Today we’d like to introduce you to Teressa Wickham.
Teressa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I became fascinated with filmmaking and storytelling at an early age – probably because we moved around a lot when I was growing up – and spent my early years writing and acting out scenes in my living room for my family. I started practicing my Oscar acceptance speech in my room with a hairbrush after I wrote my first screenplay and made my first short film in the 8th grade. I continued to practice that speech – and add a few jokes into it – while making short films and documentaries with my friends throughout high school. While attending the United States Air Force Academy, I was part of the theater program and wrote, directed and produced a short film about honor that was shown to the cadet wing. I continued my love for screenwriting and theater while at St. Mary’s College of California. After receiving my Bachelors Degree in business and economics, I moved to Southern California to pursue a career in business and focused my time outside of work on screenwriting, acting and improv theater. I met my business partners, Jeffrey Moore, and Alex Tait, a few years ago and was so inspired by their talent, creativity, and dedication to the craft that I became a Producer and Co-Owner of Final Stop Pictures in 2017. I have loved every moment spent building our brand and company and look forward to what the future will bring.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’m not sure any success story can honestly say that it was all smooth roads and mine is no different. The most significant struggle for me has always been my own dedication and focus on the bigger goal. It’s hard to stay motivated every day when things aren’t going your way. It’s so much easier to just give up and quit and find an excuse to stop than to fight through the daily struggles, brush yourself off and keep moving forward. When we were starting our company, we struggled to find investors who believed in our vision enough to put their money into helping us achieve our goals. I put all of my personal savings into this company because I knew that we would find success, and I am grateful every day that I found the strength to bet on myself and my team. It was also hard to find a cast and crew who shared our vision initially and were willing to put all of their free time and effort into telling a story and bringing a script to life for nothing more than experience and screen credit. I think one of the biggest struggles that I didn’t anticipate were the politics and sensitivities that the film industry carries with it, not just as a producer and in general, but as a female producer in the industry. I have been lucky in the fact that I have wonderful business partners and a fantastic team that share the vision and have helped support me every step of the way. If I could offer any advice to other women, particularly young women who are just starting their journey, it would be to stay true to themselves and never hold themselves back for anyone or anything. Speak up, stay strong and always remember that there are other women and people out there willing to support you in your journey – all you have to do is find enough strength inside of yourself to reach out and ask. Beyond that, take every day as just that – a day. A single day and nothing more. If it didn’t go the way that you planned – if it was the worst day that you could have ever imagined, it was still just that – a day. Take a moment, take a breath, relax and start again tomorrow. No journey worthwhile is meant to be easy – but it will definitely be worth it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Final Stop Pictures story. Tell us more about it.
At Final Stop Pictures, we produce independent films, music videos, actor reels, corporate event photos, and videos and short films. I can honestly say that I am proud of everything we have done thus far since starting the company – from the actor reels to the feature films. We are probably best known for the two feature films we have going on right now – uRide and Dark Figures. uRide is a thriller about a rideshare driver and Dark Figures is a found footage horror film that we shot and filmed in Tucson last year. We are in the process of securing distribution for both films right now. What I am most proud of is what sets us apart from every other film production company and that is our team. We have the most dedicated, professional, talented and inspired team that I have ever had the honor of working with. Each and every person on our team – from the crew on set to the crew in the editing room – love what they do and treat every project and piece of work with the focus and attention as if it were their own. It’s that sense of pride and ownership – that sense of personal accountability – that separates us from the rest. I’ve never been more proud of the work I’ve done than I have been at Final Stop Pictures.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I think the biggest barriers to female leadership today are the same for all industries, not just the film industry specifically. Women are still held to different standards than their male counterparts, which means we are not treated equally. I have found that we struggle to build a “sisterhood,” if you will, and continually struggle with confidence and speaking up and asking for what we want. I have found, due to those things, we struggle to generate revenue for ourselves, which improves our footing overall in any company. At the same time, however, I think that this works to our advantage. Personally, I love being underestimated. I enjoy walking into a room and having my male peers wonder out loud why I am there and question my ability to successfully do the same work as them. It motivates me to work harder, to do better and to never lose focus on what I want in my career. There is nothing more satisfying than having someone who once doubted your ability come up to you and acknowledge your success – or ask you for help in getting them where they want to be. I truly believe that, as women, we have an advantage and can reach greater heights in our respective industries if we make the choice to not give up and to go after what we want. We need to continue to hone the skills that give us the opportunities we need to rise. More importantly, we need to be confident and realize and know that we deserve to be where we are. We need to speak up and make sure that we are heard. We need to help our fellow women stand up and be heard as well. There is room for all of us at the top.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://finalstoppictures.com/
- Phone: 760.450.8676
- Email: teressa_wickham@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teressaw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FinalStopPictures/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/finalstoppictures/
Image Credit:
Final Stop Pictures
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