Life & Work with Chloe Antoinette of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Antoinette.

Hi Chloe, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As a filmmaker and musician, I was involved in the arts from a young age, always hopping around between different disciplines. I actually started as a dancer doing contemporary dance, cowgirl dancing (sort of like line dancing, but not at all?), and gymnastics as a little kid, but when my dance company changed locations, my parents switched me over to studying classical competitive piano and vocals, where I competed for roughly the next decade of my life.
Doing music early on was definitely a calling of mine that I loved, but the world of competitive classical music didn’t leave me much room to feel artistically fulfilled, so besides karaoke basically every night, I actually spent all my free time drawing and painting, developing a love for ink artwork through a combination of my dad’s tattoo collection and a deep love for comic books.
I eventually actually quit music for some time, with my only experience being between being a competitive pianist and in my high school choir, where I’m pretty sure both my music teachers were not fond of me, and I always felt the least talented in the room. During my break from music, I found a deep love for writing stories and storyboarding visuals, based around how I grew up staying up late every night to read comic books, mangas, and books like Percy Jackson. This led to my eventual landing as a filmmaker, where I love it so much. I also somehow ended up swerving around several other art forms like fashion design/making clothes, dancing hula and tahitian, and acting at this time.
Overall, I think I’m just not someone who can pick one discipline of art, which is probably why I love directing so much– because I kind of get to do everything a little bit. I eventually found my way back to music as well from being roped into learning guitar and bass for my friends’ math-rock/metal band in undergrad, which was a much needed healing journey for me.
Nowadays, I write and direct a lot of short films, with a focus in actions, dramas, and music documentaries, as well as perform as a rock musician. In the little free time I have outside of this, I love modeling and acting in projects for fun, and still try to find the time to paint and sew outfits.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being the first in my Filipino family to pursue the arts has definitely not been easy. I feel like no successful artist has a smooth path and I’ve had my fair share of hurdles.
From the outside world, sure, I get so many issues in being taken seriously and getting respect from others. Being a director means being in charge of others, and while I do my best to carry my crew on each project with grace and compassion, as I absolutely love uplifting others and collaboration, there have been times where it does not matter how kind or hardworking I am, because I am not white, I am not a man, and I choose not to be quiet about my identity. Some people will just simply not take me seriously or respect me, and I definitely have many moments where I have to work twice as hard for half the reward, without complaining, but I do it because I love filmmaking regardless.
In the music world, it was definitely harder starting out trying to get booked onto local shows’ bills. I don’t play under a band name, and play under my real, feminine name. Promoters don’t often think to book me because they see my name and assume I do radio pop music (which is also not a bad thing?) and can’t hold my own on a lineup of rock bands, or they’ll only book me for “female-themed” events and festivals.
These things being said, I think my biggest struggle, no matter how hard the world can be, has been myself. I’m ambitious. Seriously, I’m an Aries Sun… then Virgo Moon AND Rising. I have never once been able to let myself settle, and have a hard time stopping myself from working. I love filmmaking, music, and acting so much it hurts and I just feel like these stories are constantly flooding out of my chest and the frustrating part has been that it feels like I have to wait for the world to catch up to understanding me, but not in the narcissistic way. In the way that I just feel so deeply in my soul that I was put onto this earth for art and it’s my living, breathing existence entirely, sometimes to the point that it hurts.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a filmmaker, I mainly write and direct dramas and music documentaries, but I have been looking into doing more action films, especially since there’s not many female superheroes on the big screen.
As a musician, I primarily do alternative rock music, and I pride myself in being a producer just as much as a songwriter.
In the past few months, I finished two of my biggest projects so far. I released my debut album, “tattoo butterfly” and did a short circuit of local shows, and I also finished my biggest film yet, a documentary short film called “Where Do We Go”, which is currently starting its festival run. I am beyond proud of these two projects, but I also am already knee-deep in my next musical and filmmaking projects behind the scenes.
It’s hard for me to figure out what sets me apart from others, honestly. I could say it’s my Filipino-American identity. I could say it’s my ambition and my “bite”. It could be how much I’ve hopped around between different artistic disciplines giving me better understanding of everything, but I don’t think it’s any of those things alone.
My whole life I’ve had this struggle to connect with people. It’s like, I sit in crowds of acquaintances and wait for the right moment to say something, but it never comes, so I just imitate the flow of the crowd. I feel naked as myself in front of others, so I play a hyper-characterized version of myself in public to get along. I think that might be what really sets me apart. I don’t do my art just because it’s fun or cool or for others. I do it because it seems to be the only way I feel like I’m talking for once. Yet, my art is not a scream full of me. I see my art as the result of me breathing in the world, truly listening to every branch and bird that passes by, then breathing it back out through everything else that has created me thus far in life.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Oh my goodness, go all in, make mistakes, and convince yourself you’re not crazy because you are not! But above all this, listen to yourself and take pride in yourself. Don’t seek out validation from others because that will always fluctuate. People will always think a style is crazy until it’s a trend, and good work will always be ahead of the trend in this sense.
Starting out, I wish I was more loud about who I was. I wish I owned that. It’s so hard to talk about yourself without feeling like you’re full of yourself, especially as a quieter person, but opportunities cannot come your way if nobody knows to give it to you in the first place. I used to wonder why others around me got so many opportunities and I was stuck feeling like a loser, but then I complained about this once to a friend and they simply said, “I didn’t know you were interested in doing that. I would have called you for the gig if I knew.” That changed my perspective on everything. Now I always bite down my embarrassment and wear pride for my work and what I love to do until the pride and confidence becomes real.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ilovechloeantoinette.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloeantofficial
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloeantoinette-santos-54b52a212
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chloeantoinette
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@chloeantofficial?lang=en

Image Credits
Photos by Cas Pascual // Instagram: @digitally.cas