Making Beyond the Noise | Director’s Notes

Dear reader. I hope you can also think about some of these lessons in a larger perspective - not only relating to filmmaking, but in your life as well. I owe a lot to filmmaking, as it’s taught me more than what’s to do with storytelling and films — but concepts and ideas that translate directly into my personal livelihood and wellbeing. Maybe it can for you too.

There is no doubt that documentary work is a beast of it’s own in the filmmaking world. I feel as though I’m a cowboy trying to get a hold of a running bull with my stingy little rope. It reminds me of when I started filming weddings 8 years ago. Ironically, I find myself in a similar position now — feeling like a complete novice once again and figuring things out for the first time. It took quite awhile before I felt comfortable doing weddings, but experience and mistakes were truly my best teachers. Over time, I developed a check list I would use on every project. It was a culmination of learnings and mistakes, and it was updated frequently. That check list was key in my growth as a filmmaker then, just as it is now.

Beyond the Noise, is the first step in building that check list for this new era of filmmaking.

The Series

The name Beyond the Noise derives from the feelings that Cheryl (Co-Producer) and I shared — which stemmed from a growing concern in the way we intake large amounts of information in today’s world. As a result of that, it can be overwhelming to navigate and discern what’s worth filtering out.

Beyond the Noise is a homage to the people and stories we often look past — but ironically, the ones we relate to the most. The series explores themes of identity, culture, & belonging in a three part documentary series, set in Cambodia.

The Making of Beyond the Noise

Pre-production felt like one big experiment since we were both new to this. With my background in filmmaking and Cheryl’s experience in tech and impact, we found our roles within the project quite naturally. In retrospect, it was really helpful to have someone who excelled in areas that I fell short in. I’d like to think we pushed each other for the better.

The span of production lasted around 1 month. We filmed for 8-10 hours most days and spent a lot of our time with people we were documenting, often living with them. There were so many times when I was exhausted both physically and mentally. There were moments that made me feel guilty and sad, especially during interviews. I found myself becoming conflicted with very personal moments and whether or not I should be documenting them. Overall, the people component seemed to be just as challenging to navigate as the challenges you find when you’re filming in foreign areas. In spite of all of that, by this point, you would surely know if you wanted to do this again or not.

Spoiler alert: I quit my job to continue working on Beyond the Noise and rebranded my film company to Paradyms shortly after getting back from Cambodia. It seems the best things in life don’t come without a cost.

Post-production was a big technical learning curve on my end. I’d never cut anything of this size and scale. Not to mention, I also had never edited a documentary that was in another language. The management and intake of all the transcripts and media were the most challenging bit. So challenging, that we were editing and finalizing subtitles until the last moment before our film premiere.

What Now?

The date is now September 8, 2026 as I write this, and it’s been a little shy of 2 years since we started this film. We’re posting the first film, Roots, on youtube today. And funny enough, just as I thought this project was coming to an end, Roots has been selected as a winner for the World Food Forum Film Festival in the category of Best Focus on Innovation. This means Cheryl and I will be visiting the FAO headquarters in Rome this October to talk on a panel (Cheryl can actually just do all the talking). I speak for both of us when I say, I did not think we would make it this far…haha.

If there was an overarching lesson I learned from this project, it would be this: Take action. As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more susceptible to the outside world or at least my own perception of it. Regardless if it’s actually true or not, I’ve grown more doubtful and more fearful of being a beginner at something - that I can admit. But the one thing that seems to combat those feelings for me were diving head first into a new project. The more nerve-racking, the better. I’ve found that the feedback loop is far thinner when you take the initiative to act instead of to wait. You learn and fail faster. And that’s important in phases like this, when you’re trying to grow.

‘Clarity doesn’t come before action. It comes from action.’ Rumi

Our film Roots will be published today at 6pm ICT. Thanks for reading and following this journey!