Today we’d like to introduce you to David Orantes.
Hi David, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m an LA native, born in East L.A., raised in my dearest Sun Valley neighborhood. I’m a first-generation Guatemalan-American and adapting latchkey kid that survived with the support of Punk Rock ambitions and my first true love: the bass guitar. I embraced my native language of Spanish while attempting to learn French in college only to realize I have a Mexican accent, and I’m a firm believer that vulnerability and the courage to fail can only be fruitful—at least that is what the last decade plus has taught me. I wasn’t great at academia in adulthood. I failed at nearly everything in my first year and a half. I was just wandering, I guess, without any guidance. However, I continued my education at Los Angeles Valley College where I discovered filmmaking. There, I shot my first movie ever on 16mm film with a K3 Russian camera, purchased from a musician friend for $50 bucks. It was a terrible first movie. I knew nothing about storytelling then, but it was fun. Prior to shooting the film, I practiced for hours and hours loading the camera with dummy film and closed eyes. Also, I was proud of the film.
During the telecine session, the guy at Magic Film & Video—when it existed—told me the exposure was spot on. I hung onto that. It was the first time I continued something despite other failures. After a long period at LAVC, making up those Fs, I matriculated to Cal State Northridge with the mindset that I will be a cinematographer. I felt it was the camera that made cinema…cinema. Also, the technology, the gear, all the toys added to the allure and being a gear head musician translated smoothly into the profession. Once I was accepted into the film program at CSUN, I realized that I wanted to direct, but I didn’t possess the courage to say I changed my mind. Directing then became this looming thing over me for the coming years. While I approached the end of my time at CSUN, I remembered a friend and fellow with greater life experience than myself. His name is Gabe Dell. Our paths crossed while he was looking to reinvigorate his creative journey, and I was just looking for one at LAVC. He was a bit of a wizard with the patience of the wiser ones. He said once, “light is where the story is” which makes a lot of sense to anyone pursuing cinematography. At the time, it was the sort of poignant thing I needed to hear.
Anyway, I reached out to Gabe after learning that he gave one-on-one acting lessons. I was too shy to attend actual acting classes, so it made sense to sign up. The goal was to learn how to speak to actors so that I could pursue the role of directing that I couldn’t muster the courage to pursue in school. He agreed to mentor me, so long as I agreed to pass the knowledge forward. His approach was empathy: if I am to learn how to direct actors in their roles, I must learn how to direct my life into the ultimate role of the film director. Like any actor, it means digging into the backstory. Unearthing my history—childhood, resentments, biases, entitlement—was excruciating work. Yet, it changed my life, and I gained a lifelong friend and father figure. During school, I worked the graveyard shift at UPS as a package handler and sorter. Once school ended and two injuries later, I desperately needed a more relevant workspace while I pursued the acting lessons. Fortunately, a friend at an internship hooked me up with his job, and I became a rental manager and sales associate at Filmtools, a store for filmmakers in Burbank. The experience of serving other filmmakers was rewarding. I was exposed to all the many roles in the industry and all the many issues there are to solve. I gained a tremendous amount of technical expertise and became an authority of sorts.
Perhaps, the greater thing I learned there was more about myself. I realized that I did have an ability to share knowledge with others, and I enjoyed that very much—especially when the opportunity arose to show kids about filmmaking. However, I also gained a sense of complacency and frustration with myself. Seemingly, I lost track of the target after a long while. I knew then I that needed to a make decision, and I decided to make that decision with a bold move. So, I applied to the Directing MFA program at the AFI Conservatory in Los Feliz. It was the only MFA program that I applied to, and I was accepted. I couldn’t be more blessed to fail at making movies in a spectacular way and learn about my choices, learn about the stories I want to tell and what I want to say. Failing is healthy and uncomfortable, yet discomfort is an opportunity to learn. Today, I am in my second year prepping my thesis film, getting ready to embark on my journey as a storyteller in the universe alongside other wonderful, truth-seeking filmmakers and friends. For that, I am grateful.
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?
The road has not been smooth. The gravel’s loose. There are potholes, and I feel like I crossed landscapes where tires have never rolled through. I’m the first in my family to pursue art instead of just a good-paying job and benefits. It isn’t unheard of but when your mother works three jobs and doesn’t know English and your father passes away, I’m surprised I knew to do anything to be honest with you. There’s no one there, you know, to say what’s normal and what isn’t. So, the struggles are within. They always have been, perhaps they always will be. Acceptance there has been my savior. While the film industry itself is competitive, in the creative sphere, filmmaker to filmmaker, I believe that competition is with oneself.
While I have improved tremendously over the years, I still contend with what feels like severe social anxiety and self-doubt at times. I have more good days than challenging days thanks to all the love and support over the years. In the past, I contended with the shame of anxiety while pursuing a career and passion in a socially networking industry. But I have come to understand my sensitivity as my strength. Of course, it feels risky to say this. I risk seeming like an incompetent leader as a filmmaker. But I don’t care. My journey tells me that I don’t want to collaborate with anyone that won’t see the humanity in life experiences. I also say it because I feel my purpose as storyteller is to serve. While entertaining, my favorite films have lifted me up. I want to show people—especially other Latinos and communities—that quieter voices can tell stories too
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I write and direct. Thematically, I’m currently focused on telling stories of filling loveless places with love. Currently, I’m writing a character that hides behind an eccentric, eclectic, and over-obsessed identity in order hide the fact that he has a child he has abandoned yet he meets his own father that comes to put a wrench in his plans. I think of the main character as a Guatemalan-American Big Lebowski. I am proud of the quantity of Spanglish in my scripts. My goal as storyteller is to show more Latino stories that happen to be American. I love my Guatemalan heritage, but where are the Latino stories of the first-gen kids contending with being into punk rock while their parents can’t understand the need for self-expression? Or the story of the eldest sibling being the parent to the younger ones and translating for Mom while neglecting their own pursuits?
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the number of cinemas in Los Angeles from the big multiplexes to the independent chains to the art and revival houses. If there’s anything I did more than anything else, it was go watch movies. I’d get there early–even with reserved seats–and I’d sit through the credits. I would sit in a front center seat, careful to not have drunk too much liquid so as to not get up during the screening. Being Latino, my family celebrates Christmas at midnight starting on the eve. That left me with a whole free Christmas day. So, I came up with my own personal tradition of watching movies in cinemas all day. Depending on the schedules, I’d watch 3-5 movies on a Christmas day and not always at the same theatre. I love the food and the food stands in LA. I love me some good Syrian food in Burbank, Aleppo Kitchen. I love my local bookstore in Noho, the Illiad Bookstore. I love the hiking area near my home that some locals call Top of the World. It’s pretty much the Verdugo Mountain hiking trails. I love that LA has an endless number of communities and that visiting each is lifelong effort. I least like the traffic–even though I love to drive. When I head into DTLA, I dislike the parking situation. I dislike seeing so many people struggling with homelessness in our city. I wish I could see bigger actions to help them. I dislike that many people are on the verge of poverty. I dislike that education isn’t equal throughout the city–but it has been a long time since I have stepped into a public education facility. I dislike that food can be expensive. I wish I could see more art on public buildings and blank walls, especially in lower-income neighborhoods.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @vihdio
Image Credits
Julian Park Jorge Jimenez Matt Severson
