Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex Gonzalez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Alex thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I would say the most meaningful project I’ve worked on, and continue to work on, is the feature length film, “Quotidian”. It’s the second part of a trilogy I started writing fresh out of film school. I’m finishing the final draft of the script (6 drafts since 2014) and will be launching its development this year. Fundraising for sure. It is set in 2012 in Chicago leading up to the Chicago Public School teachers’ strike and during Obama’s time in office. The story is about an industrial machinist who, after escaping a life of crime and violence, has become a sort of urban recluse. His mom is a disabled laid-off teacher and organizer for the Chicago Teacher’s Union. The story talks about how Yamil gets transformed into a working class hero after losing his stable machinist job and is forced into the social struggle for his own survival. It goes into the damage people go through due to unemployment and alienation. This is meaningful to me because, since I became political in high school, I’ve felt that the power of the mobilized working class and masses is the key to real change in our capitalist society. “Quotidian”, is a battle cry to the working class to take arms.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Self Identities are sometimes difficult to discuss openly as a creative as we tend to express ourselves in multiple forms. Being called a “filmmaker” seems more fitting for me, even though I’ve practiced creative writing since high school, grew up playing music, and have worked as a freelance graphic designer. I find Cinema to be a powerful medium, the most effective way to draw in an audience into a whole new world that filmmakers have created from scratch. Sometimes the viewers pay a theater ticket, sometimes they pay with their time, but they undeniably commit to this constructed world for the length of the creation. If the creators are successful, they’ve changed the world outlook of the viewer, at least temporarily during the experience, sometimes lingering for minutes or months after. Some type of moral elevation (or abasement depending on the content). Although I’ve studied graphic media arts during my undergrad, I fell in love with cinema on my downtime watching independent foreign films in the early 2000’s (yes I’m old). During that time, I explored making videos of my friends skateboarding or breakdancing. I also played with different video formats to make music videos of existing songs (like Rage Against the Machine’s, “Bulls on Parade”). It was fun digitizing VHS tapes and HI8 cassettes to edit on the computer. There is something special, and tedious, about that labor. After graduating from college, working as a freelance Graphic Designer and in retail, I decided to attend film school in a different country. From 2007-2009 I attended film school in Paris, France. These were my formative years as a new filmmaker and as an artist. There, I was taught to avoid making films for entertainment or escape. We were artists exploring the most effective ways to not only depict our time, but to impact audiences in a more spiritual way. Experimentation was important while learning the highly technical aspects of filmmaking. Technology wasn’t the driving force during that period as it is now. We shot films using 35mm and Super 16mm, plus HD cameras. Prioritizing the story, lighting, the psychology of each composition, that impacted me more to this day. Today, with Quotidian Pictures, we offer clients an opportunity to share their vision with communities not limited to “advertisement” per se. We apply the principals of cinema to every reel, music video, documentary, et cetera. I feel this is the best way to sell an idea. We also offer the audience a cinematic journey when viewing our movies and content. Different perspectives constructed into new visual worlds. These will get better. With a flooding of content online, it’s become more important for creators to just stay true to themselves and their calling. I am mostly proud of all the work I’ve worked hard enough to complete. Two projects that stand out the most: the short film, “Land of Ghosts”, and the feature script for “Quotidian”. Land of Ghosts is a short surrealist film about a laid off Chicago Transit Authority worker who is stuck in a series of nightmares; my attempt at a metaphor for being a black male in the US. Some of the imagery is controversial. As of now, I’m deciding on what is the best streaming platform to share it. I enjoy coordinating public screening events for my films. Last year, my collaborator, Eric Gonzalez, and I organized a successful film festival in the Pilsen Neighborhood of Chicago, where I showcased, “Land of Ghosts”, among other great short films by important local filmmakers. It was off the chains. We had great music by DJ Slinky, tantalizing food by Chef Luis Alvarado, and an art exhibit with works from Roho Garcia, Daniel Becera, and Eric Gonzalez (who happens to be my sibling). What clients or collaborators should know about me is that I take my craft very seriously enough to always push it to its potential depending on what your vision is. I try to enhance your vision with you.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Money or lack thereof has always been an obstruction for filmmakers and creatives like me. After I graduated film school, I moved to NYC to pursue life as a filmmaker. My mind wasn’t ready. I spent a lot of time on skype with my Parisian girlfriend at the time, and working as a part time office worker for a temp agency. I worked as camera crew for several independent shoots that didn’t pay well. Long story short, I ran back to Chicago, broke and broken. I ended up getting a 9 to 5 at a university as an office staff and stayed there for 12 years. I wrote and produced a couple of good shorts during that time, “Humboldt Spring”, and “DJ Heartbeat: Summer 16”, but for the most part, my film career was put on the back burner. After 12 years of service, I was fired in 2024. This was a big test of strength, and this is when I launched Quotidian Pictures. I was hired to produce a music video for a UK artist, NX Panther, for her and the Chicago rapper, G-Herc, literally a month after I was let go. It was a good sign. I put my heart into the video for, “Lightning Bolt”, and the result was explosive. Now I teach film for an afterschool program and continue to build and produce content for myself and clients. Sometimes, life forces you to change your direction. It’s like some Quantum Physics law or something. What may seem like a derailment is sometimes a necessary tangent that leads to a new material reality more fitting for you as a body in real space. Just be patient. I’m still learning.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think what non-creatives will struggle to understand about my journey is why I didn’t work for television to make good money or run to LA to pursue my career. The truth is, I did run to LA in 2004, but at the time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a filmmaker. I was a graphic artist and writer but was only beginning to explore cinema. I was turned off by the rat race and ongoing “networking” vibe. I wasn’t ready. I was also turned off by the idea of working 60hrs a week for television without a voice. I wanted to build a voice as an artist. The true school of being a filmmaker is not film school or the studio but living life and growing as a person. I learned a lot more about myself and people working as an administrator and project manager in Higher Education than I did in film school. Not to shun film school or LA. Both offer a ton of opportunities to grow and prosper. What I’m saying is you should know what exactly your calling is; what are you going to offer the world and what will you leave behind. That is more important to me than income. Trust me, the money will come once you figure this out.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agonzalez_arts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.gonzalez.1671897
- Linkedin: Alex Gonzalez
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@quotidianpictures7248
Image Credits
photos with murals in the background were shot by Eric Gonzalez 2026