I often read books that have (seemingly) little or nothing to do with filmmaking. They provide ideas, different perspectives on how to tackle challenges, and inspiration.
The book “Tribe of Mentors” from Tim Ferriss is structured as interviews with approximately 100 very successful people from different fields. What’s unique is that all the interviewees answer the same set of 11 questions. One of the interviewees mentioned the word “Sisu” which I find extremely relevant to the 1 Person Crew approach.
From Wikipedia: “Sisu is a Finnish concept described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness and is held by Finns themselves to express their national character. Sisu is a grim, gritty, white-knuckle form of courage that is presented typically in situations where success is against the odds. It expresses itself in taking action against the odds and displaying courage and resoluteness in the face of adversity, in other words, deciding on a course of action and then sticking to that decision, even despite repeated failures. It is in some ways similar to equanimity, with the addition of a grim kind of stress management.
Here’s a Time Magazine quote from 1940: “The Finns have something they call sisu. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win. The Finns translate sisu as “the Finnish spirit” but it is a much more gutful word than that. Last week the Finns gave the world a good example of sisu by carrying the war into Russian territory on one front while on another they withstood merciless attacks by a reinforced Russian Army. In the wilderness that forms most of the Russo-Finnish frontier between Lake Laatokka and the Arctic Ocean, the Finns definitely gained the upper hand.”
What do you think? Is there a filmmaking term that closely matches the meaning of “Sisu”?