Meet Connor Cleveland

Today we’d like to introduce you to Connor Cleveland.

Connor, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in St. Maarten, a small island located in the Caribbean. St. Maarten has a population of just under 100,000 people, so growing up I wasn’t presented with many opportunities, as you could imagine. Luckily, my parents were American so I didn’t have any immigration issues when we finally decided to move to the United States. At the age of six, I started a whole new life in America, one that has been so fulfilling and has helped made me who I am today.

Life in the United States has changed me for the better. Before moving here, I wasn’t aware of all the great western TV programs and toys. Back home all I had to watch was old reruns of classic cartoons like Tom & Jerry. As a six years old these were the things I was grateful for, but over time I quickly realized how much more this land has to offer. The first town I lived in after moving here was called Sugar Land, a suburb right outside of Houston. Sugar Land’s population is more than the entire island I previously came from. Since the only people I knew was my family, this change was not only shocking but eye opening for me, even as a child. The fact that you can drive for more than 2 miles down a straight road was mind bogglingly to me at the time. On an island that is only 34 square miles, where the roads are spotted with potholes and overgrown plant life have crept into the streets, with 24-hour traffic becoming a norm, US highways came as a huge surprise.

Not only were the roads much longer and well built, the infrastructure of the entire city was leagues ahead of anything I was used to. Imagine only having memory of shoddy half-built buildings, with paint covering about 60% of it. Sure I saw enormous US cities in movies and TV shows, but nothing ever came close to wowing me than seeing them in person. It didn’t take long for me to adapt to my new life in America, I actually felt invited by this change and fully accepted it. Once I started kindergarten here it felt like home, I was able to make plenty of friends, despite having a strong Caribbean accent and mispronouncing basic words. Even though I was clearly the odd one in my classroom, my teachers and classmates always showed respect to me. I never felt out of place here, nor did I feel like I wasn’t as smart as the other kids just because I talked a little funny. Over the years, I was able to develop proper speaking skills and talk without an accent or lisp, with the help of many communication classes and special instructors. While I’m not ashamed of my accent, it was clear that in order to reach a level of normality I would have to lose it. In many ways, I am glad that I was able to mask my previous practices in place of new Americanized manners, but I often find myself disconnected from my original ways of life.

Growing up on an island gives you a strong sense of humility, the locals are always thankful for what they have in their life, which in nearly all cases isn’t very much. When I left St. Maarten, many of my friends were living in houses made from bare concrete blocks and a tin roof. This is a very common scenario for most people living on the island, as concrete is necessary to help provide protection from high winds during hurricanes. Life was much more simple before moving to the United States, half of the things I have now I never knew existed. Never in my life have I obsessed about shoes or clothing or just material things in general as I do now. I say this with remorse; Consumerism has taken a hold of me. The move to America really put things into perspective, I was never truly aware of how much you could have, while also feeling as if you have nothing. After living in America for more than ten years now, my time here has shaped me into a more humble person, while also realizing to never take things for granted.

Though I would say my life story truly didn’t start until I met Arjun.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I met my best friend Arjun on the first day of third grade. There was a special charisma about him that no other kid could match. He had the funniest jokes with the kind of wittiness that you’d only expect from a standup comedian. Teachers couldn’t resist laughing either whenever he said something funny to get out of trouble. He had such conviction about whatever his interests were, as almost if he had his whole life planned out by the age of ten. By the fourth grade Arjun and I had started making little movies in his backyard on an original flip video camera. We’d act out little skits and then add cheesy music and effects to them. Our next step was into stop motion animation, (something I still have great interest in) we would make our same funny skits but this time with legos and other props.

Though what really got us into loving filmmaking was our obsession with skateboarding videos, this was something we knew would help us make something of ourselves. Though by this time it was now 8th grade, our last full year together. Throughout that year we were able to work on projects in our media production class, such as remakes of scenes from Fight Club, (his idea) and other film ideas that were much more sophisticated than our original skits. We’d make skateboarding films almost every weekend as high school was just starting, giving us a lot of free time. Things were really getting exciting because we both knew this was what we’d want to do for the rest of our lives. Make movies. But before the end of our first semester of freshman year, Arjun abruptly died of intestinal and heart complications.

To say the least, it was devastating for me. The person who I idealized, who showed me how to use my first camera, and even showed me half of the bands and artists I still listen to today, was gone. Arjun was my biggest inspiration of nearly everything I found cool, he was that one friend that you just wished you could be. High school was hard enough on its own, but going through it without the person who made me realize what my life’s purpose was made things even harder. I kept making films throughout those four years, with him always in mind and even won some awards along the way. Although I am most proud to say I would have never had the slightest interest in filmmaking if our paths didn’t randomly cross that day in third grade. After five years since his passing and nearly ten years since meeting him, I’m now pursuing a film degree at the University of Texas at Austin, all thanks to my friend Arjun.

Everything I create today is with the intention of honoring Arjun, and I will continue to dedicate my life’s work to him.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I make films and also shoot film photography. I would say I specialize as of right now in filmmaking, though film photography is something I’ve been experimenting with for a few years now, and once I find my style I feel that could be a strong strength for me as well.

What sets me apart from others is I create things with the intention of my creations lasting. Whether it’s a photo or film I produce I want there to be a sense of timelessness to it. While I may not reach this goal every time I create, I make a strong effort to continue striving for it. I feel that the more I make and learn, the closer I get to creating projects that truly hold up to the test of time.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Definitely my best friend Arjun, who I already mentioned in the challenges section. I would consider him more as my muse, my inspiration and my first “teacher”. Taught me the foundation of everything I now know. I base my life’s philosophy off of the way he lived his life. By doing all things with insight and harmony.

Other people would be my 8th grade media production teacher, Mr. Spisak and also my high school broadcasting teacher Mr. Cummons. They both were influential in helping me stay on track to success as well as of course teaching me the art of filmmaking.

Also without my parents believing in me and supporting my interests there’s no way I would still be pursuing filmmaking. Probably be studying to be an accountant or something.

And my older brother Adam for being my friend literally my whole life, through everything. He keeps me in check and always has my back. I don’t tell him this enough but I respect him a lot for having to learn life lessons before me and then showing me the ropes when it’s my turn. He’s one of my biggest mentors for sure.