Learning Which Stories to Follow with Maris lidaka
- Jul 26
- 3 min read
The Documentary Life: Listener Stories
Special contributor, Maris Lidaka
Maris Lidaka always imagined himself becoming a narrative filmmaker.
Documentary storytelling entered his life almost by accident.
Fresh out of college, he was working at a home inspection company when a conversation changed the course of his career. The company's accountant happened to be married to cinematographer Peter Gilbert, whose work on Hoop Dreams helped redefine modern documentary filmmaking.
"It was the first time someone put the idea of making a documentary into my head."
Years later, that seed led to Maris's first paid directing job—a documentary series following three music producers as they built their own recording studio. Although the series was never completed, the experience left him with something far more lasting than a finished film.
"I fell in love with just being present with people and hearing their stories," he says. "I realized that every person is fascinating when you give them the platform and ability to speak freely."
That discovery changed not only the way he approached filmmaking, but the way he moved through the world. "We all have similar hopes, dreams and desires," he says. "But the way in which we try to achieve them is unique to all of us."
Like many documentary filmmakers, Maris also learned that passion alone isn't enough to carry a project from beginning to end.
Looking back, he sees a number of films that never found their way to completion. Some projects lost momentum. Others changed course entirely. Those experiences gradually reshaped how he evaluates a story before committing years of his life to it.
"I imagined that I could spend years with a person," he says. "But have come to realize that's not a sustainable way to make films."
Today, his process begins differently.
Rather than immediately committing to a feature documentary, he spends time exploring whether the story has the depth, access, and momentum to sustain the journey.
"I'm currently working on a documentary about a musician's struggle to approach her life after surviving two rounds of cancer and a major car crash," he says. "Before I would have dove into a feature length documentary with no plan. But this time, we did a mini interview and test b-roll to see what potential was there."
Experience, he says, hasn't made him less curious. If anything, it's done the opposite.
"I am more curious about everything. I see people and wonder what their stories are. I look at moments and wonder how they came to be. I see the beauty in the everyday."
That curiosity has shaped both his documentary and narrative work. Because, for Maris, understanding people has become the foundation of every story worth telling.
"I can say that it has truly taught me to have more grace."
When asked what living a documentary life means to him today, his answer returns to the quiet moments that first drew him toward nonfiction storytelling. "It means looking for ways to capture the beauty of life through people. One person's story captured on film can change someone else's life."
Then he leaves one final thought.
"So my purpose is to look at all the little moments that everyone misses and pay attention to them. Beyond noticing them, to actually stop and live in the moment for a little while. Because every single moment, even the terrible ones, are beautiful."
About Maris Lidaka
Maris Lidaka is a filmmaker, producer, and editor with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, including work with Warner Bros., Disney, AT&T, Red Bull, and Netflix. Of Black and Latvian heritage and shaped by years living between the United States and Denmark, he founded The Blended Future Project, a film studio and creative strategy practice creating cinematic experiences for the Mixed generation while helping mission-driven organizations build long-term audience trust. He is currently in pre-production on his feature narrative film Concrete River and publishes The Sovereign Creator, where he writes about helping independent artists build sustainable funding, infrastructure, and audiences.
Websites: https://www.marislidaka.com/
Instagram: @marislidaka
Newsletter: https://marislidaka.substack.com/