Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ryan Rocha. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ryan, appreciate you joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

Some of the best advice I ever received was, “Move far away from home.” The reasoning is so you don’t get distracted by family and friends. Just do what you want to do.

Taking that advice, I moved to New Mexico 9 years ago for film school where I ended up dropping out to work as a production assistant on big budget films and TV. 5 years later I found that I was a very good production assistant and seemingly worked myself into just a good worker that deserved, but never really found myself move up in the way I wanted or least where this avenue was taking me.

I was very unhappy making money and not having a life until, I was fired, I quit and started saying no. The less work I got the more time I had for myself. Yet I was still unhappy because I forgot why I went to film school, which was to be a filmmaker. After a lot of realization, life became more enjoyable and I started slowly working my way back into a filmmaker surrounding myself with like-minded people.

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

In high school, I didn’t know what I really wanted to do. One college prep class, had a video I was proud to turn in. I knew I really loved movies but was in denial about taking it seriously as career option especially having a dad that was adamant about education and having a good technical job.

Volunteering at the San Antonio Film festival made me realize that I wanted to make a film, though I didn’t know how or have the resources to make one. In college, I bounced around in a bunch of different majors while almost being kicked out of school. So I entered in film classes at the community college where my film education began. Film school was necessary for me as it taught me the process and theory of filmmaking.

Film school was competitive which made it more fun, but I wanted more. I wanted to experience the level of success as Quentin Tarantino had when he was in his 20s. I was accepted into a scholarship program at Santa Fe University of Art and Design in Santa Fe, NM that was affiliated with the Sundance labs. Long story short, I dropped out after 2 semesters to work on a feature film directed by Andrew Fleming (The Craft) called Ideal Home. I was a locations PA that did whatever I was told. I was very tenacious and worked hard enough to get the next gig and the gigs started rolling. Soon I was tasked with more responsibilities aiming to become an assistant location manager. Only by fluke, was I able to gain a position that paid well for a lot of the headache that arises in the locations department, yet I wasn’t fulfilled with what I was doing.

Fast forward now I realized that working in the film industry, is very fun but it can consume your life and working for myself made it seem like an I was an artist that gets paid to do what they love. I can say that I learned a lot about problem solving which comes in handy in all aspects of life. When you use the knowledge you have learned in something that you care about, the struggle makes it all worth it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There was a time, which everyone goes through, in their line of work, where they want to quit. I was struggling a lot with low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. I really felt like an imposter. I was still working in the big budget film/TV industry and the work environment became hostile which I didn’t know how to handle. In response, I became passive aggressive and at the same time my mental and physical health was in decline. I thought I was going crazy but when the show ended and I was essentially fired and anger ensued. There was a lot of mixed emotions that I didn’t know how to handle. Someone suggested a book about living in the present. It changed my whole outlook on life and it made me realize my self-worth. I wasn’t respecting myself by working in the industry and not pursuing my personal goals. With a lot of self-reflection, I was able to focus on myself and goals, which changed everything. I was more happy and I was trying again and things started rolling. I got back into shape and my mental healtg was a lot better.

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

Ultimately, I’m currently working on a list I wrote down when I was on the verge of getting kicked out of college 12 years ago. I wrote down 4 things: Make a short film, enter a film into the San Antonio Film Festival, start a production company, and make feature film. So far I’ve marked off two and am working on starting a production company. For the love of film, I strive to move audiences with visual story telling because movies are crucial in shaping who I am today and I want to give back what film did for me to the world. There are many stories that need to be told which is possible for me to do more than ever before. Going down a dark path was necessary for me to become strong enough to be happy in what I do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rocharyan720
• Youtube: @ryanrocha675
• Other: short film: https://vimeo.com/985304384

  email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Kirill Oleynikov
@innastatestudios