Today we’d like to introduce you to Connor Hester.
Hi Connor, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
All my life I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker, even if I didn’t understand the concept until later on in life. Since I was young, I was always making stories with my action figures or imagining scenes in my head while listening to music in the car on long trips.
When I was doing this as a kid, for some reason I would imagine an audience watching the stories I was creating and imagining their reactions, which is interesting for me to think about now as an adult. The pieces were there but I didn’t think about becoming a filmmaker or what that was to be one – but the instinct was with me for some reason.
I didn’t realize that’s what I wanted to do in life until the eighth grade when I moved to Savannah, Georgia. Savannah surrounded me with a cool art scene and artists of all kinds, along with a beautiful setting for me to be inspired by. One of my first weeks in Savannah, I went by Blockbuster video and rented Taxi Driver and A Clockwork Orange because I heard they were really violent films.
Movie violence seemed exciting as a kid, and though I’ve grown out of that now, I’m glad it led me to these films. After going through this double feature I had a completely different idea of what film was and what it could do. That night I decided I would dedicate the rest of my life to film. I wanted to experience all of it and absorb all of the greats and hopefully become one of the greats.
That ego-driven desire to be one of the masters has diminished now that I’m older, but I do want to contribute completely original work to the world of film and the world at large. I wish to inspire people not just about film, but about life and what it means to be alive.
Something like that…
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Well, I’m still on the road and still not where I want to be and may never get there.
But I’m okay with that. I ultimately want to make a living doing this and for more people to see my work, but regardless I’m going to keep creating. The road is constantly changing terrain.
It’ll be smooth for a while and then I’ll hit a lot of bumps. I’ve definitely had big failure and will probably fail again, but I welcome failure now and accept it as fate. I try to look at failure and flip my perspective on it to learn from it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have primarily seen myself as a filmmaker, but have started creating in many different mediums now. I don’t want to sound pretentious, but I may just call myself an artist to include the broad spectrum of the content I choose to create.
I love creating film of any kind: long-form, short form, comedy shorts, documentaries, music videos, and even some animation. I also have a music project called Nahstalgic which I started in 2019 and have been releasing music every year since, so that has become a great passion of mine as well. I also find great joy in film photography and have that as an extensive hobby.
I like to think that my work itself sets me apart from others. I try not to create from influence or to copy something. Sometimes influences seep into my projects in a distorted way because they’ve become something I love so much that it’s a part of me and so I may put my spin or perspective on it.
But overall I’m just expressing myself. Whatever that is. What excites me in film, what sounds good to my ears, whatever makes me laugh, etc. My perspective is different from anyone else’s. Everyone’s perspective is and should be different. So it’s just creating from that unique perspective and expressing myself.
That’s why I enjoy doing it, showing my point of view in life.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
One very notable mentor in my life was my Audio/Visual teacher in high school, Patrick Means. He had a big impact on my confidence as a filmmaker and just as a person in general. He gave me many great opportunities that helped build my skills in film and just express myself as a young kid.
He helped me believe in myself as he believed in my dream and what I was creating, but he also pushed me to work harder at it. I look back on my experience as his student now that I’m older and realize how much he helped and inspired me.
There are very few teachers and even just human beings like that. Someone that is so selfless and puts full belief in you and wants to truly help. I think it’s special when you are at that age and have an adult-like that to really push you to be the best version of yourself.
My sister Katie has also been a tremendous supporter of me and what I’m doing and want to do in life. She’s helped me greatly in so many different ways I can’t even put it into words.
I also want to mention my friend and frequent creative collaborator, Sanders Stephens. He’s the collaborator I have the most fun working with. Whenever he acts out stuff that I’ve written or that we’ve written together, he just brings it to life and turns it into something else that’s always fascinating to watch. It inspires me each time we do something. That’s why I keep working with him and writing stuff for him. I hope to keep working with him for a long time. I think we’re on similar paths and share the same level of passion for them.
Aside from those people other supporters would be some of my various friends and collaborators: Rita Jia, Dillon Cronan, Garett Cummings, and Jason Chapman. I’ve worked with all of them on various projects and they inspire and interest me as people and artists.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwtRNu9idxIeyvMKYNandtQ
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naahstalgic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTOqXTZPb-Fc1Kh1v9_XhUw
- Other: https://nahstalgic.bandcamp.com/?from=search&search_item_id=488469662&search_item_type=b&search_match_part=%3F&search_page_id=2085984598&search_page_no=1&search_rank=1&search_sig=a8c989c987f2d06eaffe690675d33bc2
