We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Saray Bravo Guidetti a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Saray, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
I’m a firm believer in investing in yourself wholeheartedly—maxing out credit cards, spending every last dollar, and going all in for your dreams. While it can be a scary thing, the rewards far outweigh the risks compared to staying stagnant. So I always say take the risks and truly believe in yourself, because if you’re not willing to do whatever it takes, then what’s the point? You must embrace your passion completely and that energy will help open doors for you. My best investment was investing in my short films and the one that opened up doors for me was Lady Justice. A film about a vigilante who takes down s*x traffickers. I think it was because I wrote it, pushed it forward with this great obsession that I knew even though I didn’t have much money to make it, it was going to happen. I was lucky to have so many people show up for me, give their talent and time to it and it went on to festivals, won awards, was optioned to be developed into a feature, and landed me in the NBCU Launch TV Directors Program, which led to me directing en episode of The Blacklist for NBCU/Sony. Imagine if I didn’t make that short film? So if you’re wondering if a short film is worth the investment, ummmm ABSOLUTELY! I’m still investing in my own passion projects, because I think it’s important to continue to build upon who you are as a storyteller and also if I’m not creating, the fire inside me gets dim. My next big investment is another short film called Love & Racing, it’s a Romeo and Juliet love story set in a rally racing world in Bolivia, which will be a proof of concept for a feature I wrote. This is my first international film, which adds another layer of challenges, but again with passion, obsession, and commitment I know it will all come together and I hope that the short film not only does well in the film festival circuit but brings financing for the feature. Check back in later on that!
Saray, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
About me… I want to start by re-introducing myself as Saray Bravo Guidetti. I am taking on my mother’s last name: Bravo. This decision is a way to honor everything she has done and continues to do for me. I am who I am because of her. She is a resilient and strong woman with immensely powerful faith, and my strong belief in myself and my craft is because of her. The name also honors my great-grandfather who was a photographer and I know that through our bloodline, he inspired my deep love for cinematography. So there you have it, a CanvasRebel exclusive on my renaming.
So now that you know my name, here’s a bit of who I am. I’m a filmmaker from Los Angeles and although I’m deeply rooted in American cinema, I’m profoundly influenced by Latin American and European cinema. I feel as though I’m a citizen of the world with my ancestral roots pulling me into different cultures. The beauty of cinema is that you get to experience these different cultures and worlds that you otherwise would never have the chance to know and understand. And I love that as a filmmaker I get to choose what world I want to explore and weave my personal experiences and emotions into my stories.
The current world I’m delving into is rally racing in Bolivia. My short film, Love & Racing, is set against this exhilarating backdrop and inspired by my father-in-law and the remarkable rally racers of Bolivia. I love sports and fast cars so this topic naturally captivated me. Through this film, I’m also examining the cultural and class divides that can hinder love from blossoming, often due to family or societal disapproval. (I just cast one of my leads and I can’t wait to announce who it is. Stay tuned.)
Ultimately, my mission is to inspire and ignite conversations about topics close to my heart, moving you in a way that leaves you contemplating your choices, exploring “what ifs,” and your interactions with the world after watching one of my films. If I can make you laugh, cry, fall in love, or get enraged, I’ve done my job.
You can find out more about me and my work by visiting my website: www.bravoguidetti.com
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that you never have to work, you get to play. You get to explore characters, their journeys, their relationships and what motivates them. And you get to do this with a group of people equally as passionate about storytelling and the craft as you are. What we do is a privilege and an honor. We get to entertain, educate, and inspire the world.
From start to finish, the entire process of making a film is deeply rewarding. From the moment you get that spark of inspiration to tell a story– the initial idea, the seed. And then you water it– write a script and share it with others who actually like it. Those words on the page create a world, create people and ideas you want to express. And then you get a bunch of talented people on board to bring it to life– I mean how rewarding is that?! The relationships I build with my crew are so meaningful and rewarding that when I find the right team I hold onto them. I recently found my forever DP, someone who believes in me and my dreams, challenges me to one up myself and is committed to the story as much as I am. It’s a rare gift that I deeply cherish. And of course the ultimate reward is sharing a finished film with the world.
And repeating the process.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I have a long list of books but I’ll name three that I feel have impacted me in different ways.
Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz – it’s a book I revisit often, because we can always build better relationships with ourselves and with others through love, healing, and forgiveness.
Principles by Ray Dalio – I love this book because it has a very simple yet effective approach to better management, working with others, and embracing failure to be able to learn from it.
On Writing by Stephen King – It’s an inspiring memoir and writing guide that I highly recommend for all writers. Great tips and advice on the writing process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bravoguidetti.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarayguidetti/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saray-guidetti-a51b591/
