We recently connected with Drea Castro and have shared our conversation below.

Drea, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

All the work I do stems from my life purpose, which is helping tell the stories of underrepresented people and communities. I want to give a voice to people who never feel heard because I didn’t feel heard. Being a Filipino, I remember growing up, not being able to afford cable TV and watch Filipino TV channels so I NEVER saw anyone that looked like me. I also grew up in a home where I felt like I didn’t have a voice and my story was silenced quite a bit. And that journey has brought me to finding my path, which is to help those who are unseen and that is what my body of work is comprised of.

My first feature film documentary, ‘Baldy for the Blind” is the story of a group of blind hikers who summit the most dangerous mountain in LA county, Mount Baldy (10,064 feet). This group of people changed the trajectory of my life. I realized that I wanted to tell stories but not just any story – stories of those who are often ignored. I had an unwavering curiosity for learning and sharing with a community I did not understand. And in my search for answers from them, I found myself. This film would take me on a rollercoaster journey for 13 years.

I am now working on a few other meaningful projects, “Browned” a documentary TV series about brown chefs and their underrepresented foods with my co-creator, 6x Emmy nominated editor, Ben Bulatao.

“The Jungle” – a TV series created by Mariel Gutierrez . Through this project, my goal is to shift the stories of my community into the mainstream.
This anthology series tells the story of the Filipino- American diaspora throughout American history with the first season starting in the now non-existent Manilatown, San Francisco during the 1970’s.

It’s so hard trying to create for mainstream media because we know as a team that we have an uphill battle to prove that a brown Asian story can be commodified. But like “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Beef,” “Mo,” “Pachinko,” “Ramy,” – the list goes on and on, we just need a chance. We need our community to come together to fight for this chance, to show up for each other, to pull each other up because the more of us at the head of table, the more of us can have a voice to make some serious needed changes with the literal face of the entertainment industry.

Drea, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always loved the camera and even from a young age, like many Filipinos, we sing. I’ve always sang since I was a child and also loved to take photographs. I had a desire for both front and behind the camera as far as I can remember. This desire would bring me on a unique journey of loving the world of entertainment.

As I entered into the world of film/TV, I quickly realized that for people with brown skin like me – chances of representation are very few and far between. There are some amazing Filipinos that have paved the path for us and broken through but I realized we need to keep going. I want nothing more but a near future time – where having a Filipino in a leading role or telling a Filipino story is just the norm.

My mission now is to help create a path for the next generation of underrepresented filmmakers, actors, entertainment professionals so that this dream doesn’t seem like an impossible task. While I’m working on projects that will help push that dream forward, I also realize that mentorship and education is another way of making that dream come true. I would like to equip the next generation of creators, both young and old – and I realize that the fastest way to do that is to provide them with tools that they can create with. With the work I do, I try to implement shadowing or internships opportunities whenever I work on a project. I am also trying to build a mentorship program through Fil-Am Creative where I serve as a VP of Career Development.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I took 13 years to complete “Baldy for the Blind” my feature length documentary. That is the resilience needed to survive in this crazy, challenging, sometimes unrewarding but also VERY fulfilling industry. Filmmaking is often a thankless thing and you have to often remember your “Whys. ” If there is one thing that the subjects of my film taught me was that it doesn’t matter how long it takes, just put one foot in front of the other and you’ll get there. All of the people in my film is the reason why I got to the end.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster with this film. For a long time, it was just me – alone – making this feature film happen and scrubbing through the 100’s and 100’s of hours of footage with minimal knowledge of how to create a film of this magnitude with no funds to get real help.

I ran into a lot of snags along the way – editors who believed in the project and wanted their name on it, would come in and not realize how difficult it is to piece this thing together. I started this project with a partner and that went away. There would be producers that came in with a dream but would get distracted and off they went. Months and months, years and years of ups and downs. Most people, probably would have given up but I couldn’t give up on these people who graciously shared their intimate stories with me. I knew it meant the world to them to share who they are and I couldn’t give up on them. The blind/visually impaired community rarely have a voice, so I understood that this meant everything

Finally, I did find a co-producer to work with, Matt Zimel and at this point, I had learned the craft of editing. Both he and I worked on the film for several years in the midst of us having other jobs and responsibilities.
What’s hard about shooting a film 13 years ago, is the fact that you have grown so much as a person and as a filmmaker both technically and emotionally. If I were to shoot this film now, it just wouldn’t be the same but with that said, I am so proud of the journey and lessons it has taught me.

Without Matt, I don’t know how I could have gotten through it all. It was truly our work together that got me here today to a finished film that is about to premiere this summer 2023.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is sharing my work with those who I collaborate with. As a director, no one really completely understands your vision until that work is viewed.

I recently worked on a very special project that I wrote and directed called “Bless” It starred Arianna Basco, Darius Basco, Marylynn Jones, Ron Christopher Jones and the amazing 7 year old star, Maisie Jones. “Bless” is Maisie’s first film and she nailed it!!!! I was so excited to show her a scene from the film and her parents, who also star in the film, Marylynn and Ron filmed Maisie’s reaction. I cried watching it. It was so satisfying to see that a little star was born. That video they sent me is going to be something I hold very close to my heart for the rest of my career.

The same goes for the blind/visually impaired stars of my documentary. The reactions they have when they hear themselves on screen literally has me bawling because for them this is honoring their lives and my only hope is that they leave the theater on our premiere night, proud of sharing their stories.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.littlebeastproductions.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/imroamingtheearth
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dreacastro

Image Credits
Picture #1 Gus Orozco