Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Huxham.
Hi Luke, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a New Zealand-born film director that’s spent the last 15 years of his life in Japan, but I now reside in Los Angeles. As a child, I always loved films, more so than most people but I never envisioned myself working in the film industry. The closest I ever got to a camera was filming my friends skateboarding and then cutting together edits across VHS recorders. Early on I was drawn to computers, I quit school at age 16 and started working at web design firms for a few years until I became a full-time employee for multiple companies designing, coding, and creating websites. After 5 years in the IT industry, I really didn’t like what I was doing and I wanted a scene change, this led me to move to Japan and follow another interest of mine which was cars.
My first few years in Japan were spent drifting and racing cars full time, basically every single weekend I would be at a circuit or working on my cars until I eventually ran out of savings. At this point, I needed another career and I thought to myself why not just start filming cars, I knew people like me that loved to see cars and it was an easier way to learn to film. As I got more involved with the film I spent less time driving cars and I said to myself if I can’t make money from filming within 4 years I will quit, but luckily for me by the third year I felt comfortable enough to start charging for my work which in turn sent me down the path I’m on now. I started editing, being a cameraman, and then becoming a DP before I finally decided I wanted to focus on directing, but doing all these things myself and trying them out is the only way I learn.
Making small films eventually got me into more commercial work, and through this, I started my own small production company in Tokyo where to this day we still produce, direct, and do a lot of work. For me personally, though I felt like I had outgrown Japan, it wasn’t giving me what I needed and I wanted to work in a much bigger industry, which inspired my move to America. Right now I’m basically a newly rep director working on commercial projects and also my own feature film which I plan to shoot partly in Tokyo and in Europe. I think every director you talk to has the dream of doing a feature, but it’s an endurance race and something that will never come to you easily.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Where do I start?!
I come from skateboarding, something that really builds your character, you learn about falling over and picking yourself up again. I also believe the creative industry place filled with 10 no’s before you find a yes, you have to learn to deal with rejection and get over it quickly. Without skateboarding I have no idea where I would be today. I learned more about myself as a person through skateboarding than I could ever learn at an educational institution.
Japan was a huge obstacle, or at least it was for me. Japan is made for Japanese, and when it comes to business or doing anything in general if you’re not Japanese it can become harder. One, because you’re a minority in their country and secondly, Japan’s culture is very rigid and has the unwillingness to change. There are many things I love about Japan but for work and my mental health, it was a place that just didn’t agree with me as I grew in my career.
All of these challenges have shaped who I am today, be it good or bad. And I’ve found ways to use the negativity to fuel my creativity and try to funnel some of that stress and pain into my work. I’ve always been taking on life by myself, I’m used to not having any safety net, and as uncomfortable as that can be sometimes it’s what I need to be successful, or at least what I define as success to myself.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
General Motors – Corvette https://vimeo.com/795056031
BMW – Dune Taxi
https://vimeo.com/745712200
Ukraine – Pretty cool place
https://vimeo.com/551415026
Going Deeper – Love letter to Nazare
https://vimeo.com/436462730
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I’m into films and some of these below are my favorites for many different reasons. For me a good film is like a relationship with a person, they give me so much and can make me feel so many things. I’m not an encyclopedia of film knowledge but I love film.
– Heat
– Blade Runner 2047
– Lost in translation
– Ronin
– Pulp Fiction
– Ex Machina
– Sicario
– Moneyball
– Pointbreak
– Birdman
– Fight club
– The Devil’s Advocate
– Casino
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lukehuxham.com
- Instagram: @directorlukeh
