Alumni Bio – Hugo Massa
Documentary Film Studies ’14
After graduating from the Documentary Film Studies program in 2014, Hugo Massa took the opportunity of the OPT (Optional Practical Training) to stay one more year on US soil, in New York City. His main priority at that time was to keep on building his portfolio as a media creator, which he did pursuing mostly self-financed projects and freelancing or working side jobs. During that time, Hugo premiered his graduation short doc Hang Up at the DOC NYC film festival, and produced three short- or mid-length documentary films about: Afro-Peruvian music, Chicago’s vibrant creative music scene, and Moroccan rug craftsmanship. His background in social science and the ethics of engagement learned at The New School naturally led him to subjects driven by strong social or cultural issues, often in collaboration with researchers (anthropologists Alexandre Pierrepont and George Bajalia, ethnomusicologist Florent Wattelier).Â
When Hugo finally moved back to Paris in 2015, it took him some time to understand and get accustomed to the media market of the country. Documentary filmmaking in France, because it benefits way more public fundings than in the US, obeys a totally different set of rules. Grant applications and screenwriting occupy the majority of your time, often at the expense of fieldwork research and filming. This, and economic necessity, progressively led him to turn to the production of brand-related or brand-sponsored contents. His first experience was for an online media that focused on climate and energetic issues in France and beyond. Although he enjoyed total editorial freedom, he was however not aligned with the values of the company that was behind the initiative: this is probably the biggest challenge after graduating from a art liberal school, he says, learning that you must at times make compromises.
After working over two years in a communication agency, Hugo made the choice to leave the security of an office job to get back to freelancing, as media consultant, producer, and video-maker. Since then, he has been having a wonderful professional time, where he is able to choose his clients and where he can dedicate some of his energy to projects that have more meaning for him — like music videos for indie bands, or such as this documentary series that he directed for The Shoah Memorial of Paris.
Overall, Hugo feels like he has found a good life-work balance and really appreciates the fact that no day is like any other. Most of the content that he now produces is for companies and organizations that work in the fields of savoir-faire, craftsmanship and winemaking — fields that present the advantage of telling compelling stories and of being visually interesting. On the creative side, his current projects include two documentaries: a creative portrait of a high school friend as he competes for the European Mulet Championship and an exploration of the memory of the origins of natural wine in his home region.
Hugo’s advice to current students would be twofold:
First, keep an eye on the aftermath, meet professionals, ask questions, do internships, etc. in order to fine tune your desires and your strategy for your future entry into the job market. At the same time, make the most of your studies to go as far as possible in your creative journey – it is an opportunity that you will certainly not be given again, and in the end this is what matters the most.