We were lucky to catch up with Mitchell Jaramillo And Siddharth Sharma recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mitchell Jaramillo and Siddharth Sharma, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I mean, it definitely crosses our mind. How could it not when you’re constantly wondering where rent is coming from?? It’s kinda funny but that part of the work alone gets mentally exhausting. And the interesting thing is, Mitch used to have a regular job. Well paid. Stable. He was thinking about different things day to day. And he chose to leave all that behind for this – unstable, unpredictable, different problems. This thought track really hit between us last year. It was after we shot Unfamily, our biggest film to date, but before we premiered it. We were in this limbo state where we weren’t taking on any more creative projects but we needed money. We just didn’t know what direction we were going and what the hell we were even building as a company. We were disoriented and it kinda rocked us. Felt like a pretty low point. Had to have some tough conversations about our direction and our commitment. One night before calling it a day, we had a pretty striking conversation in the subway station. People bustling around us during rush hour, going about their days. And we stood there and had a real chat about how committed we were. It would make sense to give up, we thought. But if we were serious, this was the test. Are we in? We reaffirmed for each other at that moment that this was the only option for both of us. And we pushed through.

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?

How we got into it… We both started as actors but we just wanted to take charge and create opportunities for ourselves. We hustled and shot like five short films together in 2023 and then realized that this was becoming a pretty solid partnership for something bigger than just short films for actors. Thus, Hold the Sauce Films was founded in 2024.

Now what do we do? We are a story house. We develop stories and bring them to life for filmmakers, artists, and brands. It’s no longer enough to create something – there’s enough media and entertainment in the world. What sets us apart is how aggressively we prioritize the story to maximize its impact. Everything other than the story needs to be earned; hence, hold the sauce.

We’re most proud of our short film, Unfamily. It’s a pretty solid expression of our core philosophy and what we’re capable of. It also won People’s Choice at DRIFF so it seems to have resonated with audiences.

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

We want to make art that rocks people… forcing them to consider what it means to hold the sauce.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFTs are funny. They blow up and you think it’s the next big thing. Then they fall off and you think blockchain and crypto is a fad. But it’s more than likely just a signal of how art is evolving with modern economic structures. Makes you consider how art will be valued in 10, 20, 100 years??

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.holdthesaucefilms.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holdthesaucefilms/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hold-the-sauce-films

Image Credits

Hold the Sauce Films