We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Destiny Soria a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Destiny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
My company is different due to me being different. I have learning disabilities, ADHD, and (I’m) autistic. I am also a Native American Kickapoo. My production takes in anyone who wants to act and learn to be an actor and hires those who want to be in crew positions etc. I give those who are different like me a chance and give them an experience of a lifetime.
I work with my cast and crew to give them a better understanding and give them their best performance ever. I want to give many who never had a chance in this film industry an opportunity to learn and grow. I want to see people succeed and become something they always wanted to become. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, class, color, sexuality, gender, gender expression, religion, age, nationality, disability, marital status, or military status, in any of our activities or operations. We value diversity. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all clients, members of our staff, trainees, subcontractors, and vendors.
My company, Lady Destiny Productions, is committed towards to working for equality and against racism, xenophobia, sexism, transphobia, gender discrimination, classism and homophobia. We make it a point to acknowledge our own privilege and to utilize a societo-cultural lens while looking at the world; something that comes through in a lot of the films I produce.
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.
I started acting around 2008 then grew into directing. I started my filming company, Lady Destiny Productions in 2016 with a few short films. Then, around the end of 2016 made the short film Christmas Slasher. I have always worked as an actress but writing stories into movies was my dream. I had just finished the short film, but I hit a few obstacles and had to redo some scenes even before COVID put a temporary stop to production. That’s when I decided to make a feature film out of it. During that time, I wrote it as a feature film and started working on a budget. I had connections worldwide and started working on the fundraiser. We hit the goal and even went over for the movie, allowing us to bring in well-known talents. Things have been blossoming in my career, growing bigger and stronger. Now I’m making more movies and being in other directors’ films. I have become SAG and will start a new chapter of my life in Los Angeles next year.
I have my own company called Lady Destiny Productions LLC, we are a growing small business that is focused on filming productions and projects. We both do short films (and) feature films. I just finished my first feature film called “Christmas Slasher” which will be released in 2023, which gave me a chance to work with many talented people in the film industry.
At the moment, we are focused more on the horror genre; I have already started on scripts for two more horror feature films. My short film Hallowflix and Kill, which has been in the United States of Horror Chapter 3, is coming out next year in the anthology and has won awards. I am most proud of Christmas Slasher, which was a three-year project that we completed despite all of the drama and pandemic restrictions. Christmas Slasher currently has awards and official selections from 21 film festivals even before being released to the public.
What sets me apart from others are my dedication and my willingness to give others a chance. I put my all into every project and role, be it as a director or actress. I am also someone who has learning disabilities and is autistic, so I understand the struggles that others face. I make it a point to give people a chance and give them jobs even if they are working to overcome disabilities.
In the following year or so, I’ll ( )be making two feature films back-to-back, both horrors of course! I love my horrors. I just keep growing and glowing. I love to work with others and have been more on directing other films and other film’s production projects. This year, I have directed a series and a short film about LGBQT.
I just star(red) and produce(d) a drama movie called “No Promised Land” that we hope (to) submit to big film festivals this year.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I was faced with a difficult situation two years ago during the creation of my first film, Christmas Slasher. We had several individuals who tried to take advantage of the fact that I’m a new film maker; these individuals displayed extremely unprofessional and disruptive behavior both on and off set which included having drugs on set and stealing from the production. When I fired them, they spread false accusations against myself and my team in an attempt to ruin my reputation and that of my company.
The accusations were disturbing and it really hurt to see these lies spread. The stress made me physically ill and I even stopped acting and producing for a time.
However, I made the decision to stand up for myself and I will be taking the individuals involved in court for a defamation lawsuit. I have witnesses from the set and evidence to prove that they flat out lied. When I made my position known on social media, I also found out I’m not alone- there are others that have fallen prey to these individuals. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone and I will also work with others who have come forward to help them get justice.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I actually have both short- and long-term goals. One of my short-term goals at this time is to get my first feature film, Christmas Slasher on a popular media platform like Netflix. The film will be a homage to 80’s cult classics with new monsters, an original storyline. I’m very blessed to have won many awards for my short films and for Christmas Slasher.
As far as long term goals, I plan to continue being a director for filming and working on other directors/filmmaker’s projects. I would love to work beside Johnny Depp as an actress and work beside Robert Rodriguez as a director. I have so many scripts and ideas to make more films in the future.. I also have been a producer for a couple of films this year, one is called No Promised Land, which I star in. The film is a very powerful piece of drama and we hope to send it to the Sundance-fingers crossed!
My mission is to continue to raise my voice in the film and horror creative space as a Native American and to uplift the talents of other women, especially Native American women, in the industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://destinysoria.wixsite.com/destinysoria
- Instagram: http://nstagram.com/https://www.instagram.com/destinysoria/
- Facebook: http://facebook.cohttps://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=lady%20destiny%20productions%20llcm/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBzcPUgUJGTg6fD4EohQ7WA
Image Credits
Headshots by the actors collective LA Christmas Slasher poster by Simon Pritchard Full body shot by Max Aria Native Photos by Anthony Gracia
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