We’re looking forward to introducing you to Emilia Mendieta Córdova. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Emilia, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I think I’m walking a path. But more than that, I have a destination I’m heading towards and I’m open to changing the path I’m on to get there. A good friend of mine likes to say that the best thing we can do is dynamically steer as we go towards our destination – and I really like the idea of that. This comes from my experience in life where I’ve often found that things that felt like detours from the path I was on or what I might consider bumps in the road unexpectedly ended up being shortcuts that have helped me grow a lot in my personal life and my career. So I’m really grateful for that and sometimes choose to take unusual roads, as long as I still am moving in the general direction of my destination/goals.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a Kansas-born Ecuadorian-American filmmaker and Director of Photography known for her bold, emotionally resonant storytelling. A graduate of Vassar College and the AFI Conservatory (MFA, Cinematography), I bring a sharp visual sensibility, technical mastery, and collaborative spirit to every project. My work has screened at LALIFF, UrbanWorld, LA Shorts, BOGOSHORTS, Tallgrass Film Festival, Salute Your Shorts, and the CineGear Film Series (where one of the shorts I shot won the Audience Award this year!).
I have lensed a wide range of narratives, from TRENDING and HIGH BEAM (LFI Inclusion Fellowship) to AGUAMADRE (Walmart x Mitú Fellowship) and AMY’S F-IT LIST (dir. Mark S. Allen). I have also shot and co-directed over sixteen award-winning music videos with Charley Young, as well as the short film AND USTED TAMBIÉN, now on its festival run with screenings at LALIFF and Salute Your Shorts. My commercial/branded work includes a short-form food series and PROMAX-nominated promos for ABC10 (KXTV).
A three-time Women in Media Altitude Awards semi-finalist, I’m also a Cinematography Fellow of the 2023 WIF Artisan and Crew program and an alum of the ASC Vision Mentorship Program. I have has taught / guest lectured at AFI, CSUN, University of New Orleans, USFQ, and UDLA, and have mentored emerging talent through the Youth Cinema Project and the Michael’s Daughter Foundation.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and Mandarin, I’m also a classically trained cellist, FAA-certified drone pilot, and co-host of The ICF⁺C Podcast. I’m committed to telling visually striking stories that center underrepresented voices.
Currently I’m prepping for my next feature film as a Director of Photography and a handful of short-form projects that I’m really excited about. Additionally I’m prepping a short that I wrote titled A REEL DILEMMA which I will be shooting in January. Meanwhile, I’m trying to go to as many festivals as I can as TRENDING, HIGH BEAM and AND USTED TAMBIÉN are doing the rounds in the festival circuit.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
My parents. They’re both college professors who also work as academic administrators in higher education. They’ve always loved their jobs and were really dedicated to their careers because they believed (and still believe) in what they’re doing. And they’ve been a catalyst for change and innovation within those spaces.
I take that passion and dedication into the way I approach my own career – for me it’s not enough to just work, but I believe that what I do should push part of the field forward in some way: either by innovating the way I’m telling a story visually or by opening doors to people who have traditionally be shut out of the field.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Not so much suffering but challenges. I think that one of the toughest challenges I’ve consistently faced is being under-resourced for the projects I’m working on. What I’ve taken away from that is to not look at what I don’t have, but take account of what I do have and maximize its use. It’s taught me to think outside the box and find creative and often innovative paths to get to where I need to go. What’s great about this is that when I have projects that are more adequately resourced I can really use all of the resources at my disposal to their full potential and make those projects even bigger and better that what others thought they could be. It would have been so great to start out on projects with more resources, but I can also appreciate the path I’ve taken has encouraged me to grow and look at things from a variety of perspectives.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I’m really loyal to the people (friends and family) that I’ve chosen to surround myself with and I’m always actively reinforcing those connections and growing them. I also truly believe that a rising tide floats all boats, so for every step forward I take, I try to bring as many people forward with me.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What will you regret not doing?
I like to live my life as regret-free as possible. And by that I mean I’d rather try and fail than live with the regret of having never tried at all. It might take me a hot second to build up the courage to try something, but ultimately I do it. I can live with having tried and failed – mostly because there’s always something I take from that failure, I always see it as an opportunity for growth. Failure sucks, but living with regret (and the idea that I didn’t even try) is absolutely unbearable to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.emiliamendieta.com/
- Instagram: @emi_mendieta
Image Credits
Bryce Stephens
Jillian LeMoine
