let it fly
a love letter to short film
by josh tedeku
LET IT FLY
By Josh Tedeku
24 June 2025
“On the other side of fear is beauty. On the other side of fear is art that the world so desperately needs. And when we stand in the mirror, we look at the gatekeepers right in the eye every day.”
One day recently, I decided to finally buy my own camera. It was a Black Magic that set me back a fair bit, but it was the best investment I’ve ever made. In the uber on the way home from picking it up, I made a call to a good friend of mine and fellow actor Muhunnad Ben Amor. We’re in a similar position to each other in that we’re lucky to be working actors who can get away with doing the projects that come our way, but we also know that, in the end, it would never be enough – our creative spirits need to be fulfilled in the ways we crave and desire.
On the call I told him I’d just bought a camera and that I’d be home in thirty minutes. That was all he needed to know. We met in a park and spent some time doing random shots, with Muhunnad operating the camera and directing me. Then, I went home, loaded up Adobe Premiere Pro, picked a song to connect the dots of the story, and our short film FEEL was born. All in one day.
I tell this story because it showcases the beauty of being able to get up and create. No pressure, no worry that it has to be perfect, just doing it because we can and it's fun. I feel like our current film industry is “The Graveyard of Potential” – an industry so full of people with dormant, groundbreaking stories and talent ready to be awakened and showcased, but most of them never get the chance to bring these to light. Why? Because we’re also surrounded by people that are ready to tear anything and everything down to make themselves feel good.
This, in my opinion, has bred an army of perfectionists (that I myself was and kind of still am a part of) who are so afraid that their debut won’t be Oscar worthy, so they just end up never going for it. It saddens me to my core. I had to face myself in the mirror and ask myself why I wasn’t being the change I wanted to see.
On the other side of fear is beauty. On the other side of fear is art that the world so desperately needs. And when we stand in the mirror, we look at the gatekeepers right in the eye every day.
A phrase that has become one of my favourites throughout this entire process is: “Your imperfections make you unique.” And honestly, when I personally sat with this, all of this fear I had been feeding and cultivating within myself for the last few years left my body. All that was left inside was the hunger to create something. Anything. The world needs more imperfection. The world needs YOUR imperfection. Because without it, we end up where we are now, in a game where remakes and IP movies are king. In a world where the “formula” for perfection and money needs to be followed. In fact, I actually had the pleasure of talking to one of our greats recently, Ruben Ostlund, and when he talked about the evolution of film, he talked about how every filmmaker that revolutionised the game back in the day had to BREAK THE RULES to CHANGE THE GAME in the first place.
It’s for these reasons and many more that short films are actually my favourite medium of on-screen art. Most of the time it’s not about the studios or impressing people or awards; it’s about passion, heart and the love of the form. It’s about expressing ourselves through the stories we want to tell and not letting anyone stop us. The amount of our own money we pour into our shorts when the profit is nothing but happiness and fulfilment.
And really, that’s what it’s about. Which reminds me there are also the many communities that band together to donate and fund these projects – sometimes because the studios won’t – allowing us the opportunities again and again to prove the system wrong and show what art without bounds can do. Call it a rebellion if you will. They say cinema is dying? We say NOT ON OUR WATCH. I care too much about this medium and I know you do too, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.
If there is anything I would want to come from this piece, it’s that whoever is reading this right now would be ready to put down their device and get to work on WHATEVER you need to create. Our short film “FEEL.” isn’t the best, it isn’t the glossiest, it doesn’t look like your latest A24 film. I mean, it took 24 hours and there’s definitely nothing fancy about that, but you know what? It is the work I’m proudest of in my entire career to date. Why? Because after five years of pondering and sitting on my hands, I can finally say: I did this. We created this. And nobody can take it away from us.
Not everything needs to make sense. Not everything needs to be perfect for you to post it. Embrace your flaws and make them your style. Your imperfections make you unique. Whatever you're sitting on... please... LET IT FLY.
God bless and peace out,
JT.