ACT 1 : Humble Beginnings

Burger King kid’s meal toys and makeshift camera equipment helped form the film expertise of Mushen Kieta, Director and Founder of Wunderus.

When you circle around the massive, industrial-style third floor of Artists For Humanity, a Boston-based, non-profit youth arts organization, you’ll likely pass by a segment of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city’s financial district. In front of that impressive view, however, you’ll probably also find Mushen Kieta at his desk—he’ll either be laser-focused on editing a video, or lecturing his mentees on their own filmmaking. 

Kieta’s mentorship in film is an extension of his own experience, where he was also taught to explore his talents as a young artist, and eventually, as a filmmaker. He established Wunderus in 2016 as a production company that would create meaningful film and media of the highest quality, something he has always appreciated himself. From the development of television series pilots to documenting the untold stories of the most extraordinary circumstances, Kieta’s direction with Wunderus has made its foundation strong, even in its early years. 

In light of recent developments with Kieta’s debut documentary, Kintsugi (set to release early Fall 2022), I sat down for an interview with the director to discuss his growth as a filmmaker (from childhood and beyond), takes on artistry in the present-day, and near-future plans.

You’ve told me before that a lot of your artistic initiative happened when you were around 12 years old. Tell us about your childhood environment growing up. Were there any artistic influences that propelled your interest in art? 

“Growing up, the household was always a creative place. As a kid, we were in a shelter, so it became a thing where the less you have, the more creative you have to be, especially to have fun. It was definitely something fostered by my mom and dad—they always wanted us to be creative. Everybody drew all the time. Once we moved into an apartment when I was around 6 or 7, we’d draw on the walls, and my mom would be, like, ‘That’s fine’. You’d walk into my sister’s room and there would be giant murals on the walls. Growing up in that kind of environment with older siblings who are extremely talented, we were always very competitive. We used to have these drawing contests; even though I couldn’t draw better than my older brothers, there I was trying to draw vampires and cars. We already knew who was gonna win, but it was still fun.

Once my sister came from Vegas, she brought a VHS camcorder and gave it to my brother. That’s when I started acting in my brother’s movies; that’s kind of where the whole film thing started.”

How old were you at that time? 

“I was 12. My brother was 15.” 

As a kid, did you feel like that was some real encouragement to help you pursue your interest in filmmaking now, that spontaneous gift? 

“No. I didn’t make films then, but acted in my brother’s stuff. I was kind of always an outgoing kid. As a child, I was really into acting and the idea of being behind the camera, like, ‘I wanna be the kung-fu guy’ or ‘I wanna be the ninja’, whatever. We used to do everything with martial arts, all the time. I mean, sh*t, we would make Pokemon movies as well. We really liked Pokemon.

I remember Burger King had their kid’s meal that came with, like, Pokemon balls that you could open. We’d use them as props in a film. My sister had stuffed Pokemon animals, so it was, like, someone behind a Pokeball or I’d throw it. We did all of these goofy special effects to make me a Pokemon trainer. Gotta catch ‘em all, you know.”

That was the 90’s, right? That makes sense. 

“Yeah—late 90’s, early 2000’s.”

How did your artistic interests as a kid develop as you got older?

“I always credit the mentorship I got from AFH [Artists For Humanity] as a teen for giving me confidence—that the art I liked making was worth something. Almost every single one of my paintings were of me, so it’s like, ‘Why is somebody buying a painting of me?’ It was a constant reminder that I have a voice that other people might gravitate towards. As a kid, I didn’t have that. I just had stuff that I liked. I mean, no one ever saw our films as kids; we just made them and were like, ‘Hey, that’s cool. That’s fun.’ We enjoyed it.

Adulthood is funny though. Society will try to turn your passions into a commodity, so a lot of people end up losing that drive they had as a kid. Even if I wasn’t making money from my work, I will always be doing it—I love it.” 

Definitely. So, in your opinion and experience, aside from passion, what are some of the most important qualities a successful artist should have in cultivating their craft? Like, what goes into your work that produces something you’re proud of? 

“The biggest thing that I think an artist needs is honesty within their work. Not in the sense where it’s like, ‘This is honest about my voice’, but rather honesty in critiquing yourself. There are so many artists that create something, and then they are their biggest cheerleader—they never critique themselves, so they never progress. Almost every time I make something, I hate it a week after I make it. It doesn’t matter what it is.”

What’s the standard you set for yourself?

“There’s a funny thing about film sometimes. Because I’m from the hood, people’s expectations of what I’m capable of doing is, like, at a certain level. When I set out to make something, I want to f*cking win an Oscar, I want to make something of a certain quality. Some people will argue that it’s unhealthy, like a perfectionist mindset, but there’s a thing where it’s, like, I’m always striving to reach a standard with anything I’m making. I know if I’m not reaching that level; I’m not gonna lie to myself and be, like, ‘Yeah, this is exactly what I wanted to make.’ I know what I’m capable of doing—I see myself achieving greatness.” 

Would you say you definitely enforce that ‘quality over quantity’ mindset?

“For sure. But there’s a balance. You had asked me before about what it means to be a  ‘successful’ artist; this is what my mind went to at first. If you make something that’s amazing, but you’re only putting out one thing every 10 years, you’re not gonna have the level of success of somebody putting something out every year—without a doubt. Even if the quality of their product is less, it doesn’t matter. In society, our attention span is so ‘Here today, gone tomorrow’. You need to maintain contact with your audience; otherwise, you’re forgotten. Even when you come back, it’s not gonna have the same impact.

It’s weird, though. People will take breaks from dropping something, but the pressure of making their work greater comes more into play when you take a longer break, you know what I mean?” 

I see. Does that impact the quality of the work produced, that pressure? 

“Definitely. Now they’re in their own head; they’re not in a space of making art. Now they’re trying to please somebody, which is, I think, the worst thing you can do.” 

Now I’m curious. What does it look like to direct the products you’re looking to achieve? Basically, what’s the process of making a film for you? Is it based on routine, or is it more spontaneous? 

“Every project is different. Because I didn’t go to school for film and I’m somewhat self-taught, I’ve learned to develop my own methods for things. I want to reiterate what I was saying earlier, about my siblings and I needing to be creative—in the absence of resources, creativity prevails. It’s been a mantra that I’ve stuck by. I don’t have unlimited resources, I may not have everything I need for a project, but I’m gonna figure out a way to finish what I’m working on.

The inception of a project can come from a couple different places, but there are concepts I’ve made part of my artistic bible that enable me to feel comfortable in any place. Whether it’s an idea for a movie, a full breakdown for a film, or just a character idea, my process is spontaneous, but starting from scratch still produces something engaging. I didn't have a camera when I was, like, 16 years old, but I had books. I would just write down ideas; here’s one of my books right here.” (pulls out a weathered red journal from a desk stack) 

Woah. A museum piece. 

“A lot of stupid-ass ideas is what I was gonna say. As you look through this, you’ll see random lines, a movie scene, how a movie could start off, a story, blah, blah, blah. I always try to document every idea, even premises for ideas. 

That’s a lot of ideas. 

“Exactly. You become better at creating ideas in general. A lot of people get writer’s block and can’t think of anything. But if you’re good at thinking of ideas, and then you apply the structures of creating a film, it makes it that much easier to complete a project. Wherever I start a project, I just look at what’s missing. That’s a big thing, too. ‘What isn’t there?’, and then I’ll start plugging things in.”

Is there such a thing as a bad idea? 

“No. I think there’s only undeveloped ideas. Actually, now that you mention it…I had this idea.” 

Which is? 

“It was basically to remake films, but only bad films. I take a film that wasn’t good, that wasn’t well-made or perceived well, and I ask, ‘How can we make this again, but better?’. I go to watch a film, and I’m at 100. It doesn’t matter who’s in it, it doesn’t matter anything about it, I go in at 100. Whatever I enjoy keeps me at 100, or it brings me down more and more. I’ll say, ‘This is bad acting’—now I’m at 80. ‘That music was terrible’—now I’m at 60. I land somewhere, and that’s how I’ll critique it. Whatever is bringing that film down, we find a way to change it or make it make sense.” 

Sounds like a project for the books. Let’s switch gears to what you’re working on right now—the release of your family documentary is impending. Would you say that the initiative for your family doc really solidified Wunderus as a production company?

“Yes, because to be a production company, you need to have a production. When it comes to shooting a documentary, a lot of the time it can be very run-and-gun. You got a camera, you got sound, so film something—tell a story. I realized that a lot of attention comes down to the story you’re telling being deemed as important, so that’s when I felt like I just really needed something.

My first idea for a documentary was that I was going to meet everybody on my Facebook friends list in real life. There were a bunch of people I had never met before and my goal was to explore if these social media connections were real. I got through, like, 3 people before I was like, ‘I’m definitely not doing this sh*t’.

It bounced to being about my family when my brother got arrested. I had some reservations about filming my family at first, but once I got that momentum going, I think I got the whole first part done within a month and a half.” 

I’m excited to see how it all turns out when it releases.

“Yeah, me too.” 

Photography by Ariana Pelaez

Styled by Victoria Sles

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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.