Victoria Bousis: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Content Creator
An Interview With Susan Johnston
Believe in yourself. Trust your gut. Hard work does pay off. Do good and it will come back to you. This is just the beginning.
As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Victoria Bousis.
Victoria started as a career prosecutor. Later as a producer for over a decade she transcended sociopolitical, and geographical barriers to bring powerful messages about the human experience to global audiences. Victoria followed technological advances, VR and narrative gaming to speak to future generations. Stay Alive My Son is her directorial debut.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
I am Greek-American from Chicago, raised in a very loving and inspiring family. I studied Law because I wanted to be there for the people that needed real justice. Later worked in the film industry as a producer for over a decade and lastly, became a director and created Stay Alive, My Son to impact audiences in aa 360 kind of way.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Ιn my 20’s, I started as a career prosecutor for the Attorney General of Illinois to bring justice to the disenfranchised. Later, as a producer for over a decade, I transcended social, political, and geographical barriers to bring powerful messages about the human experience to global audiences. I followed technological advances and embraced VR and narrative gaming to speak to future generations. In 2018, Victoria earned a Master’s in Media, Technology, and Innovation from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), converging cinema, gaming and neuroscience to deliver powerful character-driven stories to be experienced by audiences with agency. Stay Alive, My Son is my directorial debut.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your content creator career?
Meeting Pin Yathay in real life and then recreating him into a meta human. The project was inspired by his memoirs and honestly seeing this 80-year-old man posing for that purpose was the most interesting thing.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Genocide survivors. Refugees. Activists. Viewers. All these people motivate and inspire me to help bring stories forward through my work and shaped my views on important matters.
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?
My family and most importantly my mother — Eleni Bousis who always inspired me with her humanitarian actions and raised me to care about the people around me.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Always be grateful. I just feel grateful that I get to wake up every day and do what I love the most. Even more when it has an actual impact.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Can’t really share too much but some very interesting things are in the works. Recently my studio — UME collaborated with DressX and Dundas to create a Metaverse Fashion Show
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
I am literally proud of every aspect go my work. The proudest aspect though is the fact that it creates and impact and it aims to help families reunite.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
Believe in yourself. Trust your gut. Hard work does pay off. Do good and it will come back to you. This is just the beginning.
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?
I believe it is a mix of everything mentioned and more. I think the greatest impact though comes from the reaction of the viewers. The feelings they cannot hide.
You are a person of great influence. If you could spread an idea 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 prompt. :-)
Care about each other and act on it.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. 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? They might see this. :-)
With the Clooney Foundation for sure. I admire so much their work and think we can find ways to work together.
How can our readers further follow you online?
They can find me on instagram and twitter as @vicbousis and instagram @ume.xr and twitter @umestudios
About The Interviewer: Susan Johnston is a Media Futurist, Columnist as well as Founder and Director at New Media Film Festival®. The New Media Film Festival® — honoring stories worth telling since 2009, is an Award-winning, inclusive, and boundary-pushing catalyst for storytelling and technology. Susan was knighted in Rome in 2017 for her work in Arts & Humanity.
