Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony DiMaria.
Hi Anthony, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The story of my career starts when I was 7 years old. My family was living in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had just come out on VHS. After much convincing, my parents let me watch it – and I was hooked. The world I witnessed in that film captured my imagination, unlike anything I had experienced before. I felt transported. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Over the next several years, my two older brothers and I began making our own versions of our favorite movies with friends – Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man, Batman, etc. As we started to hit junior high and high school we began writing our own scripts, investing in video equipment, and creating our own films, entering various student film festivals.
When it was time for me to go to college, my parents wanted me to pursue business or accounting, but I was still in love with movies – so I studied both business and film production at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
Once I graduated college, I began working in the non-profit sector as a one-man band creative department for a small non-profit. My work took me to South Africa, where I had the privilege of telling stories through writing, films, and photos while living there for about 6 months.
After over a year of working at the non-profit, I left that job and began working for a production company/agency in Phoenix, Arizona, where I went from assistant to lead photographer to creative director, writing, directing, and producing national commercials, as well as video marketing content for Fortune 100 companies. During this time, I took a leave of absence for 6 months to produce my first feature film, TEENAGE BADASS. This film is about a fictional band in Phoenix, AZ in the early 2000s. It was an incredible opportunity, and we were fortunate to be selected to the SXSW Film Festival in 2020 – but we all know what happened in 2020. Just a couple of days before we flew to Austin, TX, for the festival, SXSW was canceled due to the pandemic.
During the next year and a half, I dove back into my role as creative director at the production company/agency, but my desire to make movies was stronger than ever. In summer of 2021, I made the move from Phoenix, AZ, to Los Angeles, CA. I worked remotely as a creative director and, in my limited free time, would develop feature and short films with some friends. It became apparent to me that using these leftover hours to pursue what I wanted was not going to get me where I wanted to go. In March of 2022, I attended SXSW in person for the first time and met film producer Ramfis Myrthil – connecting with him was the push I needed to pursue producing full-time. I came home, put in my 2 weeks at my job, and began my own production company, Odd Galaxy.
In the last 2 years, I’ve produced several short films alongside my good friend and collaborator Kelton White, a talented writer, director, and actor. I’ve also produced and directed a few episodes of a docuseries about the food and beverage scene in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m so grateful for the last 2 years and the people I’ve met since coming to Los Angeles. I’m currently developing several feature films with talented writers and directors, have started a second company with my producing friend Sam Shapiro to provide production services to filmmakers and companies of all levels, and am working in a variety of video production spaces as I seek to grow my network and capabilities.
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?
The road has definitely not always been smooth. When my film TEENAGE BADASS was accepted into SXSW, it was such a wonderful moment and felt like an incredible break to get that opportunity with the first feature film I had produced. However, the pandemic had other plans and made the process of finding distribution more difficult. I could see the trajectory of a career in producing in front of me, but that had to be adjusted as I dove back into the commercial production/agency world due to the pandemic.
There was then the struggle of moving from Phoenix to LA – LA has been amazing to me, but adjusting to a new city and working to form a tight network of people I love to work with is a challenge. Especially when coming from Phoenix, where I lived for a decade and was well entrenched in the production scene.
Then there’s the leap of faith – leaving my full-time job as creative director to pursue producing full-time. Again, in a new city where I did not know a lot of people at the time. But I knew it was something I had to try – and it’s been difficult. The freelance/entrepreneur-esque lifestyle can be scary – getting used to the peaks and valleys, the ebbs and flows of a lot of work, and then quiet times is scary after getting a consistent paycheck every 2 weeks for several years. But it’s also so satisfying and rewarding. And the bumps in the road make every job, accomplishment, and breakthrough feel that much better. And it has also pushed me to find great partners and collaborators who I can rely on to help achieve my goals.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a producer and director. With scripted projects – like shorts and features – I focus on producing. I love finding writers/directors who are great collaborators and working with them to develop their script and put together the project prioritizing their creative expression. I want to take the pressure off of them on the production side so they can focus on their story, their actors, and bringing every element of the film together artistically to communicate their vision.
I produced the feature film TEENAGE BADASS that was selected to SXSW in 2020. Over the last 2 years, I’ve produced a series of short films with my friend and collaborator, writer/director/actor Kelton White. These have been selected to a variety of festivals.
In the commercial and unscripted world, I both produce and direct. I’ve directed national commercials and infomercials for U-Haul and have produced/directed a large variety of marketing and promotional content and commercials for Fortune 100 companies like Honeywell. I am in post-production on the fourth episode of a DocuSeries about the food and beverage scene in Phoenix, AZ titled UNCANNY VALLEY, where we do deep dives into the people and establishments who are the backbone of the Phoenix, AZ community.
The DocuSeries has been selected to a variety of festivals and has won a few awards while on the festival circuit.
In commercial production, I work as a producer, director, production manager, and production coordinator across a variety of projects, from commercials to web series to podcasts.
My goal is to bring a positive, empathetic approach to the production process – I want the people behind the scenes who are making the project happen to have as good of a time as those who will be consuming what we are creating. Connecting with people is what it’s all about for me – whether behind the scenes or through the final product. We get to tell stories for a living – it should be fun. It won’t be easy, but everyone should feel like a person, and the role they play is pivotal. It truly takes a village to make anything. And especially when it comes to independent films, every film that’s completed is a miracle that takes every single person involved to accomplish.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that patience and people are key. You can’t do this profession alone. As a producer, you need to establish good relationships and truly invest in those you are working with to bring a project to fruition. There’s no room for assholes. It’s about respect.
The Patience is both for work on-set, but even more so for me, it’s about long-term patience. I can get caught up in trying to make everything happen now, but stepping back and embracing the process and the journey and letting things lead where they will rather than trying to dictate everything has given me a sense of peace and freedom to try new things. Yes, I have goals that I aggressively pursue, but it’s important to also embrace the journey and see what unfolds – the coolest moments have come without planning or obsessing over things for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: odd-galaxy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aadimaria
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-dimaria/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/odd.galaxy
Image Credits
Faith Decker
Tyler McDonald
Ryan Cordwell
