Today we’d like to introduce you to Ignacio Anacona.
Ignacio, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Alright! So, I became interested in Animation from a very young age. Growing up in Santiago de Chile, I found my passion very quickly in the form of storytelling! Ever since I was 11, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to fiction, but I needed to find my expression medium first. Luckily, while starting high school, and after drawing and playing music for a few years, I realized that the magic of creating life using just pen and paper brought all of my artistic activities together.
From there, I made my life mission to pursue a professional career in Animation. I also wanted to aim really high with my ambitions, and studying Character Animation at CalArts naturally became my life mission. For me, as a Latin American, international applicant, things were incredibly difficult. After graduating high school with honors in Music Composition, I spent 2 years applying to CalArts, preparing my portfolio and application materials with a lot of care, practicing English on the side, and getting all the documents and tests that one as an international student is required to have to study in the US.
I can’t stop mentioning the admiration and passion that I feel for the California Institute of the Arts. It’s such an emblematic place for animation history, and if you ever get the chance to visit in the middle of the academic year, you’d know how passionate the energy is in our Character Animation program. I was incredibly fortunate to visit the campus in October of 2022, and if my heart wasn’t in love with what the program represented, then I fell for it right there.
Back to the story. It was 4 A.M. back in Santiago de Chile, March 10th. I’ve been waiting for application results to come out for 2 months now, and I was drained by the expectation. I wake up in the middle of the night, and as soon as I check my phone I am bombarded by a thousand notifications of all the friends I had made along the way of applying to CalArts: “Ignacio, did you get the letter?”- “NACIO WAKE UP”- “NACHO TE LLEGO EL CORREO?” “IGNACIOOOO”
It was time.
I jumped out of bed, and as I ran through my house trying to open my computer, I woke up everybody, my dad, my mom, my sister. Even my pets woke up. I’m screaming and freaking out when I notice a new notification on my email. It was CalArts. I took a deep breath, and as I was holding onto my chair and opening the decision letter, I couldn’t help breaking into tears as I found out that, after 9 years of wanting to tell my own stories, 7 years of loving animation, a high school animated life and 2 long years of trying, I got into the Character Animation program at CalArts, considered to be one of the best animation schools in the world. My dream came true.
But then again, the struggle for a Chilean artist to be able to attend this school is really big. So, as soon as I got my letter I got to work. I made a campaign on my social media asking people to help me achieve this dream of studying animation here in California. A lot of support from many sources came and thanks to that, I’ve been able to attend my first year at this school.
It’s been a crazy ride, and it’s still an ongoing struggle and an incredible adventure. That’s my story!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well, there are a few bumps on the road for sure!
The first thing that comes to mind is the hard time that I had in my middle school experience. People would constantly bully me, and it was really hard to fit in as a child. Luckily, that didn’t stop me from wanting to be the very best version of myself and pursuing my happiness no matter what. I thank for that every day to my wonderful family, my parents, and my sister, who have always been there for me, supporting me on my crazy ideas with so much love and care. Even with a bad experience in my childhood, I’m really proud of where I come from, who I am, and who I aim to be every day.
And as I’ve shared with you before, the road for an international student to study here is tough. I’m still looking for any kind of support, sponsorship, or financial aid of any kind that can help me stay all 4 years in my program. I’m constantly on the lookout for jobs that I can do on-campus and of course, as someone coming from outside of the United States, there are so many cultural differences that you learn slowly over time.
But even then, I wouldn’t change it for anything! I love being here; I’ve made so many good friends and so many good bonds with people here, especially in our animated community, and I’m incredibly grateful for all the opportunities life has given me to keep doing what brings me the most joy.
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?
In my time here at CalArts, we have the chance to explore every corner of the filmmaking process inside the animation craft. I’ve always wanted to be a director of my own films and projects, so I focus on the pre-production stages of the animation pipeline, especially Storyboarding and Visual Development.
Being born in both the urbanity and culture of Santiago de Chile, I feel inspired by both the city’s idiosyncrasy and my family’s cultural background. I always attempt to tell stories that resonate with the emotions of my audience and explore original ideas that haven’t been explored before, as well as grabbing elements from my experience as a “santiaguino”
During my first year at CalArts, however, I’ve been working on a personal film called “Epiphany”. This short film tells the story of a newborn star who’s trying to find their place in the night sky. The film will be coming out in mid-April of this year!
You can find more about my work and stay tuned for the launch of my newest film on my website!
What’s next?
Right now, my main goal is to graduate from CalArts! It would mean the world to me if I could find the support and the opportunity to be able to keep pursuing my education here and leave the institution with 4 films under my belt.
Now, if I project myself into the far future, I’d love to pursue my career as a Storyboard Artist and as a director of various animated projects. I’d love to tell my stories to the audience and be able to enjoy the collaborative process of filmmaking with my co-workers!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ignacioanacona.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nacioanacona/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ignacioanacona/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzptRSFj4QdbZlpleeNfzYA
