Transnational Third Culture Kid Filmmakers

Three types of professional identity

tobacco pipe, and below it he painted, ‘This is not a pipe.’ What he was inferring is that the painting is a representation of the thing, it’s not the thing itself. When we label things, we say ‘Oh, that’s a pipe.’ But, it’s not a pipe.”

“That’s what’s happening with our professional identity. I call myself a teacher, but that’s not really who I am — I am so much more than this title. So, what if we give ourselves the power and permission to decide what we want to be named instead of accepting an arbitrary title? If I want to call myself a ‘Creative Disruptor,’ no one can tell me that I’m wrong. But, this title has to be something that truly resonates with me — if it feels weird, I’m not going to use it.”

Dr. Berk began using the title of Creative Disruptor, which made it possible for her to not only incorporate all of her skills, talents, and experiences but also allowed her to truly stand out in the employment marketplace.

“Up until now, we’ve only had two ways to describe our professional identity,” Berk explained from the TEDxBoulder stage. “The first way is singularity — you’re a specialist or expert. The second way is multiplicity — people who ‘wear a lot of hats.’ Hybridity gives us permission to integrate — blending and combining professional identities together and working at the intersections. For a hybrid professional, the intersections are where their unique value lies — it’s their ‘secret sauce.’ From this vantage point, you can do and see things no one else can.” She said.

“It’s not about going back to the drawing board, but identifying values, passion, and purpose — what do you care about, what do you love to do, and what do you call yourself when you’re doing it?”

Today, Dr. Berk’s early insights on trends in professional identities has turned out to be exactly what we need in this so-called “Great Resignation.” Although, instead, Berk refers to this as the era of the “Great Reinvention.” Rather than relying on old models to define ourselves and our careers, Dr. Berk believes it is time to explore new ways to think about our skills, passions, experience and the value we bring to the world. And, ideally, Berk recommends we leverage the power of intentional community to maximize our insights.

“There is a power and synergy that is available to participants of cohort-style workshops. I’ve witnessed it many times — people are reflecting off each other and seeing one another’s identities in new ways. The things we take for granted are usually signs of our hybridity — they are the things that come naturally and feel effortless.”

Fortunately, Dr. Berk offers a number of cohort-based workshops, resources and tools through her website MoreThanMyTitle.com. If you are ready to deconstruct your professional identity and be part of the Great Reinvention, this is the perfect place to start.

MOVING CONFIDENTLY INTO UNCERTAINT Y

Everything changes — it is the nature of reality, and always has been. Once we can fully accept this, we can start to embrace a flux mindset, claim our own unique professional identity and move confidently and joyfully into an uncertain future.

Whether gazing the moon and stars at Lac d’Annecy in France, waiting on Argentinian maté to steep in the UK, sipping on Turkish coffee in Germany, or arriving in Austin for yet another speaking engagement at South by South West (SXSW) in Texas, you can count on Roy Wol to be traveling regularly.

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South by Southwest and CAAMFEST award-winning film producer and director with friends around the world, nomadic Roy Wol gives a glimpse of his Third Culture background and how it influences his work.

CULTURS – How did you discover you were a TCK?

Roy Wol – I grew up in a home where I had to use words from three languages within one sentence in order to fully express myself. And even with that, I never felt like I was able to. Thanks to internet algorithms, I think some search engine A.I. bot realized I am a Third Culture Kid (TCK) before I knew I was one through my language patterns or something. It was late at night, at my New York City apartment (which I had only spent six months that year,) I was going through one of my existential moments and at some point I got deep into a YouTube wormhole, listening or watching content about cross-culturalism.

I vaguely remember that I ended up coming across a video featuring some international person who had lived in several countries and whose family had high mobility. I vaguely remember this person mentioned this idea of TCK – it was a Eureka moment... Through that, I ended up finding out about Ruth Van Reken’s Ted Talk which referred to the book about Third Culture Kids. I am not kidding, I felt like I found “Waldo” from “Where’s Waldo” — the perfect TCK character, by the way. This find came with an emotional Pandora’s box: a liberation of existential pain.

I felt like I found “Waldo” from “Where’s Waldo” — the perfect TCK character, by the way. This find came with an emotional Pandora’s box: a liberation of existential pain.

The film not only got named as one of the top 40 best LGBTQ films of all times by Rotten Tomatoes editorial, certified fresh; it also provided jobs to 48 people from the trans community.

CULTURS – In which countries did you grow up in? Which ones impacted you the most?

WOL – I was born as an inter-sect Jew in Tel Aviv to non-Israeli parents, who happened to meet there as tourists. A first-generation Argentinian, my mother’s parents were from Slavic territories and from Turkey, dad’s parents were from Sephardic/Italian/Spanish descent. I grew up and lived in Turkey, Canada, USA, Argentina and shortly in Israel and Spain. Honestly, I think all those countries impacted me in many ways and to this day I cannot choose one over another.

It is complicated because growing up as a non-practicing Jew, the local communities always asked to keep quiet about our backgrounds. There was a complex culture of repression to the extent of cultural imposter syndrome; some people thought I was Armenian and some said that was better. A bubble of crosscultural community in Turkey consisting of family/friends had the most influence on me while I went through my spiral vortex of multiple identities...daily. Bottom line though: all of the countries mentioned above impacted me quite deeply and still to this day I am not able to choose one over another. Culturally, New York City feels the most home to me, because I’ve never been asked where I am from by New Yorkers and NYC is such a global bubble.

CULTURS - How did your identity as a TCK find its way into your work as a filmmaker?

WOL – I dabbled in the arts of acting for some time, playing a chameleon of identities. This gave me a great foundation of character for what was about to set up my writing, directing and producing journey. In my earlier writing experiences, I explored existentialism and comedy of alienation. Nevertheless, I often found myself in bridging positions. Thus, I dedicated my work to bridging communities.

We often forget the strength that comes out of deliberate intersectionality. As a TCK, I am an intersectionality advocate in my work. Although I am not transgender, Muslim or American, I had the pleasure of making films about these communities. Why? Because I believe we are more alike than not. We are also very different in many ways, but the nuances of experiences we each hold can’t be boiled down to blanket categories. As a TCK I carry the burden of privilege of access to many communities because I am from so many. For me, making films is a way of getting to know myself. Additionally, I ran quad-lingual sets where I spoke simultaneously three to four languages. It is fun!

CULTURS – What are some common themes in your work that keep popping up? Why are they recurring themes?

WOL – Hands down the strongest theme that is popping up in my work is this idea of family, and relationships between loved ones or lack thereof. Others include bridging cultures, bridging conflicting communities, immigration, science and technology, one-ness, exploring outliers. First and foremost, everyone could relate to a family story so that’s a great entry point. But when it comes to deeper thematic explorations, the stories that I make or curate in this world are: glocality, generational and technological divides, humor and mindfulness, classism, racial and gender divides, interracial and intercultural relationships, acceptance, the power of otherness, astronomy and existence. It’s hard to say why they are recurring. I wish they were not!

CULTURS – I understand that some of your recent successes is: “Americanish” and “The Garden Left Behind.” What has that been like?

WOL – Life changing. With “The Garden Left Behind,” we told a family drama about an undocumented Mexican trans woman which won at SXSW at its world premiere. The film not only got named as one of the top 40 best LGBTQ films of all times by Rotten Tomatoes editorial, certified fresh; it also provided jobs to 48 people from the trans community. I made so many friends through this film and the impact was both critical and personal. With “Americanish,” we told the first American-Muslim romcom by diverse AmericanMuslim women. The film somehow reached several communities in the USA from the entire Asian-American audience circuit to African-American audiences. The film also created impact both behind and in front of the camera.

As a TCK, I am proud to say both of these feature fiction films were the first of their kinds and made history. With our production company Studio Autonomous, which has a global cross-cultural think tank, the first

I wanted to get into storytelling because stories influence people so deeply that without realizing, in the midst of entertainment, our worldviews change.

film gave us a good foundation on how to create award-worthy and impactful films. The second film allowed us to take everything we learned from the first and make it more accessible to larger audiences.

I wanted to get into storytelling because stories influence people so deeply that without realizing, in the midst of entertainment, our worldviews change.

CULTURS – How did you start as a filmmaker? What made you want to get in filmmaking?

WOL – I loved performance, so in my teenhood, writing/ directing/acting in plays was the start. At the age of 16, I had the opportunity to intern at a 2D cartoon (cell) animation studio. That experience opened doors to the art of motion pictures. Then I interned in several feature film productions cleaning bathrooms and being yelled at. After studying in Canada, focusing on Dramatic Arts and Film Studies, I found myself interning at Lionsgate films in postproduction. From then on, I quickly realized I wanted to start making films and began making short films.

I wanted to get into storytelling because stories influence people so deeply that without realizing, in the midst of entertainment, our worldviews change. And personally, I never saw someone like me (a TCK) on screen so I decided to become a storyteller to explore myself and others that might also feel unseen or unheard.

CULTURS – Looking back at some of the toughest times as a filmmaker, can you tell us about how you got through it?

WOL – Community of filmmakers, longtime artistic partners, family and friends. Those are the only people that can get you through this field. This is a profession of communication and reciprocity. So the best thing you can do is to find your community... soon. The challenge with us, the TCKs: some of us don’t even know we are TCKs till mid-life (or worse, never). So you might have to ping pong between many communities for a while till you maybe find your tribe... or tribes!

One of the toughest times I had in my filmmaking was that I was working on this one film for about six to seven years. We finished the film and submitted it to the festivals to rejections. I was ready to throw in the towel in the entire industry. Since I felt that this was maybe the end of the road for me, I said to my team that I’d be willing to trash 40% of what we shot/edited, re-write scenes and re-edit the film to make a better one. This was a