Today we’d like to introduce you to Dario Kirola.
Hi Dario, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a producer, media entrepreneur and strategy consultant based between Monte-Carlo, Atlanta and Los Angeles – among other places. My company, Force Majeure, creates original content for film/TV but also works with clients to develop solutions for their business strategy challenges. Back when I was 13-14, I wrote and directed a short film – with the help of my IT teacher and my friends – and my passion for filmmaking was instantly ignited. This was before all the content you had on YouTube and Google that you have today – where you could learn about any topic for free. So, I had to learn about filmmaking wherever I could – and I did so by actually doing. In college, I came up with a concept for a reality TV series in set Monte-Carlo and pitched my film studies friends to help me out (as I was studying business). They loved it, we shot a proof of concept that was quite cool – and a lot of doors in the industry started opening. We sold the concept, and then from then on – it was learning by doing, sometimes failing, but always looking to fail better and get to the next level and always being like a sponge – absorbing wisdom, advice and knowledge from people that have done it before.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being an entrepreneur, particularly in the media industry, is extremely volatile. You’ll have the best day of your life, followed by the worst day of your life, and you won’t really know how or why either happened – just that you have to deal with the consequences, whichever those are. In showbiz, people always say, “it’s who you know”, but I find this to be only partially true. I had built a decent network of successful, established people that were more than willing to have an occasional chat or coffee with me – but most of them weren’t willing to work with me or to “go to bat” for me…until I had proven myself on my own. Other struggles relate to individual projects, where you have been developing a film or TV series for months or years and have all the elements you need for success – only for the project to fail out of the blue for no apparent reason. It takes a lot to reset mentally and emotionally after something like that happens.
We’ve been impressed with Force Majeure, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Force Majeure is an international creative studio and production company that specializes in film, scripted & unscripted TV production, talent management, and strategy consulting. In our 11 years of existence, we have had some big milestones and achievements: we have produced two award-winning feature films (our latest one THE RUNNER comes out in North America on August 19th in theaters, and August 23rd on digital/on-demand), we created the first ever reality TV series in Monaco, did the first ever live streamed reality series on Facebook Live, and we have helped clients – such as Coca-Cola, with achieve their strategic objectives (notably, we helped Coke launch the first ever Costa Coffee retail locations in the US). What’s sets us apart is our global approach for a relatively small company. As a team, we are multicultural and based across the world. We are locals in a number of cultures and countries – and as such, we can see certain trends or utilize particular knowhow or talent that companies that are solely local cannot do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck has had a huge impact on my life and on my business. I have been very privileged to have a multicultural upbringing, and with the chance to try my hand at many different activities – whether it’s sports, or arts, or internships/business. This has increased my knowledge, intellectual curiosity and my network…and it’s a privilege that many do not have. However, for all the good luck that I have had, I have also been relentless and put myself in a position to get lucky. By showing up repeatedly and doing your best (and trying to improve your performance or outcomes) – you simply increase the probability of having success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.forcemstudios.com
- Instagram: forcemajeurestudios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForceMajeureLLC
