If filmmaking were simply the execution of something that already existed perfectly inside the director’s head, then perhaps the people around the director could be interchangeable. But I do not believe they are. The collective resonance of the actor and crew establishes a soul to the cinema.
I would like young directors to understand that leadership does not require worship. I would like film sets where collaboration replaces hierarchy, where respect replaces fear, and where women are encouraged not only to appear in front of the camera but also to shape what happens behind it.
It is often the person of colour who has to bring up colonialism in the room. To name racism even when it makes everyone uncomfortable. To remind people that representation is not neutral, and that curiosity does not absolve power.