We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Luca Bueno a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Luca, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve known I wanted to become a filmmaker since I was seven years old. When my family moved from Brazil to Monte-Carlo, France, and I started school there, I faced the challenge of not knowing English or French. However, my passion for movies became my universal language. Even though I couldn’t communicate well in words, I could connect with some of my classmates through the magic of film. Movies allowed us to share our tastes, interests, and personalities.

In a couple of years, I became fluent in both English and French, and our small friend group not only continued to watch films but also ventured into making them ourselves. This is how I grew up – immersed in the world of filmmaking and nurturing my dream of becoming a director since the age of seven. I may not know where those childhood friends are today, but our interactions during that time defined the path of my life.

Luca, 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?

As mentioned earlier, I was born in Londrina, Brazil. When I was around six years old, my family relocated to Monte-Carlo, France, due to my father’s work. While there, most kids my age had their idols, often soccer players, race-car drivers, or musicians. However, my heroes were filmmakers, particularly directors. I remember watching Jurassic Park for the first time at around that age, I believe that was the catalyst for me venturing into filmmaking, it must have made quite an impression since Steven Spielberg remains as one of my biggest sources of inspiration to this day.

After going back to Brazil in late 2014, at thirteen years of age, I had to fit in once more, and I did so by finding others who were interested in this area. Unlike other teenagers, we spent our free time making short films. I look back at it as my first film school, which gave me a lot of experience at a young age, so much so that at fifteen I was able to be an
intern-director in a major studio film produced by Universal Pictures Brazil and distributed by Netflix, “The Dreamseller”.

After making numerous short films, moving to the United-states, graduating from film school, and having my latest short film “Luna” premiere at the TCL Chinese Theater as part of the “Beverly Hills Film Festival” in early 2023, at twenty-two, I’m now getting my masters in film at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

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

Although it’s essential for directors to know what types of stories they want to tell, I feel like it’s as important to know what keeps you going, to know what is that “thing” that motivates you to not give up in this competitive industry.

Having had friends from all over the world who share the same goal as mine of becoming a filmmaker, I have seen dreams being ripped out of people due to a lack of resources, people having to let go of their aspirations, having to give all that up without even ever having a chance, an opportunity.

As I remember these things, I often realize how fortunate I am, I realize that not only do I have the resources to be able to chase my dreams, but I have the responsibility to keep on going, the responsibility to not waste this opportunity, for them, for all those who dare to dream but can’t. That’s what keeps me going. That’s one of the reasons I keep making my films.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s the self-expression for sure.

As I’ve gotten older and my films matured with me, I started to realize what makes a real good story. By “mature” films I don’t mean serious, or disregarding fantasy and whatnot, actually, my latest short film “Luna” is about a little girl trying to contact her astronaut father by writing and sending him a letter through a paper airplane which she shoots out of her window towards the moon, and in my opinion, that’s my most mature picture to date.

Learning how to integrate your traumas, fears, wishes and hopes in your stories and seeing them relate with an audience is the most rewarding feeling I’ve ever had as an artist and filmmaker.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12015278/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucabuenomovies/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-bueno-b7471a240/