Today we’d like to introduce you to Luciana Faulhaber.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was raised in a tradition Latin family where being an artist was not an option. After entering graduate school for politics and taking acting classes at night, it was undeniable what my calling was. I became an actress full time. But I am not cut for the traditional acting career if that even exists today. I don’t know how to sit pretty and wait. My reps would agree as I say I that I am dedicated and always have my eye on the prize. But that leads to a lot of frustration because things take time. Like people say, it takes 10 years to become an overnight sensation. From that frustration grew a need to be doing my own thing.
In 2008 my now producing partner of 10 years, Javier E. Gomez, proposed we become producers. In a dark lit restaurant in the east village of New York City, he slid a brown envelope across the table while whispering passionately about its contents. To this day I joke that to by standards it must have looked like a drug transaction. However what was in that envelope was a play and his whispers he was telling me I would be a great producer. He was right. That play, The Smell of Popcorn, was our first production together Off – Broadway in New York. Since then we have produced short films and just finished our feature, Don’t Look that just got distribution and will be released later this year.
Producing is rewarding and empowering but we continued to run into an issue. The content we were finding was usually not the material we wanted to be working on. As a first generation Latina- American I want to tell stories of immigration and female empowerment that reflect my story and of those around me. So Javier and I, together and apart, set out to write our own content in order to tell the stories we wanted the world to hear.
The directing came last and are of desperate need. Our feature was at right of not being made and I had to jump in as actor, producer and then director to make sure it would succeed. I read all I could online about directing, watched videos, made shotlists and storyboards while the rest of the cast and the crew slept. Javier took on as much of the producing as he could and at some point during the shoot we hadn’t slept for 3 days. I remember falling asleep on the make-up chair or while they set up camera after the walk through a rehearsal. It was so tough. But at the end, that last shot, I felt elated and couldn’t wait to do it again. As an actor-producer-writer directing came naturally as the last piece of a big puzzle. After the feature I directed a short called “December” in which I get to work with Dan Feuerriegel (Spartacus) and Chris Conrad (Patriot) which is now hitting the festival circuit.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I love this question and as a content creator I get that a lot. The biggest challenges so far have been funding and access. Our first feature was possible due to 503 people who believed in the project and donated on Kickstarter, our family and friends who donated their time or resources and our own money to be able to finish it. And even with so much help it was so little money. It is a miracle we were able to finish it. The film it’s far from perfect but I am so thrilled to have gone through this experience because it was my film school. After that experience I started to look at content in a completely different way. I realized that sitting on our couches watching TV we are all experts but if we are handed a small amount of money and asked to turn that into marketable content very few of us can do. So now when I hear critics about my film, or my play, or my acting it makes me smile. I love it! It reminds me that I am the one in the area while they are just watching the show. And please do continue to watch the show!
Now that I have this experience going forward I am looking to work on things with a more realistic budget but for that we need access. What do I mean by access? I need my work to reach the people who make decisions, who have the power to create change and opportunities. There are many ways to make that happen but the one I still believe in is hard work. So I will continue acting-producing-writing-directing until I get my day under the sun. Catch 22 you are thinking? Exactly. The old triple thread is now a quadruple one in a whole new way and this proud hyphenated actress is never not working.
Please tell us about Luciana Faulhaber.
I explained a little bit out what we have done and what we look to do going forward. As a producer, I am most proud of actually doing it because it’s so hard, you guys! That sets us apart from the rest. In Hollywood I learned pretty quick that everyone talks a lot and waits for things to happen most of the time. We are not waiting.
Our production company is composed of minorities only (Latinos both female and LGBT) so it seems to be the time for us.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. I am who I am today because of everything I ever been through. I am happy with who I am today because I am clear on the fact that I know nothing and I am open to learn everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lucianafaulhaber.com / www.dontlookthemovie.com
- Instagram: @lucianafaulhaberofficial / @dontlookthemovie
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucianaFaulhaber/ https://www.facebook.com/DontLooktheMovie/
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