Acclaimed filmmaker Ryan Coogler isn’t too fussed about fame. His latest work, Sinners, has been nominated for 16 Academy Awards, including Best Director. But the prestige associated with winning the coveted awards isn’t what drives him to make films. For him, the act of filmmaking is a reward in itself.
Coogler considers filmmaking “the greatest gift”
In an interview with Variety, the Black Panther director revealed that the opportunity to make films and build an ecosystem that helps provide employment to people who want to work in the industry is what makes his work meaningful.
“With all respect to the Academy … my award is the opportunity to have this job. The opportunity to write a script, get a crew together … contribute to people’s health care … and their families … The fact that I have this job and continue to have it is the greatest gift,” Coogler said.
Coogler, known for weaving social commentary into his films, wants to ensure that his art benefits society at large by helping provide the basic social security net that people in the industry deserve, in addition to the obvious but enjoyable mandate of writing scripts and assembling crew members.
He further told Variety that this attitude is informed by his “survivor’s remorse” because it’s so easy for him to make films compared to other Black filmmakers before him, like Spike Lee, who struggled to find financing for their projects.
His groundedness, he says, has also come from therapy and a happy marriage with Zinzi Evans, his childhood sweetheart. The humility of his statement also stems from the fact that he mostly spends time with family and friends who don’t care much about the movie industry.
Hopefully, Sinners could deliver a few Oscar wins, as recognition could bring him more work, which would ultimately help fulfill his purpose for entering the moviemaking business.