We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael L Garcia Jr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael L below.

Michael L, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My journey started in Mcallen, Texas in the early 80s. My childhood was not normal, In fact it was horrifying cause my father was not a very nice man at all. Music and movies were my only escape for a few minutes or hours away from my dark reality. Throughout those moments, I would imagine I was in another world as a different person or I’d let my imagination run, as I pretended to be an action hero, and I was the hero of the day. My escapes in my mind help me become creative in my own nature and kept my sanity from becoming depressed or suicidal due to my abusive childhood years.
Fast forwarding to my Junior High School years my mother worked at a Holliday Inn as a housekeeper and she would submit herself to working long hours to save enough money for my first Corona Smith typewriter,
She knew I wanted it for my 14th birthday and from that point on, I started writing my thoughts and motivated myself to become a screenwriter which kick started my creative side even further. Even though my childhood was my damnation at the time, I learned to become strong minded and self-aware of myself mentally by becoming creative in nature, thus becoming my salvation.
At that moment in time, I knew my destination was to become a filmmaker.

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

In my journey to learn the filmmaking world, I decided to go off road, off the textbooks and think outside the box of ways to learn the trade. I decided to take the hard road in hopes of getting my hands dirty by getting out there and finding the gigs myself. First step for me was to move to a city that had those opportunities, both places I had in mind was Indianapolis, cause at the time, it was thriving with independent films and the other was Austin: naturally I chose Austin, it was closer and much more convenient to move. But made the right choice by moving to Austin, as in the few months, two background acting jobs fell on my lap. One with Michael Madsen and Joe Estevez in a film called Corruption. The other was the start of a long engagement with Beth Sepko and Robert Rodriguez as I worked on the film Machete Kills as a cartel gang assassin. Followed by Sin City A Dame to Die For, Alita: Battle Angel and Red 11 along with a few other projects.
By submitting myself to background acting and following these two connections was my way into the industry. Not only did I take advantage of becoming a background extra and occasional featured character. It also allowed me to learn and see behind the scenes how everything worked, what ticked and what not to do.
This was my way of dirtying my hands and learning filmmaking off the books but learning the trade from the master’s themselves. I knew the road that I was taking was going to be hard and bumping but with benefits of knowledge. Every project I got in, I soaked it like a sponge, learned what I could at a short time and apply it to my own methods of filming.
I disciplined myself to learn, and understand what techniques are used to make a scene or a film look vibe well. In the many times that I worked in the industry I became aware that if I was to make my first film, I would be wearing most of the hats and indulge myself in the stress and passion of making a film and become the creator you are meant to be. In a nutshell, to make a film, you have to eventually sacrifice and become stronger than ever reach that goal.
In taking with all these experiences, my personal goal was to create my own company, Bearline Film Productions and in hopes to create my own films and help others reach their goals, either by acting or being behind the cameras. Basically giving the opportunity back to the community as it gave me in the past, that help me progress in the film industry.
Three films that we are proud of, Memorable Possessions, is currently playing on Youtube. The Darkside of Being Kind, which is still in post-production and in production, On American Soil, which should be picture wrapping this year. These films are proof that my company Bearline Films will rise among the stars and living proof that anyone can make goals come true if you work as a team, never lose you passion and always commit to what your future brings.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There was this one time, when one man said something that stuck with me throughout time. “Make your most ambitious film and if you succeed, you can make anything after that.” Robert Rodriguez said that in one of his shows for Red 11 and I could never forget it. That night I believe was SXSW 2019 and we met in person and man that was the highlight of the night. Not only did I occasionally worked for him on his films but talking to him was an inspiration and I mentioned the goal I had in mind. I knew we were on the same page but not the same level. I was not nearly close to what he mastered in his time, but it was good to know that I’m on the same path with the same ambitions to succeed.
Getting to his level is my goal, getting to build a legacy like his is my mission but to do that, you must build yourself a foundation. Make it your own way, have your own star system and have your own base. Have a stronghold among the film community and hold them to the highest respect, because eventually, you will meet people that will help you get there or gain resources that could be useful. To build your own film legacy, retain respect and acknowledge what fellow film families do makes your climb higher. My experiences and the people that I managed to gain, trust and surround with, is my drive to be creative and make more films in the future.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

My most rewarding moment is seeing your vision come to life. Actors reading what you written and seeing it come to life, it’s kind of surreal. You realize that characters and moments you build came from you, from your head, from your darkest or happiest moments and it’s enriching to see people working hard to bring it to life. From the actors to the lighting, even sound, it all comes together, and you see the finals cuts in editing. You get that hidden smile when you see it all together. But the best part of it all, you create a family of your own, a film family that you are proud of and know that they like what you create. The chances you give them to bring in their own creative thoughts or emotions on set to make a piece of the film come alive. Me personally, I feel better and feels more rewarding knowing what they think and the ideas they bring to the table to make the project look and feel real. I always welcome an open mind, cause what you don’t see, someone might and that could be your best scene of the film.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: bearlinefilms_productionsllc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/MichaelLGarciaJr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdZmK-gNzWg
• Other: The Darkside of Being Kind trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX4In-9qo7I&t=7s Memorable Possession short film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ccS_JgxRIY&t=10s