We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex Ramirez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.

Alex, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Every great film feels like a milestone in my life. You can just feel it. The energy, the camaraderie is palpable amongst the crew. I hate to use the word “family” in a work sense but there’s definitely a sense of bonding when you know everyone’s work is so good as a collective, when everyone just gels. “A Life in Technicolor,” the latest film I wrote and directed which will be out this year, was meaningful for a number of reasons. It’s the first time much of the crew had been on a set in nearly a year and a half due to COVID shutting down productions nationwide. The experience was revelatory and the story we got to tell was one of hope and gentleness. What we were creating was very much about COVID and the power of imagination during times of bleak uncertainty especially through the lens of film history. There could’ve been no better time to tell that story.

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

I was always enamored with movies, able to speak a “cinematic language” with my mother and father from an early age. They would show me movies all the time and I was always taken by the magnificence, the humor, the sheer artistry in the craft. I was an avid writer from that early age and I naturally gravitated toward playwrighting and performing drama in high school, then, in college. From there, the shift from playwright to full-on moviemaker was an organic one. In the Rio Grande Valley, I began to write and direct my own films and, after graduation, I moved back to my hometown of San Antonio in 2015, working here ever since. I always get the question of “What kind of films do you make?” There is no “single kind of film”; I go with what I feel at the time. For all the awards and recognition I’ve gained in the 7 years I’ve been doing this professionally, what I’m most proud of is being able to share my talents and insight to students—I teach film and photography at an educational arts non-profit. Passing the torch.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Especially in Texas, there is much resistance from our representatives to give money to the arts as it’s commonly seen as “giving free money to something non-vital.” That’s complete bogus—the arts is a vital facet of society, one steeped in healing, creativity, mental health, and the progression of culture. The mindset needs to change, the meager allocation of funds for the arts and filmmaking need to change, and if we’re talking taste, this idea that art is nothing more than “content” needs to change. Art is unique, and although much of it can be created in an assembly line fashion, the concepts and work behind the art are human and powerful.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that you have to be right all the time. Leadership on a film set is not about being right but facilitating learning, understanding, and collaboration. You can be wrong and, often times, you are. The imperfection of humans creating art together breeds excellence. In many ways, “perfection” is the enemy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexramirezfilms.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexrmrz2/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexrmrzfilms/
• Other: Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/user8383799