Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Greene.
Mike, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Without diving into a thousand-page memoir, I was born and raised in Hollywood, Florida with three older brothers and two extremely supportive parents. From a young age, I was always either playing music (drums), sports (hockey, soccer, football, basketball, etc.) or filming home movies. School was always a burden for me. I never wanted to go. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I realized I actually have pretty intense anxiety. To make matters worse, at the age of 16 I went through a very traumatic experience that now amplified my anxiety bringing on more mental health issues.
After high school, I believed filmmaking was the route for me. I enrolled at Miami Dade College. After some halfhearted semesters, I dropped out thinking this must not be for me. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was miscorrelating my anxiety and trauma for not wanting to be a filmmaker. I had to step away from everything for a few years and truly find myself. After being stagnant for so long, I had enough. I re-enrolled but this time to study psychology. I went full-time from then on out and received my bachelor’s degree with a 3.8 GPA. The plan now was to receive my PsyD and become a Sports Psychologist.
Before enrolling in graduate school, a friend of mine was shooting a short film and asked me to help out. Being on set sparked this drive in me I had never felt before. I really enjoyed studying psychology, but nothing could compare to my passion for filmmaking. I spent the next year writing, directing, producing, editing, etc. my first short film CATATONIA – a psychological drama. I was accepted into film festivals and even won a couple of them.
With an award-winning film under my belt and a passion unlike anything I had ever felt before, I decided to enroll in the SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) MFA Film program in Atlanta, GA. Moving out of state was no easy feat. I am grateful to have an incredible support system of friends and family. Mentally, I am obviously not cured (nor will I ever be). I will have my good days and my existential collapsing days but putting myself in the best environments possible while practicing the best methods I can is what makes each day an attempt to be better than the last.
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?
It’s hard to imagine anyone really has lived on a completely smooth road. We all have trials and tribulations we go through no matter how rich or poor – happy or depressed. For myself, I would say mental health would be my biggest struggle. Our minds are incredibly powerful. Whether it is my anxiety, depression, or some physical side effect stemming from my mind, it has consistently deterred me many times from accomplishing seemingly mundane tasks. When you have an important assignment to accomplish and all you can do is lie in bed in a dark room until the feeling passes, it can be very disheartening. Luckily for me, the feeling does pass (eventually), and I can resume when it does.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a current MFA Film student as well as a Freelance Filmmaker. My focus is Directing narrative films, but I do a lot of Editing work for hire. I love being on film sets in any capacity whether it be a Production Assistant or up the line to 1st Assistant Director. I’ve been a Producer on a few projects as well and love the challenge of wearing different hats.
In any creative endeavor, I tend to incorporate psychological and philosophical topics (especially mental health). I’m most proud of where I started from with my first short film to where I am now. I strive to soak up all the knowledge and experience that I can to emulate my philosophy of being the most efficient version of myself possible.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I view Risk-taking as the scope of measuring reward against consequences. Every choice we make has risks. I would say one of the biggest risks I have taken is stepping out of my comfort hometown bubble and moving 700 miles away into the unknown of what lies ahead of me. For some people, that might be a Tuesday. For me, I left behind what I had to chase what I want to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vimeo.com/mikegreenefilms
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mikegreene_filmmaker
