

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolina Cortella.
Carolina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since I was a kid, I needed to express myself in an artistic way. I feel very lucky that I was able to study dance, theater, photography, ceramics and painting. After graduating from Universidad del Cine as a Film Director, I directed several narrative and documentary films as well as music videos.
Moving to LA has been a life-changing experience and has given me great opportunities, I find this city very welcoming to different cultures and ideas. I’ve been based in Los Angeles for the past six years, I live in Highland Park with my husband and my dog. When the Covid-19 pandemic started it was a very particular time that we were all trying to process, this moment was so inspiring to me that I had to get out of my house (after the first lockdown was over) and document it, and that’s how I created the short doc “LA Queens”. This documentary film consists of a series of portraits of women living in Los Angeles during the Covid-19 pandemic. In these diverse portraits, my intention is to focus on women, share their feelings and thoughts during isolation and give them a voice. The film premiered in Film Shortage and now it’s being screened at several film festivals around the world. In between layout design work and making films, I’m in the ceramic studio in the back of my house. In the past few years, I needed to step away from the computer and go back to using my hands in a more artisanal way. I really enjoy the process of experimenting with clay and how it enhances my creativity everyday, balancing my visual work.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As an artist and independent woman I work every day towards a healthy balance between work, art and life. Being a woman in the film and advertising industry hasn’t been easy at all, you can easily be categorized as the Assistant Director, always helping the man with the ideas. However, things have started to change and we see more opportunities and people believing in women’s vision.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m working on my feature film at the moment while living in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve digitized archival footage from my childhood and have been playing with it in the editing bay. Also very focused on pottery exploring new things and creating different pieces everyday.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think success is very personal and depends on which context you see it. However, I feel very happy for the things I’ve achieved in my life and the kind of person I’ve become. I consider myself a strong and brave person, which I think is something I learned from my parents while growing up.
I dedicate time to organize my thoughts and work on self-confidence, to be able to go for my goals. There are certain tools that I’ve been practicing that have helped me along the way, such as meditating, going for walks everyday, therapy and having conversations with friends and family, and the love of my amazing husband that has been very supporting all this time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.carolinacortella.com
- Instagram: @carocortella
- Free the work: https://freethework.com/profile/RmH0jgBoOb8yUuR0s3Ay
Image Credit:
Photo with leaf by Claire J Donoghue. Photo with mask from the film “LA Queens”. Photo with swan and black and white by Trevor D Miller. Rooftop photo from the film “Deseo”.
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