as singing and drama at The Australian College of Entertainment during high school. I loved school, particularly music and English classes and was a social butterfly! I then went to Business College at eighteen to study a Secretarial and Travel & Tourism course and was discovered at a hair salon that year and asked to model for a shoot that appeared in Vogue Australia. I then modelled part-time while studying and got my first office job as a secretary the following year. I signed with a top Sydney modelling agency at twenty and things just took off from there. The very next day I was booked on a television soap opera “Breakers” where they wrote me into the script and I was on that show, which aired in 50 countries, for the next two years. I was then on the cover with a ten page spread of the three biggest selling issues of ‘Inside Sport’ magazine and was named ‘The New Australian Supermodel’ on national news when I returned to Sydney after modeling in Milan. When I reflect on my upbringing I am very grateful to my parents for giving me such a loving and wonderful childhood, all the while instilling a strong work ethic and the importance of getting an education.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
It has been a very natural and organic journey for me and once I began professionally modelling it opened doors to dancing in music videos, acting in TV and Film and putting into practice all the skills I had honed growing up. I met Erick in my mid twenties and we spent so much time at his recording studio where I got to watch his bands record, mix the tracks and shoot music videos. I would go with him to buy recording gear too so I was absorbing it all and learning about the music industry. We began collaborating on our album a couple of years after we got together and he became my mentor. I really honed my songwriting skills and recording technique with him and developed as an artist. He wholeheartedly believed in me and knew my potential. When he passed away I was beyond devastated and suicidal. I was in such deep grief and shock because it was so sudden and only three days after we got engaged. I was also terrified of the intensity of the pain and how I was ever going to recover. I could never have imagined I would be writing the lyrics and melody to the instrumental pieces of music he had written for me with him gone. The music was my sole focus as I had promised him while he was in a coma that I would finish our project and having that promise to keep was what saved my life. I put pen to paper over the next few months and just wrote every word from my heart and I then realized that I was writing it like a book and the songs were chapters. As each song was written I noticed I was healing and my emotions were being given an outlet and I am extremely grateful to Erick for this magical gift because as much as I don’t like hearing myself say this, I don’t think I would be here without it. As I was healing I then felt strong enough to return to work and began modelling again. In early 2010 I then signed with a talent agent in New York and moved to Toronto, Canada. I fell in love with the city, the people and loved working in their TV and Film industry. I hosted the FIFA World Cup Show that year and was on an episode of the TV Series ‘Ghostly Encounters’. I came home in 2012 for a visit and six days later I was a victim of a horrific violent crime in Melbourne. Once again my life was turned upside down and I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the crime and had to also deal with the police investigation. This experience changed my life and today I can say for the better. It completely opened my eyes to the pain of this world and the cruelty that some human beings are capable of inflicting and also opened my heart with a feeling of immense compassion for all of us women who have suffered. To say I was disgusted with my perpetrators is an understatement and I’d never felt such rage. Once again I was suicidal and this time I really didn’t think I could go on. I also lost loved ones afterwards because of their denial as they too had been manipulated by the main perpetrator and that was when I decided enough was enough and I was going to go public with this injustice. I was told by one of my case workers at the time that sexual violence against women is a silent global epidemic and that 1 in 3 women and girls will experience some kind of abuse in their lifetime. I couldn’t bear to think of another woman going through the suffering I was experiencing and I felt a very strong desire in my heart to help other people. This was before the #MeToo movement began and no-one was talking about rape but I found my courage and made the commitment that I would not be silenced, nor would I own any shame for their behavior. I then began my humanitarian work in 2013 by aligning myself with ethical non-profit organizations that support women and girls. I believe that when we come together, with united voices, we can change the world. I started my production company Crystal Heart Productions when I returned to Toronto in September 2014 and I put all my energy into this. I was tired of the vacuous shows I kept seeing on television and wanted to channel my skills in front and behind the cameras into a show for women that had purpose and meaning. And that is how my vision for my talk show Heart Of The Matter was born. It was created from my heart to allow women to not just be seen but heard and in turn inspire each other. When I won the Social Awareness Award, the category that Vegas Movie Awards created after watching my show, I was truly touched because this project means so much to me. To contribute positively to society is what is really important to me. My journey has been very challenging and painful but also really beautiful and magical. I have gone with the flow and always followed my heart and woven my life into my art and I am very proud of what I’ve been able to overcome. My path is mine to walk and I am very excited to see what the future holds!
Can you tell us the most interesting story that has happened to you since you began your career?
I was in Los Angeles in 2008 and decided to go to a live taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno by myself. Jay came out before the show to warm up the audience and he asked if anyone wanted to come up on stage and say hello. I immediately put my hand up and he picked me to come up! I was so excited to meet him and we had an amazing rapport and I felt right in my element. He asked me what I did for a living and I told him I was a model and working on an album. He noted that I had an Australian accent and made reference to the late Steve Irwin, whom he had had on his show as a guest many times over the years. He then asked me to sing something so I sang one of my songs Downtown a cappella. I was then invited back to the show a few weeks later on my birthday and got to meet Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian U.K. star Ben Barnes. Feeling completely at ease with Jay on his set was another television appearance that had an impact on me.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I am super excited to be releasing On My Way on November 15! It was the second song I wrote and it’s about rebirth, hope and the power of love. It is a universal theme and very relevant with what the world is experiencing with the Covid19 pandemic. Now more than ever humanity needs hope and with the world reopening, this is the dawn of a brand new day and love helps us survive. People have really struggled throughout the pandemic and many have realized that connecting with our loved ones and our health are what is most important. I have been in lockdown in Sydney for the past four months and when we got out two weeks ago I decided that I wanted to release this song to uplift people’s spirits. I am also very much looking forward to resuming Heart Of The Matter and face to face interviews, rather than over Zoom. I miss that connection of being with the person I am interviewing and having that social interaction and energy exchange. I have been asked to be a judge for the Australian Directors Guild Awards being held on December 3. I’m so honored to be part of their 40th Anniversary Awards and am looking forward to seeing the amazing films in contention and being back on the red carpet with my peers. I also just wrapped Angelena: Warrior Woman, the fourth documentary feature film in my tetralogy series that chronicles my life from the very beginning. I have released all my films on Vimeo On Demand and will be available on Amazon Prime in early 2022.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
My advice to anyone starting out in the entertainment industry is to follow your dream because you are passionate about the arts, not because you want to be famous. You need to live and breath the work and becoming an artist takes many years of honing skills and knowing who you are. The definition of success is a personal one and for me it’s about having the courage to follow my dream and put my heart into everything I do. Failure shouldn’t be something that is feared because trial and error, learning and growing is what it’s all about. Everyone makes mistakes but learning from them is key. I don’t doubt there are many “successful” people in Hollywood that are really miserable so defining success for yourself before you start out is imperative. I taught myself how to edit and do every aspect of film production because I absolutely love it and it’s handy to be self-sufficient and create your vision without relying on anyone else. If you do what you love you will never work a day in your life. Be prepared to work very hard for many years and know that it’s better to have attempted something than to regret that you didn’t later in life. Go for it and believe in yourself!
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
In my song Change The World one of the lines toward the end says “why is it all about how we look?” I wrote those lyrics when I was a model and I still feel the same today. Being one of Australia’s successful models, particularly swimsuit and lingerie, I was constantly judged by my looks and I received both positive and negative treatment. It was a challenging time to navigate but luckily I was raised by loving parents who taught me equality, didn’t value me for my appearance and taught me self worth. My father encouraged my education and instilled in me a sense that I could be anything I wanted to be. My mother was a physiotherapist specializing in children with cerebral palsy and I remember going to her work as a six year old and when she introduced me to the children I could see the light in their eyes and how much they loved my mum. She told me they are just like me and everyone is just as special as each other. That truth has stayed with me ever since. I found the modeling world an interesting education and got to see how fickle people can be and the importance placed on physical beauty. My point of view hasn’t changed in time because I have always been that down-to-earth friendly Aussie girl who sees everyone as equal. The fashion industry gives us a very limited idea of what they consider to be beautiful. You can clearly see that when you watch a Victoria Secrets Show — all the models virtually look the same! And they represent about 1% of the global population but at the same time they dictate to women that this is the ideal. From my point of view, “physical beauty” isn’t what makes someone beautiful. I have met and worked with people who possess physical traits that magazines deem as desirable but when they have an attitude or see themselves above other people they immediately appear ugly. I’ve also seen the dangerous lengths some models resort to to lose weight and become a size 0. Let me tell you, it isn’t pretty. Inner beauty such as kindness and compassion for others is what shines through and makes someone glow and has nothing to do with age or ethnicity. When you only focus on someone’s skin, you miss an opportunity to connect with another human being sharing the planet with you. All of our journeys are sacred and need to be respected. I have met so many incredible people and it’s amazing what you can learn from them when you take the time to talk and listen to them. Everyone has a story, paths cross for a reason and life shouldn’t be taken for granted. I think many people may have learned that truth this year during the Covid19 global lockdown. Connecting with our family and friends is the most important thing and it has nothing to do with looking “perfect”! If society is to progress then we need to look past our appearance and see the person inside. No-one is better than anyone else. No sex, no race, no religion. Just respect everyone for who they are and this place will be amazing. Celebrating our uniqueness and individuality is something we should all be striving for across the board, not just in the Film and Television industry.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
The tips I would recommend to my colleagues to help them thrive is to do what makes your heart sing, purely for the joy of it. I completed four feature films, one short film, six music videos and two web series plus worked full time and traveled back and forth to North America in five years. The amount of work was just enormous but instead of being drained, like most people think I would have been, I was so energized by my creative and passionate work. Having a purpose and finding my voice to speak for women has been the biggest gift, as well as working on my music. While it’s important to take care of yourself with good nutrition, exercise and rest, it’s also imperative you surround yourself with happy, positive people that support you. It’s about finding a genre and project that resonates with you and makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning. Otherwise, what’s the point?!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Creating Change The World and inspiring people around the world and touching their hearts is a wonderful gift that I am very grateful for. I have deep compassion for myself and every other woman who has suffered sexual violence and I am honored to use my voice for good and speak for those who can’t. My spirit couldn’t be silenced and to now be heard in every country is something so special and is very hard to describe. When I look back at what I have endured and the miracle of surviving the murder attempt to now winning these special awards is something I could never have imagined would happen! I vowed to make a stand and leave this world a better place than I found it and I am committed. Women are now finding their voice and self-worth and it is fabulous to see. I feel future generations will look back at this point in time with fascination, shock, and dismay and also awe at the courage women have shown by standing up and speaking out about the injustices and violence they have suffered since time immemorial. The social fabric is changing and I’m hopeful the momentum will continue and begin to move more quickly. I see the future in a positive light. I believe change is possible and that we are at the dawn of a new day. As more and more women are in leadership positions, the world will naturally become a more inclusive one and love will become the focus again. Violence will no longer be a silent global epidemic, all girls will receive an education, and helping others will become our primary goal. We have set the wheels in motion to ensure future generations have a safer and more equal world. My message is one of peace, love and unity and being an example of how to turn tragic into magic is the legacy I am creating.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have been blessed to have had many great people in my life and teachers over the years but the one person that I am most grateful for helping me get to where I am today is Erick. He changed my life and enriched it in such positive ways. To have unconditional love is a rare thing on this planet and I don’t take that for granted. He knew my potential, he believed in me and I love the tunes he wrote for me. When he passed away I got to see how strong I really was and had to finish our project on my own. I was pushed so far out of my comfort zone and have since grown and learned so much about myself. Once again I got to put in practice all that I had learned from him in the studio and producing my album on my own at Trackdown, Fox Studios was definitely an experience I will never forget. I wanted to make him proud and complete our project and keep my promise. And I have!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote is one I coined a few years ago — “Turn Tragic Into Magic”! I have lived this mantra twice and I highly recommend it to anyone who is living through a tragedy. Life is wonderful and it’s also difficult at times but we always have a choice as to where we put our focus. The tragic and magic co-exist so do not be afraid of your emotions as they are your teachers and a natural response to loss, trauma and pain. We are human and life does not travel on an even, straight path. It’s about finding your balance and harmony with fear and love. We are here to evolve and that usually happens through our trials. When you embrace all your experiences your life becomes magical!
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would really love to have a private lunch with Enya. I have loved her since I first heard Orinoco Flow and while Erick was in a coma I had my iPod and put one earbud in his ear and the other in mine as I lay next to him on life support. I played her album Paint the Sky with Stars over and over for the week to bring us both peace and serenity during the worst time in my life. He passed away while On My Way Home played and of course I chose to have it played at his funeral. I would love to meet her in person to say a huge heartfelt thank you for her magical, healing music that soothed my soul during that excruciating time and brought peace to Erick in his final moments here on Earth.
How can our readers follow you online?
Website — https://www.angelenabonet.com
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/angelenabonet/
YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAngelenaBonetShow
Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/angelenabonetofficial
Vimeo On Demand — Change The World
iTunes — https://music.apple.com/us/artist/angelena/79166872
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
