We recently connected with Aaliyah Munguia and have shared our conversation below.

Aaliyah , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I firmly believe that people fall into their passion by uncontrollable circumstances, in a way it becomes a protection from reality. Reflecting on my childhood – the youngest, only daughter, first generation and from a low-income household- I realized that I felt lonely and misunderstood. It is the worst feeling that no matter where you went, you were either overlooked or overly judged. My only escape was on screen or in literature. I was captivated by the comfort I felt within a story, and it truly transformed my mind. This went beyond the surface, and I gained a deep love for storytelling.

As I got older I became obsessed with all forms of entertainment, and quickly established a creative connection with my personal battles. I mainly expressed myself through poetry, but later it developed into short stories, and eventually I was enthralled by visual storytelling. Although by the age of fourteen
I had seen a fairly decent amount of television and movies, the concept of storytelling and the power it held was unimaginable to me, but I knew that I would give anything to be able to produce my own art into the world. This feeling alone set me on my path and I began taking various forms of visual art classes during High School. I dabbled in different areas such as fashion design, photography, theater, video production-just to name a few. However, it was a film analysis class where I discovered the interpersonal connection that design, writing, sound, music, acting and all that goes into directing and producing a film. The power of filmmaking and how the little details are important in order to get the underlying message across is my main interest.

I took this interest with me into university.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am currently a senior student majoring in the study and practice of cinema and television with a focus of screenwriting at California State University, Long Beach. While my attention is mainly on screenwriting for film and tv, my interests expand further into literary and magazine journalism. As a student, I am crafting a portfolio to showcase both a feature film and tv series pitch; however, I also utilize social platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest to express my personal style and aesthetic. I will soon be documenting my journey as a first generation Latin-American student attempting to obtain an internship with a production company before I graduate, as well as applying for a job in a competitive field such as the entertainment industry.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Absolutely! While it is easy to want fame or fortune in this competitive field, I find that I just want to make people feel something, to relate to the character or the story on a deeper level. To write and direct my own film or produce a tv series one day would be a dream come true, but until then – my first mission is to have the opportunity to be a production or design assistant for film/tv and editorial.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think that as creatives it is easy to have a sense of imposter syndrome at some point in time, especially during the early years of your career or even when you’re just about to embark on the journey- as I will be soon. Being someone who never had the resources or even the strong support of my parents, it is incredibly difficult to feel that you are where you need to be. It is hard to ignore when we see or know of someone who is in the same field, but has gotten an early start in their career. What I had to unlearn is the feeling of not doing enough and wanting what others had. I fell into a spiral of sadness because I was judging myself on why I didn’t just take a risk, constantly asking myself, “Am I even good enough to pursue a career in filmmaking and television? Who would want to work with someone with little to no set experience?” I believed that my disadvantages made it is easy to ignore my dreams; however, in the true beauty of cinema, I realized that audiences crave a relatable story. No film was written and created to repeatedly shine on the same tale of the protagonist that has it all. While I don’t know what will happen in my career, I am certain that no one, not even myself, will have the right to tell me that I am not a filmmaker or writer.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @aaliyah.isaura
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaliyah-munguia-3a59b1301

Image Credits

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