Rising Stars: Meet Javier Arcelus Cano

Today we’d like to introduce you to Javier Arcelus Cano.

Hi Javier, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Mexico City on November 18th, 1988. I am a filmmaker and stop-motion animator.

Since I was a young boy, I enjoyed going to the cinema and rewatching my favorite movies. This fact plus my ability to draw, made me conceive my first original characters and storyboards. Later, an alternative to narrating arose, influenced by cartoons. So after watching a chapter from each of my preferred T.V. series, I would play to change its plot with action figures. This exercise helped me to realize that some of my hobbies were the discovery of the story development, the form it was visually captured, and the protagonist’s growth throughout their journey. Nevertheless, my first-ever approach to a camera happened once I turned twelve and when I was given a camcorder as a Christmas gift. At this precise stage, I mainly utilized the device to document my vacations and my days at school.

It was not until I enrolled in a major in Media and Communications at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City that I had the opportunity to produce a number of short films. This learning period led me to bring to life one of the superheroes that I came up with during my childhood: Supermisil. Thereupon, ‘The Bank of Ideas’, ‘Supermisil’ & ‘Brigade de Cuisine’ gathered a total of 55 festival official selections, eleven awards and two special recognitions.

By the time the aforementioned shorts were screened at diverse events, I had already started my professional career. My initial steps were as a production assistant in feature films of the caliber of ‘Spectre’ and ‘There Are No Saints’. Afterward, I performed as an assistant director in commercials for television and internet, as well as an in-house offline editor at the Mexican company Voces Imaginarias. Additionally, I entered the world of stop-motion animation, a technique that allowed me to work for brands like Google and Jumex.

When it comes to directing, I gained experience through the production of corporate videos and web content. These jobs also boost me to get involved into advertising and to develop as an animation supervisor.

After completing a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy Los Angeles Campus, I sharpened my moviemaking skills by shooting two more challenging short films and by accomplishing to direct a music video for an L.A.-based band named Tarah Who?. The latter project granted me the chance to collaborate with the renowned martial arts pioneer Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, who devised the fighting sequences for the visuals to accompany the song titled as ‘Hurt’.

Subsequently, I embarked on the adventure of opening a studio in my hometown. Such an ambitious enterprise is aiming not only to create commercials and narrative content but to provide a space for audiovisual productions in the form of a couple of sound stages too.

Today I find myself working on my debut feature as a director and a screenwriter while, in parallel, setting up Dinofilms LLC with a view to continue telling stories through a camera in the capital of the entertainment industry.

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?
Everyone believes shooting a movie is as simple as posing on the red carpet; however, I can attest it’s completely the opposite. In fact, I would say that film crew structures sometimes resemble the way the army operates: there is much at stake, numerous guidelines to follow and targets which require discipline plus perseverance to be achieved. Of course, there is creativity involved, but unfortunately it comprises a small percentage of the activities concerning the moviemaking process.

For example, my first time on a feature was one of the defiant tasks I have learned the most. Spoiler alert!: I joined as a production assistant, that is to say, a very non-artistry job. It took me a few days to get used to the working dynamic and to pick up the right industry terms in order to communicate with people on and off set. Notwithstanding, this opportunity taught me to respect and understand the many logistic aspects you have to consider so a scene can be properly shot.

Moreover, pressure will always hit you harder if you accomplish to be promoted or choose to take over the weight of a project on your shoulders. Such perception is particularly evident when assuming a key position or any creative role around a personal undertaking, a situation to which at certain moments seems impossible to be emotionally detached. Truth is that acquiring more responsibilities gives you a broader perspective to appreciate the relevance of carefully meshing each sprocket together and thus to make a solid product for audiences who are craving to watch entertaining films with coherent storylines and powerful messages.

Besides, if you take into account the linguistic barrier and cultural differences that foreign professionals who moved to Los Angeles have to face, the challenge turns significantly more complex. This adversity showed me to stay relaxed outside my comfort zone but also reminded me why it’s so easy to fall in love with cinema, an artistic form capable of speaking a universal language.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Leaving aside the laurels I gathered thanks to some of my early movies, I am extremely satisfied about the results obtained from the most ambitious narrative pieces I have directed during my stay in California: ‘The Silhouette of a Ghost’ and ‘Locked’. The first short pays homage to the film noir genre; meanwhile, the other explores the writer’s block phenomenon. Nonetheless, what these two have in common was the upward learning curve in regard to the storytelling means I selected to address more profound subject matters within my aesthetic vision.

Back to my college days, I had been able to shoot with 16 mm film, yet ‘The Silhouette of a Ghost’ became the perfect scenario to use a 35 mm gauge. On this occasion, my justification was firmer and more theme-oriented, as it was based upon the premise of capturing the nostalgic quest of a retired jewelry dealer who is persuaded to recover a valuable necklace. Such possibility of testing the most traditional cinematic format was, without hesitation, a pending issue at the top of my moviemaker’s wish list.

Compared with the noir tribute, ‘Locked’ is a less elaborate production in terms of budget and story conflict. Everything needed to be filmed in one day, to a degree that I only planned six camera placements evenly distributed among two prebuilt sets inside a studio facility. And even though there were various limitations, this specific circumstance encouraged me to try complementary technical resources. Therefore, I managed to adequately convey the main character’s emotions through the experimentation of optical effects filters, multiple frame rates and different aspect ratios.

Both short-length movies are currently making their way around the festival circuit, so hopefully it is a question of time until any VoyageLA reader runs into a screening.

What sets you apart from others?
I usually prefer other people to praise my performance or point out the attributes which describe me better as a filmmaker and as a person.

However, if I have to sell myself in a job interview, I would say I am a passionate and versatile professional. A strong work ethic, teamwork spirit and attention to detail are the core principles that come along with my aim of creating groundbreaking stories for the screen.

What makes you happy?
An aspect that pleases me is the balanced course I have given to my still young career.

Disregarding if I joined the camera or animation department, forming part of a huge cinema production taught me how important is to enjoy the creating process just as much as the outcome. On the other hand, carrying out small or independent directing gigs has been a crucial matter to enhance my portfolio and, above anything else, to express my ideas. Honestly, performing as director is what makes me happy but I am aware it wouldn’t be as delightful if I hadn’t started having fun from the bottom.

In essence, I am fortunate because being a storyteller is without question the most amusing job of them all. Think about it for a minute: every day is unique due to the fact that filming can happen everywhere at any time!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.javierarceluscano.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-arcelus-cano/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/javierarceluscano

Image Credits
Eddie Wollrabe, Eduardo Velasco, María Quintana, René Zuñiga, L.J. Rivera, Efrén Del Rosal and Janila Castañeda