Meet Teo Marinakis | Filmmaker & Cinematographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Teo Marinakis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Teo, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a creative in general, our urge is to create art with our tools and materials all the time. That’s what brings us to our element. The issue is in the real world making art is dependent on resources and we need income. So when I graduated from NYU I was left with two choices: find a job working for someone else’s big creation, or start my own at a smaller scale and watch it grow. The second was more appealing to me, and as I shot my film “VIVO,” it started to make sense that all the production work becomes cleaner through a production company. Along with my partners Sam and Ale we founded OOOF & The Walrus as a crew run operation where we make our projects come to life and help other creatives produce their own multimedia work. Currently we specialize in short form content such as music videos for clients like Selah, and commercials like the party series for PART NYC.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a young filmmaker, I take every project as a new experience giving myself space to experiment. Working on a lot of commercials, music videos, and short films I always try to make each project tangibly different from the rest of my work. I think in a way it’s an expression of creativity, of not wanting to get boxed in, but also it’s my way of finding my style and what works for me. my two films “VIVO” and “Cabourg” are worlds apart in not only story, tone, and genre but also editing, cinematography, and color schemes. Cabourg is a psychological thriller shot in France and revolving around hip hop culture, whereas VIVO is a character exploration about a young immigrant in NYC struggling with his fears and lost inspiration. It’s never easy, and I’m not even a quarter of the way there yet. The only thing I can say is opportunities are like trains, they come and go but if you see one going where you want to go you better chase that train with all your might, as you never know when the next one will arrive.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For food I would have to take them to Juanchi’s burgers (best burgers in brooklyn), Peter Pan donuts (Greenpoint), Donut Pub and Tacos No. 1 (Manhattan). For entretainment we would definitely catch a movie at IFC or Angelika, go walk around the MoMA or Guggenheim, or check out a smaller exhibit at the Jazz museum in Harlem or the Motion Picture Museum in Astoria. If it’s nice out we’d probably go hang out at Prospect Park or simply take out Citi Bikes and ride around lower Manhattan. To end the night we would probably catch a live show at Mercury Lounge or Blue Note, or a DJ set at Elsewhere in Bushwick.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate a lot more than a shout out to my grandpa, Julio Teixeira. Although he passed away when I was 15, I feel to this day that we had a very strong relationship. He was born in a sugar cane plantation in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, worked hard and became a civil engineer. He taught me the value of dedication and hard work, and the importance of taking things seriously. He wasn’t a religious person but when we sat at the table he would always say things like “life is beautiful” and “we are blessed.” I look up to his positive outlook on life and perseverance and will always take that with me.

Website: https://teomarinakis.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teomarinakis/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teomarinakis

Other: https://vimeo.com/teomarinakis

Image Credits
Arfan Ghani @artsy_arfan , Jeff Thomas @isjeffokay , RJ Jaczko @rjjaczko , Jolie Chen @mamachen.35mm