We recently connected with Xanthe Pajarillo and have shared our conversation below.
Xanthe, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
When I was six or seven years old, a family friend gave me a VHS copy of Jurassic Park. After seeing it, I immediately fell in love with dinosaurs and couldn’t stop drawing them. For the longest time I thought I would grow up to be a cartoonist for Disney, as I could draw for hours in my room until the sun went down. At school, classmates would ask me to make them custom drawings. Now I’m a filmmaker, but I always knew I was going to pursue a creative career from the beginning.
Xanthe, 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?
My directing/writing focuses on female-driven psychological horror with splashes of humor… that fine line between comedy and horror gets me going. My two most recent shorts (An Officer and an Airman and Rosebud) are horror rom coms. What I’m most known for is directing the 2021 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards on Shudder hosted by David Dastmalchian, which we filmed remotely – and, completely unrelated, my enthusiasm for the McRib which went viral in 2015.
I’m also the co-host of the Kindergeist Podcast with my 15-year-old niece Zakia Ponce, which we created for children to enjoy horror and embrace themselves for being different. My 11-year-old nephew Zachary also guest co-hosts occasionally.
Additionally, I write editorials for Bloody Disgusting, Fangoria and Certified Forgotten. I do my best to uplift the genre, particularly when it comes to the subgenres of military horror, children’s horror, and horror from the Philippines, but international in general.
Now… I’m about to embark to England to dive into my PhD on researching Children’s Horror (yes, it exists) and Children as Horror Filmmakers.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
When someone approaches me and says my work made them feel “seen” or “understood,” that’s the biggest compliment. I tell stories to make people feel less alone, so that is definitely the most rewarding.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
In the horror community, one of the best things we can do is share and highlight each other’s work. Also, genuine support through showing up or words of encouragement. It’s a taxing industry (physically, mentally, spiritually) and it really means the world when my best friend texts me, “Have an amazing shoot this week!” and it shows she remembered my schedule and is thinking of me. In creative jobs, we tend to focus on the project and neglect our mental health. We need to look out for each other when we forget about ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.xanthepajarillo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xanthepajarillo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xanthepajarillo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xanthepajarillo
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/xanthepajarillo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/xanthepajarillo
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xanthepajarillo Podcast: https://kindergeistpod.weebly.com/