Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cielo Yanez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cielo, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
My mom is a novelist who has always encouraged my sister and I to give her feedback as she writes new stories. One day, she read a passage from her newest novel, and I saw it so clearly in my head that I asked permission to adapt and shoot that segment. She agreed, and became my right hand in the project. The novel itself follows generations of women from Peru, inspired by our family history, and simultaneously intertwines the religious and patriarchal trauma that has been passed down for ages.
Since from the start this was a very intimate story to tell, I wanted all of my team to be made up of people who could feel identified with the story- one way or another. Naturally, people from multiple different cultural backgrounds joined my crew, with my department heads mainly being Latin women. I wanted my actors to have a safe space to go on this very personal adventure with me, and I believe we accomplished that. My sister was the 1st AD, my mom the Production and Costume Designer, my aunt and grandma the costumers, and my grandma also provided all the catering for my cast and crew.
It was a story written, produced, and executed by women in my family, about the women in my family, for women all over the world that may feel like their stories have not been told on the big screen. It was very well received, most specifically by people that came from 3rd world countries. Many women expressed to me how seen they felt, and that was the biggest compliment my team and I could’ve received.
Cielo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a born and raised Peruvian film Director, who immigrated to the United States at 13 years old. My mom is a writer, my stepdad an actor, and my sister majored in Cinematography, so movies and storytelling has always been part of my life. I went to The Los Angeles Film School, where I obtained a Film Production Bachelor’s degree with a focus on Directing. I learned a lot there about not only production work, but also about my brain. I knew that being on a set felt like home to me, where I felt the most useful, but I didn’t fully understand why until I started trying different roles.
The art department was the first area that felt completely natural for me. I’ve grown up around arts and crafts my whole life, it was always my favorite thing to do at school, at home, and with my friends. For this reason, it’s this department that has pushed me towards the better job opportunities and has allowed me to keep a more steady income. I’ve been able to quickly build up a favoring resume and make important connections with many talented, hard-working people. I’ve taken every opportunity on set to use my skill and knowledge, as well as expand it. These skills range from building and dressing entire sets, to refurbishing furniture, to creating or restoring hand items from scratch.
Once learning what the 1st Assistant Director does, I realized my brain could be useful and creative in more ways than just artistically. I was able to not just handle, but fully enjoy the logistical side of putting together a production. From making call sheets, to creating effective schedules, to sending emails with important information- it was all a lot of work that I wholly immersed myself in. What I found the most delight in was reaping the benefits of all of that planning on set. Realizing how what I was doing in pre-production had led us to a set day for which we were fully prepared for. Leading a crew through a schedule that I had put together built up my confidence on set, and made me think of myself as a natural leader, communicator and delegator. As an AD, I take the responsibility of setting the tone of the day very seriously. I want my crew to work hard, but also to enjoy themselves and have fun while working, so I make sure to lead by example and embody that energy myself.
Directing is where I feel the most myself. It’s where I’m able to harmoniously combine both my artistic and my logistical side. My ability to connect to a script and its characters; put together a creative team; and communicate and execute my vision requires a level of focus and drive from both sides of my brain. I feel naturally driven to Drama as a genre, because as a self-aware person, I know I’m very intense. I love intensely, I protect fiercely, I connect whole heartedly. So my passion for a story comes through the best in a more dramatic setting, where I feel the most secure about where I’m driving the tone of the story and of the characters. My favorite aspect of directing is always collaborating with other artists. Talented people that will make my vision become something greater than I could’ve ever imagined. When I connect with my department heads, the story increases it’s worth, and it becomes something even more meaningful to me, to my crew and to the audience.
What I would want anyone to take away from me as an artist is that I will always bring in my culture, language and identity into my art; I will never deliver something that I’m not proud of; and I will always want constructive criticism to continue growing as an artist and storyteller. I will always stay true to my vision, but humility and adaptability is important and always present in my projects.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Although I absolutely loved my experience shooting the short film based on my mom’s novel, there were a lot of personal conflicts in the background. I had started the pre-production process while my mom and stepdad were separating. When I started casting people, I could only really see my stepdad in the role of the father/husband. I tried auditioning different people to find a better option since I did not want to deal with the emotional turmoil of a divorce on set. But at the end of the day, I needed to do what was best for the movie. So I casted my stepdad.
There were two intimacy scenes that I had to rehearse and shoot with him and with the main actress. The rehearsal itself was a hurdle to get over, but once I did I actually felt very proud of myself, and excited to shoot the scenes. When the day to shoot the intimacy scenes came, there were a lot of high emotions. My mom (the production designer) was uncomfortable with my stepdad’s presence, but this day was more palpable. I had not told the main actress about my relationship with her co-star to avoid any more tension. I asked my sister (1st AD) to make an announcement that only specific crew members would be needed to stay on our closed set to shoot the intimacy scenes. My mom was not included in that, and she took it personally. I felt her energy shift, but we didn’t address it until lunch time.
We quickly broke for lunch as we would have to get back to finish shooting the last intimacy scene. We were behind on schedule. I approached my mom, and first thing you need to know about her is that that woman is stubborn. She did not want to speak to me, and I understood I would have to press her to clear the air and move on with our very busy day. The conversation did not go well. She had taken my decision to clear the set very personally as if I didn’t want her to be present during this scene with her soon-to-be ex-husband. I tried to explain that it was purely professional and to please get past this as it was the last shooting day and I wanted to end on a good note. She did not. So I had to go find a hidden dark corner and use the last 4 minutes of lunch to cry as hard as I could. There were a lot of mixed emotions- positive and negative- but I was mainly angry that my mom wasn’t understanding my point of view.
In those 4 minutes, it hit me that I was dealing with the consequences of hiring my whole family during a divorce. And although in the 4 weeks we had shot I had barely felt the negativity around that, this was the time that my emotional resilience was getting tested. I had to remember why I had initially put myself and my family in this position. And it was because a story as personal as this one had to be told with the people I trusted and loved the most. People who I knew would take this project to heart and not rest until they saw it through. I wiped my tears as best as I could, grabbed my schedule, and got to work. I overlooked my mom’s energy and decided to focus on living this beautiful last day on set. That day, I realized I could handle anything on set.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is falling in love with your self step by step. I think artists constantly suffer from “impostor syndrome” and I am no stranger to that. I’d like to say that the most rewarding thing is watching the reaction and the influence your art has in other people. And although that is an extremely gratifying experience, it’s not as enduring as the feeling of watching your work and growing admiration for yourself. Every project has made me understand and appreciate myself more, and watching it again lifts me up from some deep self-deprecating thoughts that can sometimes eat artists alive. This doesn’t necessarily apply only to film. Looking at a painting I’ve done, or a set I’ve dressed, or a prop I’ve built makes me wonder how I even thought of that in the first place, and places me in a 3rd perspective where I’m allowed to admire my own work and therefore, admire myself as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mskyyb1.wixsite.com/cielo-in-art
- Instagram: goforcielo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cieloyanez1758
- Other: My short film
Password: AYNI2025
Image Credits
Mateo Gamero
Jahleesa Escobar