Conversations with Stephanie Peraza

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Peraza

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was so surprised to hear from VoyageLA a third time, I hope I’m doing something right! Last time we spoke was November 2022…so my life is incredibly different now than it was then. At this point, I’m going into my third and final year at USC School of Cinematic Arts in the graduate program–I was thinking, “Jesus Christ, that went by so fast!” I’ve learned so much in these last couple years, proving yet again that my mid to late twenties would be insurmountable measures of pain, growth, and true “knowledge of self”, as the Five Percenters would say.

First year at USC (2023), I was learning the ropes. It was all about baby steps like set etiquette, roles in a production, new software, storytelling mechanics, permitting–anything that you would find in a 101 manual on how to make a movie. It’s sink or swim, which is really overwhelming yet rewarding at the other side of it all. It was within the first year that I met a crazy amount of people, most notably my section within my sixty-person cohort, the Violet group. Our lead instructor was Davy McCall and he instilled this really powerful foundation in us that encouraged us to invest in people and their visions for the sake of storytelling. That truly stuck with me.

It was in this landmark year that I wrote, directed, and produced “Bonnie Mae’s Blues” (2023), starring Honey Robinson, Christina Ogunade, and Patrick Randolph. It’s a supernatural horror film about a teenage girl that attempts to escape her abusive father with the help of her mother’s spirit. Just like my previous short film, “Don’t Look Back” (2022), I was toying with ideas of oppression, violence, and revenge. Pretty dark! But they’re so relevant and almost hypnotic concepts to me, especially as a Latina. My life’s work has been trying to break free of the constraints a brown woman is folded under from birth. That’s a true struggle that only fellow WOC understand. My films reflect that dynamic.

Second year at USC (2024), was the “capstone year”. Everyone in our program has to participate in what we call “capstone” or advanced projects. In these classes, you see through an entire production of a short film with a moderate budget. I served as 1st Assistant Director for a short film titled “Deadly Duels XII” (2024), directed by Justine Beed. This was the best boot camp type class I’ve ever been a part of–I was disciplined in the extremely stressful art of being a 1st AD under the guidance of the incomparable Scott Kroopf, who has been a genuine champion for my work since I started at SCA. That class gave me a lot of insight on the logistics of filmmaking. Being a 1st AD is not for the faint of heart. I spent the second half of 2024 producing a short documentary called “La Línea” (2024), directed by Daniel Roman.

In between these amazing endeavors, I 1st ADed on various other productions and I wrote another supernatural horror script that I am currently developing. This semester, I’m attached to more amazing upcoming projects, including Uhoman Moltok’s “Wasabi”, Colin Galeste’s “Manongs”, and a short film called “Rebound” by “Didi” (2024) director mentee, Anna O’Donnell. These individuals are all people from my Violet group from my first semester. So there’s definitely a lot of exciting things to come. My goal is to invest in people and their art. I will continue to write and quietly develop my own projects, but I think my main goal for my remaining time at SCA is to pour myself into people’s visions and help them come into fruition. I’m essentially building a team of collaborators, and I’m really grateful for that.

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?
Not at all. I never even pictured myself at USC ten years ago. I sell myself short sometimes, you know? There’s this major sense of imposter syndrome that hits me sometimes. So I’m essentially participating in this active rewiring of my brain, in real time, and I tell myself, “No, you actually deserve to be here. These new friends are not your competitors, they’re your collaborators. This is the opportunity of a lifetime”. And so once I started embracing that, my whole mindset changed. I just wanted to work on anything, who cares if it was mine or not.

I had to set my ego aside. Everyone walks into USC so sure that they are the one. The one doesn’t exist. This is a marathon of creativity, not a sprint. So we change into this mentality of “if I eat, we all eat”. It’s a whole different way of looking at what the business could be because the connections are the most important thing you gain from SCA. I owe it to everyone I love to really take a chance on myself and my artistic abilities. I just want to make movies, and really be about that life. And I want to take care of my family the way they have taken care of me.

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?
I’m a writer, director, producer, and 1st assistant director. I go to school full time and work part time near USC, so my days are spent mostly in Los Angeles, working on my classes and additional projects on the weekends. So far in my film career, I’m most proud of writing/directing “Bonnie Mae’s Blues” and producing “La Línea”. “Bonnie Mae” represented a really hard semester, there were a lot of obstacles that almost squeezed me out. I was lucky to meet the cast, particularly Honey who plays the titular character of Bonnie Mae, whom I met through my friend, Jonny Cuesta. I felt so bad, I forgot to thank her in my speech when the film premiered at Norris Theatre in December 2023. THANK YOU, HONEY ROBINSON. YOU ARE A STAR!

“La Línea” is something sincerely meaningful to me due to its subject matter: the Latino immigrant experience, which is the genesis of my life. We followed a team of kitchen staff–line cooks and dishwashers–over the course of a shift and tackled both their personal triumphs and struggles. It’s a compelling vérité piece beautifully crafted by Daniel, and I had the amazing opportunity to work with Grace Galarraga as co-producers. “La Línea” has been a really poignant part of my journey at grad school. It reinvigorated my enthusiasm for filmmaking and really healed a part of me I never knew needed healing. And it introduced me to the world of documentaries! That’s definitely something I want to revisit in the future.

You know, in all honesty, I can’t find a succinct way to say what “sets me apart”. I’m at a point in time where I just want to show people my work. I’m a true believer in a hive mentality and in the last couple of years, the most meaningful aspect of my career is the incredible people I’ve met. The universe set me up with this incredible opportunity to collaborate with these bright, talented people and it’s been an honor to be recognized by them as an equal. So what sets me apart? My community. Filmmaking is not glamorous, it could be really draining and disheartening when you’re navigating a really competitive field. But I believe in my path and I’m dedicated to the craft.

How do you think about happiness?
Quality time with the people I love. My mama, Maria, and my siblings, Jessica and Mike, are everything to me. We try our best to always check in with one another and make time to spend as a family. It’s my dream to take care of them one day. Also my best friends, Nina and Sabrina, always hold me down and are my greatest confidantes. My biggest blessing last year was adopting my kitties, Shaq & Kobe. They make me so happy! I just gush over them all the time, I’m absolutely obsessed. In my solitude though, what I really enjoy is making art–drawing, writing, crafting, singing. I just recently started jamming out with a few buddies of mine and we play reggae and punk songs just for fun. What can I say…I’ve always loved karaoke!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamakillabee/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5gkL6ypyJA
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user199076805

Image Credits
Jem Garcia, Dhruvraj Singh Bati, Echo Guan, Roy Luna, Hannah Ignacio, Nasr Abuljadayel, Sebastien Chiu