Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Lopez.
Hi Laura, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a producer and writer of projects such as: “Until the end” (2021) and “Hero” (2022). I have produced more than 10 short films, including “Felicidad”, with which I won the Imagination Award in the Bogota in 100 words contest (2018). Currently, I serve as Associate Producer at the leading Spanish-language media company Estrella Media (Los Angeles, California), where I have been part of programs such as: “Rica, famosa, Latina” and the research of mini-documentaries about local inspirational stories.
At my age, I have obtained different distinctions in my country, Colombia, and the world, being winner two consecutive years of the Bogoshorts award in the categories of “Music inspires us” and “Bogota in 100 words”, of which I received honorable mention in the amateur category; in 2022 I was awarded in the Children’s Film Festival of Ciudad Guayana in the category of best documentary with the film “Barro y Cristal”. In addition, my short films and documentaries have been selected in international festivals such as the “Free the Kitsch – Athens Film Fest” in Greece, where it won the award for the best experimental audiovisual product with honorable mention and Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions in the United States.
Likewise, I teamed up with different people from all over the world to make a film that would talk about the American dream, telling different points of view that would allow the viewer to connect with the stories through an interactive format.
Alright, 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?
It has not been easy, I always wanted to be an animator, I enjoyed drawing and thinking about the stories that would give life to each stroke; however, an eye disease frustrated my goal, but not my dreams, so I focused on the production and studied Audiovisual Communication and Multimedia at the Universidad de la Sabana and did my internship at the Colombian production company Dynamo, where I participated in Netflix projects such as: “Juanpis González”, “Goles en contra” and “La cabeza de Joaquín Murieta” for Amazon Prime Video.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m known for my effort in each project, for looking to do things for the benefit of the team and the project and for looking to make products that communicate something, not just go to shoot to get out of it… and also, in part, to always learn from good and bad experiences. My passion for animation led me to create a video clip in ‘Stop Motion’ format entitled: “Electrofrecuencia”, with which I won two Corte Final Awards (Colombia) in the categories of Music Video and Experimental Audiovisual Product.
Each of these achievements has meant a motivation for me, where the one that has impacted me the most has been the Corte Final Awards because they awarded my short film where I put two years of work doing the animation; I managed to talk to one of the jurors of the festival who told me that he had felt what I wanted to communicate, “the confinement”, not only by the pandemic but by the sadness when the doctor told me that I could not study animation, as well as the release I feel when I draw.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I have understood that the moment I start to think and compare the good and bad of each decision is when I start to doubt myself, everything I have achieved in my life has been because I have taken the reins and I have launched myself to do it with determination and effort, without doubting so much about things… of course, there is always the fear of failure, but I have realized that if I allow that fear to stop me I will not achieve everything I seek in the future.
I have also realized that I have always found people along the way who have taught me, from their experience, valuable things that have guided me to forge my path, in a way when I think about what I have achieved I realize that if it were not for those people I probably would have ended up in very different paths.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lauravlopez.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanel622/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-vanessa-lopez-vargas-44b93b54/
Image Credits
Pranav Mehta
