INTERVIEW WITH TWO OF OUR 2012 FUTURE STARS WINNERS

Bright Khumalo, Future Stars Awards competition

IMAGE: Bright Khumalo

What does being a Future Star mean to you? How has having a corporate, like Argo, that believes in you, helped you along your journey?

Being a Future Star has helped me realize that sticking to what you believe in pays off. Argo has not only played a huge role in my academics financially, but it has also been my mentor, keeping me motivated to chase my dreams faster than I used to.

How has the Future Stars Award assisted you in pursuing and continuing with your dream?

With the award I managed to pay off outstanding fees at my previous institution and purchase a new laptop, with which I tackle my assignments and knock them down.

What advice would you give to the youth? What attitude do they need to have?

All I can tell the youth is that to succeed they need to apply what I call “The Asthma Concept”. When Asthma attacks its patients, all they want to do is breath. So what the youth needs to do is to imagine life is an Asthma Attack and success is the Oxygen they need to survive.

What are your goals and dreams?

I have quite a number of goals, but I will mention my biggest goal. My major goal is starting a language school that specializes in English proficiency to help the youth from underprivileged areas to master this medium of communication for future purposes.

Kimberly Roos, Future Stars Awards Competition

IMAGE: Kimberly Roos

What does being a Future Star mean to you? How has having a corporate, like Argo, that believes in you, helped you along your journey?

To me, being a future star means following your passion with perpetual commitment, a strong will to work as hard as is necessary and most importantly believing in the end goal and the idea that you can achieve it, no matter who you are or where you are from. Corporates like Argo, who support such young ambition help build that essential self belief, which is the platform to making something of yourself. Having someone else believe in you besides you makes one realize that anyone else out there can have that belief in you too.

How has the Future Stars Award assisted you in pursuing and continuing with your dream?

As a young film maker, work in the industry is scarce. This prize has allowed me to focus purely on my first passions, Producing and Performing, instead of having to turn to other jobs for a source of income. It has given me a kick start and opportunity to start young and work my way into the industry. I am currently interning at a film and music production company called iNet-Media in order to gain experience. Without this prize, I would not be able to be here on a volunteer basis every day of the week.

What advice would you give to the youth? What attitude do they need to have?

Positivity is key. Dream big and believe in yourself and the manifestation of your dreams. And lastly – DO! Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back. We all fail and we all get told by someone that we are not good enough at some point, but with a positive mindset, this should act as your fuel to drive you further and prove yourself.

What are your goals and dreams?

I believe that in order to achieve a goal, you have to be able to envision it clearly and what I envision for myself someday – hopefully soon – is being well connected and busily involved within the film industry, because although it is all very well to follow your passion, as a creative, I naturally yearn for freedom, so to me it is also important to have financial stability in order to give me the freedom to be creative.

Go back to the Future Stars page