We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
I gotta speak from the heart. My parents emigrated to the U.S with english as their second language and gave me and my brothers a wonderful life. Times weren’t always easy, and money was often scarce but through it all they pushed us to dream, and dream BIG. When my oldest brother wanted to play soccer, my parents went BIG and started a soccer club for me and my siblings to play on. In 1995, they recruited young players from our humble city of El Paso and from across the border( Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) to create Club America: a powerhouse team that would dominate the regional soccer nation for the next 10 years. These were underprivileged kids that used cereal boxes as shin guards and played street ball. My mother and father fundraised to put uniforms on their backs and proper soccer gear on their feet. For a decade, our team played hundreds of tournaments across the nation, and came home champions time after time. My parents co-coached, and the boys faced off with teams that were professionally coached, sponsored and dressed in the best brands sport nation could offer. In their modest uniforms, they beat teams such as the acclaimed Cruz Azul club from Escuela Oficial De Fútbol Cruz (1998 Friendship Tournament in Colorado.) This was the early 2000s and being an entirely Mexican-American team, they also found themselves discriminated and turned away from fields, hotels, and even gas stations. In the 2003 Regionals Tournament in Dothan, Alabama, Club America represented the state of Texas. As soon as our team’s bus arrived onto the field, police cars followed, surrounded our players, escorted them to and off the field, while never speaking a word to them. As their coach, my dad encouraged the boys to brush the bigotry off their shoulders, and beat them to shreds on the soccer field. And that they did, specifically with the golden rule of scoring at least five goals in the first half. My father would often quote Rocky Balboa(2006) to me “…You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward…That’s how winning is done!” In this industry, just like on the field, you face record highs and record lows. I was fortunate to have a solid foundation of family and resilience instilled into me. My parents created a legacy of community, and taught me that you build your own table, set it, and seat as many people as you can. Much of my work involves friends and colleagues I’ve met throughout the years that I truly believe in, and them in me. I could say I didn’t come from much, but the truth is I came from something really BIG.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My attachment to film began when my father would take me and my brothers to see every new horror movie screening at our local cinema. Of course, this was against my mamá’s wishes, She swore it would mess me up someday. Guess that day came when my 4th grade teacher asked me to step out into the hallway, after I had finished an original macabre poem. “Is everything alright at home Nicole? Your stories, they worry me.” Besides the occasional chancla spanking, everything was fine. But on that day, I realized something. My storytelling, and all that circulated in my mind, could really freak people out. So, it was in that very hallway my writing career took off and my passion for creating became the driving force of what was yet to come.
I grew up performing in Mariachi bands, cumbia groups and theatre so naturally I stayed the course. In 2016, a week after my high school graduation, I relocated to L.A. from El Paso, TX, to earn my Bachelors in Acting at the AMDA College for the Performing Arts. During my time in school, I played a major role in the Artists’ Lab, where I wrote, directed, and coached several student projects including Spoken Word, Stand Up Comedy, Film + Score, and Dance Theatre workshops. This experience expanded my ability to lead an ensemble group, while organizing the logistics of these projects. With my performance belt strapped on tight, I closed Comedy shows, starred in several musical/theatre productions and short films. Later under the direction of Phantom Projects Theatre Group, I wrote and staged an original play (The Dismissed, 2019) at La Mirada Theatre, all of which took place in an intensive two week span. The production and my team were featured in BroadwayWorld, Discover La Mirada and headlined the La Mirada Lamplighter Newspaper. My current partnership is now with Tré Melvin Studios, where I have taken on the role of developing 2023 short film productions, casting, and directing.
Post-college, I produced my web series Border Rat Tales with friends and found that we were the very production studio we were dying to be a part of. From screenwriting to directing to post-production- I had insight to bring an idea to fruition, and the team to execute it. My production company Lindenwood Pictures (the name of the neighborhood I grew up in), was a dream fueled by the pure gumption of a 4th grade horror head. As an independent writer, I infuse my Mexican heritage, our lore, and the social satire of modern living to unnerve, terrify and crack up audiences. Our new horror comedy Extranos is set to premiere on Day of the Dead, Nov 1, 2023. The objective for Lindenwood Pictures is to produce gripping, weird stories and develop fresh artists from all walks that otherwise wouldn’t get the limelight.
Beyond establishing a visionary production studio that will house cool talent and cooler films, my lifetime goals include building the first performing arts school in my hometown. Figured there are other little girls and boys back home like me who may be a little odd but got a lot of heart and vision to offer the world. Art is wonderfully transcontinental and has no language barrier. When words fail, we communicate through other mediums, such as a war dance serves to intimidate and music to enchant. Plainly said, art is a powerful weapon for social progress, and I find that solution through film. A good laugh, a few tears and a sick ass jumpscare really changes your walk when leaving the movies, maybe even your mind.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I am driven by many factors, such as the need to provide for my family and an age old dream that keeps me up at night. More importantly though, it is people. They are the greatest motivators. Their smiles, laughs, double takes and questioning stares. Helping an artist trust themselves to develop their projects or screening a Latina led project to my growing niece, it is the life source of my journey. In the summer of 2022, I was given a chance by an incredible director/filmmaker by the name of Matthew Talamantes of MoreThanHuman Productions. He cast me as the co-lead role in his feature film Slicked Back, a gritty, female led action movie. He was a self taught filmmaker who wrote, shot and edited his own films, and was the dopest to ever do it. He quickly became a mentor that I’d look to every time a new script or post-production issue would arise. Even if I just needed some encouragement and a reminder “que no nos damos for vencidos”(translation: we don’t give up.), he was just a quick call away. Matt loved writing characters for women that would usually be given to a man, as he thought a dynamic female lead at the center of an action film is rare and empowering. Alongside his partner of 12 years, Aly Fritz (who is the very lead of his film), they gave this border city kid a chance at the big leagues. I found our styles, principles and humor so alike, that they reminded me of family. So so, I often felt like I was being directed by my older brother. His sudden passing in April 2023 is a devastating loss to his family, students and the world of Cinema. He saw the value in my story and talent and he recognized my grit. It is hard to find connections like this in this industry and even harder to lose them. My experience was a wake up call that led me to trust myself and achieve all that I set out to do. It is comradery that matters most to me on this journey. Matt gave me the gift of courage and belief, but there is still unfinished business.
The film is 90% shot but in order to complete it, funding is needed to hire the professionals required to replace the many jobs Matt took on himself. These roles include a cinematographer/production crew to shoot the final scenes, editor, colorist and sound mixer. The campaign to finish the action epic Slicked Back and honor the lifework of Matthew Talamantes is currently live and being led by Aly Fritz. Any contributions, shared posts/links or spreading the word is a gift.
Slicked Back Campaign:
https://igg.me/at/SlickedBack
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Uncertainty is life. It is the very essence of invention and all that is worthwhile. I find it hard to believe that non-creatives aren’t familiar with it as it is too vital to our journeys. I certainly think I thrive under high stakes, dark tunnels and lava floors. From couch surfing to low dollar film budgets, I’ve trusted my intuition and often starving gut. And it was in these uncertain times, I’ve made the greatest discoveries and connections. I understood I wasn’t meant for the 9-5 life, and that scared me because I also craved security- damn it, I still do. However, I think embracing the doom of not knowing allows for you to tap into an elevated survival mode. There is a hungry beast inside us all who will fight for their right to the pursuit of happiness. I would say we have more in common than we realize. We all got a bad habit we can’t kick. Whether its caffeine, late night binges or the thrill of the unknown. Mine just happens to be the drug of Cinema and I am at its mercy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thenicolegarcia.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/i_am_your_mom_/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFZmt3pg_Vvnqk_rBWuHmQ
- Other: https://linktr.ee/nicole_garcia?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=f28eb59d-f1e3-44ef-9562-976b97580f5d
- Actors Access: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/nicolegarcia
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8766112/?ref_=fn_al_nm_3
Image Credits
Personal Photo: Molly Pan Photography Moreno productions