We recently had the chance to connect with Olivia Valdez and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Olivia , it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I love the depth of these Icebreaker questions by the way.
My answer is a bit of a combination of some of these. I recently felt so proud, so much love, and absolute joy at a recent festival I went to for my latest short film. My friends – too light a word for them really – that I studied Stop Motion with in Barcelona, all came from their homes around Europe to come see my film screen at the horror festival in Sitges, Spain. They had travelled so far just to support me. And they were so proud of the work I created!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Olivia Marie Valdez, I am a stop motion filmmaker obsessed with all things spooky and/or smol. My current hyper-fixation is learning about the Titanic. (At least once a month I get consumed with an abnormally tragic, historic event.) My work often reflects my culture, my family, my vivid nightmares, and my hope that love, in any form, exists.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
For a long time – maybe even until this year – I have been welcoming any and all experiences into my life. Though this has brought me a lot of adventure, and a ton to write about, I am now so ready to practice saying “no” more. It’s scary! Because I didn’t have any for so long, it’s been a journey to even define what my boundaries are for myself.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I have really awful night terrors and nightmares. I often wake up screaming and in a puddle of sweat. (Hot!) But when I was little and I’d wake up panicked and terrified, I would repeat the word, ‘toucan’ over and over – cause there’s nothing scary about toucans – and stare at the shadows in my room until they dissolved into nothing.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Unfortunately, yes! I am a terrible liar and a chronic over-sharer, so everything you see out there is just me. If anything I’m just a bit more crass and unruly in my private life.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
Every day that I get to play with dolls and minis I feel absolute joy. It has taken about 5 years, but finally in the last few months, I’ve been able to sustain myself with stop motion. Between working on my own films, I’ve been animating and making costumes. I still get giddy throughout the process. You know that feeling when you procrastinate doing the thing you have to do with the thing want to do? For the first time in my life, the thing that I want to do IS the thing I have to do. Feels good to be obsessed with the thing that I do for work. Let’s hope this lasts!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.OliviaMarieValdez.com
- Instagram: @OliviaMarieValdez
Image Credits
Jessica Haye and Clark Hsiao.
