Rising Stars: Meet Ramiro Cantu of Los Angeles / OC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ramiro Cantu.

Ramiro, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
So I actually grew up in Reynosa, Mexico, and my parents ran a movie rental shop there, which, looking back, probably explains a lot. Then when I was thirteen I moved back to America because I wanted to finish school here.

I was always the weird kid who’d rather edit something together than make a PowerPoint for a class presentation. Sophomore year at my IB school we had to do a personal project, and I chose to make an original movie trailer. That was probably the first time I felt something click with filmmaking.

I got a scholarship to a summer film program in France, through Berridge Programs, and made my first short film out there. I loved it. I was actually proud of what I’d made, so when I got back I joined our school’s audio/video class, we called it KMAC, and just put my reps in and joined contests and made loads of shorts, with one of them screening at SXSW!

Berridge asked me to come back to France as an intern, then as a teacher, and eventually to run the film program. I did that on and off all through college, and even for a bit after I graduated. In between all that I got my degree in Radio-Television-Film from UT Austin, (hook ’em!) and spent my last semester out in LA through their UTLA program, which is where I landed internships at Raimi Productions and Project X Entertainment.

These days I’m fortunate enough to be a full-time producer and editor at Alexandria Films (4x Emmy Nominations) and Champion Turf (Netflix; HBO; Amazon), so I’m splitting my time between being on set for commercials and features, and editing everything from trailers to commercials to narrative work.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This road has been as smooth as sandpaper! But that’s what makes the final products so rewarding.

Growing up poor always makes every pursuit extra challenging. I had to fundraise, with help from friends and family, just to get to that summer program in France, then take out a bunch of loans on top of that to afford film school. A lot of kids around me could just buy whatever equipment they needed and I couldn’t, but looking back, I think those limitations exercised the creative corner of my brain.

Then I took a break to take care of my mom, who passed away at the end of 2022, and that break threw my career momentum way off. I was freelance for a while after that, waking up every day to check my bank balance, taking odd jobs, the true starving artist story… I used to tell myself (still do actually) these were the stories I’d tell someday when I won an Oscar, and that’s how I kept pushing through. Do it for the biopic!

Now that I’m working every day, that survival panic is gone, but working in film is its own kind of monster. Some weeks you’re on set for sixteen hours one day and doing a 7pm to 7am shift the next, and it’s hard to take care of yourself in the middle of that. But this is what I’ve been begging for, what a lot of people wish they got to do, so I try to remind myself how lucky I am to be doing it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What really sets me apart is editing. That’s the thing I’ve been doing longest, short form, long form, doesn’t matter. It’s subjective, sure, but I have a pretty strong sense of what works and what doesn’t so it just clicks for me. To me editing is like playing the piano, which I don’t do anymore, but I still feel it out the same way. I can feel when something’s off key, you know?

Producing scratches the other side of my brain. I never liked puzzles growing up, they felt too rigid, there’s only one answer. But I liked RPGs, and solving problems that had more than one way to get there, and that’s basically what I do now as a UPM on most sets. As a unit production manager, that means I’m handling the budget, the schedule, the logistics, whatever breaks that day, and figuring out the most efficient way through it without blowing up the day.

I’ve put directing aside for a bit since I’m really enjoying development and post right now, but one of my proudest projects is actually a short I wrote and directed at sixteen, called #RefugeesWelcome. Zero budget, but it’s one of the times I’ve felt most alive. It ended up taking me all over the world, including a screening in Istanbul during the period Trump’s travel ban was disrupting Turkey, and because of my dual citizenship I was able to get in and interview Syrian refugees while I was there. Those experiences are still some of the most rewarding of my career.

My teaching years are right up there too. And most recently, one of our shows at Alexandria Films, Broadway Sandwich, just got nominated for a New York Emmy again, for Season 4, after an earlier nomination back in 2023. That one I’m pretty proud of.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I’m a huge efficiency person, so anything that makes a busy life a little easier is going to be on this list, and it’s honestly more tech than apps.

Philips Hue bulbs are a big one, they keep my home feeling warm and inviting, and let me turn everything off without getting up, which matters more than it sounds given I have ADHD. My robot vacuum and mop are more of a luxury than a necessity, but I’m not giving them up either. I also wear a Whoop to track sleep and health metrics, which matters a lot given the hours this industry keeps. I could make a whole spreadsheet of these things…

Atomic Habits is a little overrecommended at this point, but the core of it holds up, every small improvement actually does add up.

For actual downtime, AMC A-List is worth it on its own, especially with the popcorn pass. I use Libby with my library card for audiobooks, and the New York Times app for crosswords. Lightroom mobile is great for editing photos on the go! On the work side, I use the whole Adobe ecosystem, and we recently started using PhotoCircle to upload the crew’s BTS shots.

I don’t listen to podcasts much, but if I had to recommend one thing, it’s without a doubt the Ten Cent Beer Night episode of The Dollop!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ramirocantu.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramfromtexas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialramirocantu
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramiro-cantu/
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8974433/