What I learned from making a movie with no money | Sev Ohanian | TEDxLittle Armenia

What happens when your biggest dream feels too risky to pursue, not because you lack talent, but because you don’t see anyone like you who’s done it before? In this deeply personal talk, Sev Ohanian traces his journey from growing up in a close-knit Armenian-American immigrant community in Los Angeles to finding his voice as a filmmaker – a journey that would eventually lead him to produce the most Oscar-nominated film of all time. Along the way, he shares how a “fake movie” made with family, friends, and zero budget became proof that the connections, resources, and support he thought he lacked were there all along. This talk is about storytelling, risk, and the quiet power of community. Sev Ohanian is an Academy Award–nominated and Golden Globe–winning producer and screenwriter, and founder of Proximity Media alongside Ryan and Zinzi Coogler. Since launching the company in 2018, Proximity has produced a wide range of event-driven projects across film, television, documentaries, and podcasts. Their most recent film, Sinners, grossed over $369 million worldwide and received a record sixteen Academy Award nominations, winning four. Proximity’s debut feature, Judas and the Black Messiah, earned six Academy Award nominations and won two. Sev has produced major projects including Creed III, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Marvel’s Ironheart and Eyes of Wakanda, the National Geographic docuseries Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time. Sev is also known for co-writing Run, Missing, and Searching, and for producing those films alongside his wife, Natalie Qasabian. Searching was made for $880K and grossed over $75M globally. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx