Rising Stars: Meet Ganesh C G of Orange County

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ganesh C G.

Hi Ganesh, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My love for films started when my mother took me to a screening of ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ despite my protests. Films have always been a part of my life but during that screening, something in the universe shifted and I knew I wanted to be someone who made them. During that screening, the audience laughed, cried, and experienced every emotion in-between. Something about that communal experience resonated with me. Above all, I loved how the movie transported me and my family to another world during it’s runtime.

I started pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree for my bachelor’s and during the first week of college, I auditioned for the college’s Drama Club. I found out that I got in a couple days later and this fueled four years of acting, story-telling and growing as an artist and eventually becoming the Drama Club’s president in my fourth year! During my time, I acted in street-plays, mime performances, theatre productions and worked on short-films. These experiences helped me grow into the story-teller that I am today.

I wrote and directed my first short-film in 2021 with a few friends from my Drama Club and worked as a cinematographer for a couple of years on various other short films where I learnt the beauty of collaboration and working with other creative minds. During this time, I also took an interest in making short animations using Blender and Unreal Engine.

I applied to Dodge College of Film and Media Arts where I now pursue an MFA degree in Film Production with an emphasis in Directing. Dodge has essentially accelerated my growth as a filmmaker and over the last three years, I’ve directed six shorts, each with increasing scope and production complexities. And I’ve also worked on numerous other productions as a 1st Assistant Director and other production roles. My thesis film, arguably my most ambitious film yet, is a science fiction drama that is shot using a mix of virtual production and practical locations which I believe is the future of filmmaking.

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?
If it had been a smooth road, I would have been worried. Growth involves struggle and each production taught me something new and allows me to grow from them and better anticipate and adapt to similar situations when they arise. Adapting to a new culture and growing up along the way to really finding collaborators who operate on a similar wavelength has been an extremely rewarding process. Learning how truly expensive it is to make a film and finding ways to navigate that and approach local businesses to help reduce costs of a production was a hurdle I had to adapt to, but then again, this is true for any production.

I find that falling back on family and friends who are always a phone call away, is a great way to deal with the everyday struggle that goes into making films.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I started off my career as a theatre actor and also began writing scripts for my Drama Club. Being frustrated by the audition process, I decided to write a script for myself and act in it. During pre-production, I found that two of my friends in the drama club embodied that characters better than I ever could. I decided to cast them as the leads and focused on directing the story. This is where I fell in love with the production aspect of filmmaking. At my core, I’m a writer and director.

I love telling poignant, emotional and personal stories and I’m known for telling stories that explore inter-personal relationships and I’m known for my work as a director in ‘Coping With You’, ‘Yesterday Called’, both now available on YouTube after a fantastic film festival run. As a cinematographer, I’m known for ‘It’s Always Been You’ and ‘#12 Whitechapel’ which are streaming Airtel XStream and Hungama Play.

I’m most proud of ‘Yesterday Called’, the short film that was part of my application to Dodge College and my most recent short, ‘Symbiosis’ which is having an excellent film festival run here in Los Angeles and most recently played at the 26th Annual Playhouse West Film Festival.

With a background in acting, my ability to empathize and step into other’s shoes allows me to honestly depict a character a work with actors to bring these stories to life. I find that building a trusting relationship with your actors in essential and I’m willing to go through the trenches with them to fully realize the story.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
七転び八起き, “Nanakorobi ya oki”. This is a Japanese proverb and it translates to “Fall down 7 times, stand up 8.”

This statement has been my guiding light and north star for more than a decade now. No one is perfect and every human makes mistakes. It is how I learn and grow from my mistakes that I feel is important to my growth and success. We always see superheros get knocked down during battle against a villain that’s seemingly impossible to defeat. But against all odds, they always stand up, ready to go again. I try to embody this characteristic in my life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.g.ganesh/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cgganesh
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@c.g.ganesh

Image Credits
Austin Hartger
Eve Moreno