Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Ortega.
Writer- Director Christopher Ortega always had dreams of directing movies, but his electric journey that has transported him across the nation and back could be said to be a thing of science fiction. Ortega’s most notable work is the award-winning Afrofuturistic film Prototype that has been featured from AspireTV to DUST Sci-Fi Channel. His story began when his Jamaican parents met in New York City and settled in Laurelton, Queens where he was born. Ortega attributes his creativity to the experiences of his formative years: from the diverse mecca of culture in New York to the awe-inspiring Space Shuttle launches he would witness from the backdrop of Disney World in of Florida. “My father had planted the seeds of my love for cinema as a child, but it wasn’t until I arrived to Morehouse College that those decades of movie watching had crystallized into movie making.” Ortega directed his first short film in his senior year at Morehouse College, the alma mater of esteemed director Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson. “At the time there was very limited resources at Morehouse for filmmakers, despite the legacy of Spike. But when they launched the Cinema Studies major in my junior year, it gave me the knowledge and courage to make my own film.” Ortega’s industry experience spans from the Walt Disney Studios to Universal Pictures.
After graduating from Morehouse College, Ortega studied film at the USC School of Cinematic Arts ranked the #1 film school in the world by the Hollywood Reporter. Ortega’s award-winning short film Prototype has played in festivals around North America such as the 2019 HollyShorts Film Festival, 2019 Pan African Film Festival, 2018 American Black Film Festival and 2018 Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Live Action Short. Ortega is passionate about bringing wonder and inspiration to marginalized communities through speculative fiction storytelling. In 2020, Ortega directed the film Oneironaut, a collaboration with executive producer and actor Brandon P. Bell known from the series Dear White People, and he also founded Ortega Cinema LLC. a film production company in Los Angeles, CA. “COVID-19 made me re-evaluate what was truly important to me. It was important for me as an artist to be surrounded by a community that I love deeply. Atlanta was the city in which I came of age, and I deeply desired to be immersed in black excellence. The city is the bedrock of my vision for our community and carries the pulse of American music and culture. So I picked up my young company and relocated to Atlanta, GA” The goal for Ortega is not to be validated by Hollywood gatekeepers, but to tell stories independent of Hollywood that would actively validate the experiences and hopes of the black community.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ortega has experienced a variety of challenges during his pursuit of directing. During his time as a student at USC he lost his father which created crippling financial hardships at times putting him at risk of homelessness. Before COVID-19 appeared on the scene as a pandemic, Los Angeles had already been plagued with homelessness. “I remember driving to production meetings and coasting downhill in neutral because I didn’t have money for gas, or going to events at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and meeting A-list celebrities and coming home to an empty refrigerator. I remember once when school was starting back, I got pushed out of my lease and was without a home on the street with my bicycle. I stumbled upon the set of Straight out of Compton and I was so inspired I stayed all day. Of all people in video village, I saw Dr. Dre who looked me dead in my eye from across the street. I was looking into the eyes of a billionaire, and I was a homeless student on a bike. I remember having to putting up my own money to feed my production crew and going without food myself.
There was a time that I could have died because I was working so hard on a production that my immunity had weakened and I was hospitalized because of the flu. Or the time that my actor broke his nose and bled all over the place, and I had to rush him to the hospital. That killed my confidence as a director for almost a year. The hardest part about Los Angeles is that you do everything alone. It makes sense that mental health issues are so prevalent in a city that relationships can appear genuine but are often very transactional. I’ve experienced a lot of those challenges as well, and then COVID hit. I’ve lived the starving artist life, and I understand what it’s like to be unemployed or one paycheck away from disaster and yet expected to be creative at the highest level.”
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 was taught and mentored by John Singleton and am friends with his children. I shadowed him on his TV Series. I specialize in the speculative fiction. I am a writer director known for Prototype, Oneironaut, Rico’s Last Fight. What sets me apart from others is my meticulous attention to detail, my intellectual curiosity and the emotional self-work and investigation I have done on human nature, as well as my commitment to inspire black communities around the world. I am most proud of my ability to bring people together as a community for a project, such as with my film Prototype. MY IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7408022/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I’ll tell you like director Tim Story told me when I made my first film, just start. The iPhone is the new 8mm home camera. Just start. Don’t be a perfectionist. Done is better than perfect, if perfect can’t get it done. And also when you are starting out, it’s important to immerse yourself in the craft, whether that be moving to a place where you can be immersed for a time. It’s important to be around the craft a lot to sharpen your skills. My other advice to those starting is out is not to take any entry-level job for the sake of getting in. Never lead from a place of desperation because it will show in your work. Take the job that will show off your strengths. You will be judged on how well you do, so don’t lead with your weaknesses. Lead with your strengths and find ways to manage your weaknesses.
My other bit of advice is to narrow your focus and treat “breaking in” the industry like a wedge. Narrow at the front and then bring in all your other various ideas and businesses and skillsets on the back end. To do something great, it takes incredible energy, singularity of focus and desire. You can have other goals, but they must be compatible with your primary goal. Your energy can’t be spread thin with other incompatible goals. And don’t let social media fool you, in the age of the social media entrepreneur, it’s okay to have a day job. It’s okay to love your day job and also pursue film with just as much desire. Don’t let other’s journeys distract you from the gifts that God has given you.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.ortegacinema.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ortegacinema
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ortegacinema
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Kivuli6
Image Credits
Photo by Erin Brown, N4YE Photography, Sarah Abiharb
