We were lucky to catch up with Luisa Novo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Luisa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
This year I’ve worked on fellow filmmakers projects that were so meaningful for underrepresented stories and diversity of cast and crew. I was the Assistant Director on two short films by amazing directors Kristine Gerolaga and Henry Alexander Kelly, that tap into their respective cultures and background and also cultivated an amazing ethos among the crew that really should be the norm in this industry. I also worked as the Key PA on the feature film All That We Love by director Yen Tan and it was one of the best feature sets I’ve worked on, from top to bottom. It truly renewed my faith in humanity and that the entertainment business doesn’t have to be a dog-eat-dog world.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve been directing and working in the film industry for a decade now. I studied Cinema and got a bachelor’s degree in Brazil, then got an MFA in Filmmaking from The New York Film Academy here in LA. Like many people that take this path, I’ve always loved films and TV, spending so much of my free time as a kid immersed in stories. But to actually make it a career? I didn’t know anything about it. It was a push from my mother that got me to actually study Cinema, but I went into it blindly. I didn’t know anything about the industry and the jobs available. In college I studied a lot about film theory, history, really thinking about it as an art form and a craft. Once I came to the US I got an intensive hands on training. There are so many jobs you can do, but I was drawn to directing and to the production side. I like shaping the story and having control in how it is told. I have directed short films and webisodes, some in collaboration with other writers, others I have written myself. As an up and coming director, you are told to pick a lane, chose one thing to focus on so it’s easy for the powers that be to catalogue you. But I’m drawn to both dramas and character driven comedies, and hope to direct more of both! I am now developing an Anthology Feature called Through The Blinds with 6 other women directors. This project is women driven in all aspects of it: on the paper, behind and in front of the camera. We are in the financing stage and hope to produce it soon. Besides directing, I also work as an Assistant Director and Production Assistant in Film, TV and Commercials. I use my organizational and collaborative skills to help other directors achieve their visions.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
When I started out, I wasn’t tapped into the wealth of organizations that exist to help people in their creative pursuits. It can feel like a lonely path, so building community is extremely important. So to anyone starting out in any industry, but particularly creative ones, I’d suggest looking into what types of organizations and networking events exist near you. I am part of The Alliance Of Women Directors, which has been invaluable to me with their events and programs that really support their membership, and where I met so many other directors who have become friends and collaborators. I am also a member of the Chicana Directors Initiative, with Latina Directors and Directors of Photography members. Through them I have met and worked with DPs and we keep supporting each other. The web of connections grows from it and you notice how big the community is and how we all kind of do know each other, or are one degree of separation from meeting someone. Projects grow organically and recommendations for work from trusted people are so important. And you also give back helping develop and grow the web. Other places of connections are my alma mater, The New York Film Academy, where I just directed an episode for a web series they are producing and worked with other alumni and current students. Film Independent, Blackmagic Collective, Women In Media, NALIP, Hola Mexico Film Festival TFT Program, LALIFF, they all have development programs and grants that can really propel your career and expand your network, and industry events/film screenings that are so lovely and help you stay in a creative mindset/flow.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
When you make a film, it comes from a selfish place, from something that is aching inside you to come out, something you need to express. But the process is long, and it can’t be done alone. At first it’s so solitary, with pen to paper or keyboard to blank screen. You think you can’t get through it, that what you have to say it’s not that good or important. But you carry on, because somehow you have to. Then your story is going to go through so many permutations. You write it many different times in many different mediums (script, acting, cinematography, editing, music). It becomes a conversation with your collaborators and your intended audience. After the project is off to the races from page to screen, you want it to say something important, to resonate with people, to have a meaningful impact in society. Whatever made you have to tell the story, you want other people to feel that catharsis too. Once it’s out in the world, the audience will have different interpretations, feelings, critiques. It’s out of your hands how it’s received, and at the same time it’s important in the whole dialogue. It changes you, it makes you grow and learn. Is there anything else like this process? It’s painful, gratifying, collaborative, community oriented, at the same time that is selfish and individual. It’s a way to see and live the world. And I love it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.luisanovo.com
- Instagram: @luisamnovo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisanovo/
Image Credits
Kushagra Jain Ian Van Der Werff Elliot London Chara Andrews