We were lucky to catch up with Isaias Badilla recently and have shared our conversation below.

Isaias, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My brothers and I created an independent film company a couple of months ago. We have been making films since we were kids, homemade films that are proof of how much we love cinema and the incredible joy that brought to our lives. We had so much fun making these films and we would invite all of our friends and family to be a part of them. Right now we are in the pre-production process of our first short film. I wrote it, I will be acting in it and also directing. My brother Xavier will be the cinematographer and Thomas is the producer. For the past seven months, we have been working hard on this script and the creation of the production company. We start shooting soon and we couldn’t be more excited and grateful. We can’t wait for people to experience ‘Threnody’. Logline: In a modern and superficial New York City, a grieving woman encounters an unusual person on the street, blurring the lines between dreams and reality.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born and raised in Costa Rica and moved to the United States around five years ago. I was looking for a change, a new challenging, and beautiful experience. Looking back on this journey I’ve come to realize that it was truly one of the best decisions I have ever made, it has been difficult but immensely rewarding.

I’ve had a deep relationship with cinema for as long as I can remember. My brothers sparked that passion, the camera, and its possibilities were our playgrounds growing up. Before moving here cinema started to become something even deeper, it was like philosophy; it gave me its hand and helped me understand my own human experience. Later on, it became therapy, it became personal. The short stories, sequences, and sounds were an abstract representation of what I was going through. Once I edited them and shared them with my family and friends it left my body, I had overcome that. A cathartic experience of watching something you did, detaching myself from my work and surrendering to the audio-visual experience, and realizing that I’m not alone; just like when I sit in a movie theater and I feel embraced by the audience, the characters, and storytelling, by the experience.

Purple Duck’s mission is to explore and challenge the boundaries of cinema through the power of creativity and storytelling.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The artistic journey will always be hard, but the first couple of years of living in this country have been the most difficult. It was like swimming against the current, a constant clash of values, languages, and ideas. I was always trying to find a balance between that exchange of cultures and also staying true to myself. Many times I felt misunderstood, and I tried to change important things within myself to try to fit in. I needed that exploration, even if it was not truthful, I needed that to find my path. Now more than ever I feel truthful, to who I am and to who I was, and with that, I have found more focus and motivation to write and create. I have found myself surrounded by people who care about what we do, and who support me with their talent and essence.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Something that I’ve realized, especially for cinema, is that I don’t need thousands of dollars to make something meaningful. Passion, love, and some equipment are more than enough. Seeing the lack of funds as an obstacle is nothing else but an excuse. I have a cell phone, I can shoot a film with that. I have incredibly talented friends, we can collaborate and make something powerful. If I wait for that studio to read my script and fund it I will probably be waiting forever. I couldn’t forgive myself if I just stayed with my arms crossed waiting for something to happen, I have to make it, and now it’s the time.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purpleduckfilms/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/isaiasbadilla/

Image Credits
Luana