We were lucky to catch up with Heather Fusari recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Heather, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
I feel that I get my generosity from my humble beginnings. Through the just getting by, as one of five kids with a single Mom. We were blessed with the necessities, the roof over our head, food to eat, but all my clothes would be hand-me-downs from my cousin or older sister, the new school year was the only time we’d the list of materials our Teachers said we needed, and we had support of our church food bank.
I’d work to pay for anything I wanted outside of my needs with my Father – that may sound contradictory to referring to my mother as a single parent, but he didn’t provide financial support, only offered us to work for his construction company if we needed anything thing. And so, I went to work during my school’s summer breaks in the Florida heat of 100+ degrees, paving parking lots, building homes, whatever needed to be done, starting at the age of 8.
I think what instilled the generous nature in me is this: when you come from nothing, and then you have someone, maybe even a perfect stranger who comes along and graciously gives without even looking for a ‘thank you’, you begin to see outside of your little realm of scarcity and into the wonderment of what you yourself may be capable of sharing with another person less fortunate than yourself.
To give an example, our family would be ‘sponsored’ by another family from our church during Christmas time. This family would secretly learn what we kids wanted, they’d take their time to go and buy us presents (this was before the amazon days of sitting on your couch and clicking away- completely different), and wrap them. They didn’t get to see our surprised faces, or see how we played with their gifts, we didn’t know even who they were, they gave without any desire for recognition. That generosity they shared, I’ll always remember that special feeling, and it has forever impacted my outlook on kindness and paying it forward.
So, the idea of bringing joy to someone’s life who would’ve otherwise felt left out of the world, that’s why I’ve found throughout my life always wanting to give back, support and build up others.
A random act of kindness, with no expectation attached, is one of the purest forms of humanity I can think of.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am Actress, Writer, Stunt Performer and I run my own production company- Badb Films; I tell stories that I give a F@#$ about!!! Stories about topics that I care about, matters that are either overlooked or have created some awareness but no real change has occurred.
I like to write scripts that give action, almost a roadmap to a solution, but sometimes I write stories that humanize people who are not always seen, such as my protagonist in my femicide script; innocent women who are brutally murdered in the name of ‘honor killings’.
The passion behind my work aligns with my outlook as a human being, and working to rise people up.
Currently, I’m working to bring a hero’s story to light in my project ‘Engine No.7’, and working on finding Investors and funding to bring from development into production.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities that I feel are most impactful on my journey are:1. Being tenacious!!!Always keep going through the many ‘no’s’, through the numerous redirections towards goals and milestones that I’ve set, and being amiable in that, so that’s a two-parter, I guess.
2. Being Creative!!Especially in this industry, not just within my work of crafting a role, or writing a script, but being creative in the avenues of ‘how can I make this film happen?’ My very first film I wanted to do a period piece that shot in a museum solely because I wanted to maintain the authenticity, so I went from ‘I have no idea what I’m doing or how this is going to be possible’ to approaching it by doing the work, putting boots on the ground and since I came from a genuine place of telling a story others cared about, pieces aligned that I never thought possible. (this was with no money, mind you)
3. Not giving a F#$@Even after ten years of working in this industry, I’ll still have family members try and wiggle their opinion in my ear of what I ‘should’ be doing.
It feels lonely oftentimes because you’re a minority in the majority of complacency when you follow the path of doing what you love. Because until you find your tribe, you’re going to find yourself alone. So ‘not giving a F@#$’ what other people do, what they spend their life doing, what their opinion of you is because like Babe Ruth said ‘the loudest boo’s come from the cheapest mother F’n seats’ (I added the Mother F’n). When people are not happy, they want to envelope everyone around them in that same misery.
So NOT GIVING A F@#$ while you pursue what makes YOU happy to your core, is lonely but a satisfying as F@#$ road.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Always, as this industry is filled with so many interchanging & moving parts. I’ll go from one project with one group of collaborators, to another, with almost a completely different crew. This isn’t because I wouldn’t Love to work with the same people, so long as we work well together, but more so from the side that we each have multiple directions we’re being pulled. We have to make the most of the time we’re given, so if one project isn’t starting up for another six months, I need to hop on another production in another capacity, such as Stunts, Voiceover, or Producing… It allows me to continue to build the momentum while also making connections to people who can be potential crew on a production I’m working on after this one.
I love to use the analogy of a stove top, where you have one pot brewing something, whilst the one in the back is just simmering, another one is boiling over, and each of them can change their current state at any given moment with the right ‘click’. The pot that was once boiling is now moved to the back maybe because the social climate has shifted and that project is now off in its timing, and the brewing one now goes to a boiling state because an investor pulled together the final funding needed. And the cycle is constantly evolving, I just have to be creative and amiable enough to move along with those changes and not grasp onto the one so firmly to where I miss a great opportunity at another project moving forward in its development.
But going back to the question, I’m always looking for collaborators (co-writers, producers, filmmakers, etc) who are passionate, creative, hard working and love what they do; love being part of telling stories and having fun in the process!!!
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.BadbFilms.com
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