Daily Inspiration: Meet Yessenia Sánchez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yessenia Sánchez.

Yessenia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I was in high school I thought I wanted to be an animator because I loved to draw, but when I took a multimedia class my junior year I realized I enjoyed all aspects of filmmaking, live action and animation alike. My passion for post production grew as I continued my education, and towards the end of my time at Pratt Institute I knew I wanted to purse editing more intently. So I seeked mentorship from my amazing editing professor, Sewra Kidane, who helped me find my first gig as an Assistant Editor on a John Hardy commercial.

The following year, my thesis film DOUBLE CULTURA won (HBO) Max’s Latino Short Film Competition and was licensed by Max for a year. It felt like a huge milestone for the start of my career. After that, I continued to edit a few short films, landed a remote job as an AE at an LA-based company called Media.Monks, and became a finalist for the ACE Internship Program.

In 2023 I made the decision to move to LA in hopes to immerse myself in the film community here. Though, the moment when I started to feel a true shift in my growth was when I got into the Find Your People Program in 2024. The program is organized by Issa Rae’s Color Creative, and that’s where I found a community I genuinely felt connected to.

At the start of this year I finished editing a short film called TIT FOR TAT, in February I started a new job as an AE at Sixtwentysix (a production company based in Culver City), and shortly after that I started post production for PLEASE RETURN YOUR CARTS, one of the four films created through the Find Your People Program.

While the industry seems to look more and more bleak these days, I feel fortunate to be a filmmaker and for all that I have achieved so far. It’s a blessing to be a storyteller and it’s an even bigger blessing to be surrounded by like-minded creatives who have the same passion as you do.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was not a smooth road to get to where I am, and I know it won’t be a smooth road moving forward, either. Growth isn’t linear, it’s challenging and uncomfortable. A lot of the times, what held me back were my own fears. There were severals jobs I had passed on and didn’t even apply to simply because I was reluctant to believe in myself and felt like I was too green to acquire the position.

The biggest challenge I’ve faced, however, was learning how to network. A big part of my career – which I learned the hard way – is to not only excel technically at your job, but you also have to learn how to make meaningful connections with people. When I first started to attend film events, I felt like I was always standing outside of someone else’s friend circle and I was this random person no one knew. Over time, what really helped alleviate some of this anxiousness was being more intentional about which events I attended. I made sure to choose events that aligned more with my values and identity markers. The more specific, the better. This helped me feel more comfortable approaching people and made the event much more fun to experience.

I still get super nervous at social events but as I meet more people and start to grow my personal community of creatives, the act of socializing becomes less and less overwhelming. The industry is smaller than you think so it’s really important to be your true self with every new encounter so that folks can get to know who you truly are.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Film Editor/Director/Writer. I particularly enjoy working on films that touch on multiculturalism, community and resiliency because these are the themes I feel can be the most profound and the most rewarding. I like to dive into the subtle slices of life, focusing on the in-between moments of a story since that’s where they carry the most weight and where most of the emotional impact lies. I simply enjoy carving out experiences that truly highlight what honest human connection looks like, and if I’m able to create stories that showcase those themes then I would feel pretty proud of that.

What does success mean to you?
Success is pretty subjective and categorical. One might see success to only encompass career driven milestones while others may be view success to revolve around personal life desires. To me, success differs for each aspect of my life, but at the root of it all it’s about feeling fulfilled. Am I content with what I have cultivated around me? Do I feel joy in this part of my life? If so, then I would see myself as successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yesseniafilm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yessenia.sanchez21/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yessenia-sanchez-8838a91a0/

Image Credits
Photos from PLEASE RETURN YOUR CARTS were shot by Bahareh.co