Story & Lesson Highlights with Miguel Lopez de Leon of Los Angeles

We recently had the chance to connect with Miguel Lopez de Leon and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Miguel, 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: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
As a filmmaker and novelist, I remember being excited but apprehensive about the idea of taking a chance and deciding to move up toward the next level of my work. So for instance, when I first started writing, it was a big deal for me to decide to go from writing short stories to writing my first novel. Similarly, as a filmmaker who writes, directs and acts in my own films, I really had to evaluate if I was ready before I made the leap from short films to my first feature film. In both cases, I just think it was a fear of the unknown, and a correct assumption that while the longer formats of both books and films are not necessarily “better,” they are very different in terms of execution. I’m so happy that I took the leap though. To date, I’ve written ten novels. As a filmmaker, I’ve made twenty-one films. Eighteen of those films are short films, and three of them are my feature films, being “Walk Silent,” “Bellow” and “Reaching Awake.”

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Miguel Lopez de Leon, and I’m a filmmaker and novelist living in Los Angeles. As a novelist, I’ve written ten fantasy novels, and have had numerous book tours, my own booths at book festivals and comic cons, and both private and public book launches and bookstore events.

As a filmmaker, I write, act and direct my own films, and have, to date, made eighteen short films and three feature films. And while I am currently much more focused on my work as a filmmaker, I’ve been able to use many of the skills I learned as a novelist to help me with my film work. Being a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts has also helped a lot with my acting work.

I spend a lot of my time going to film festivals all over America and attending screenings of my films, especially my feature films. I really enjoy meeting other filmmakers at these festivals, and love getting to know them and watching their films. It’s a great way to be a part of the independent film community, and to meet and network with other creatives. And while of course it is an honor just to watch your own film screenings and support other filmmakers and their work, it’s always a thrill if your films win at these events. So far, as noted on IMDb, my films have won a total of one hundred twenty-seven awards. I do not mention this to brag, but merely to point out how generous the independent film community has been, and to say that I truly appreciate all the support that they have shown me. I really do feel honored every time one of my films is accepted into a festival, and do not take it for granted. Some of the festivals I’ve attended where my films have screened at this past year have been the Portland Comedy Film Fest (Portland, Oregon), International Mobile Film Fest (San Diego, California), Shawna Shea Film Fest (Worcester, Massachusetts), Studio City Film Fest (Los Angeles, California), Zepstone Film Fest (Salt Lake City, Utah), and the L.A. Indie Horror Fest (Los Angeles, California). My feature film Bellow just screened at the Culver City Film Festival in Los Angeles, and will be screened in March at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, in Idyllwild, California.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
As a filmmaker, I really have to give credit to all the film festivals, and the indie film community in general, for really teaching me about making films. I remember, before I even made my first short film, that I would go to film festivals and just watch all the films that were screening. It was an amazing education in filmmaking. Of course, I love mainstream big-budget movies as well, but it was fascinating to see what films were made with little to no budget. The pure talent and creativity that I saw was very inspiring. It was from that education that I was able to start making my own short films, then eventually my three feature films “Walk Silent,” “Bellow” and “Reaching Awake.”

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
As a filmmaker and novelist, I’ve used the experiences in my life to shape the books and films that I’ve made. It really has been an empowering journey to be able to tell the stories that are meaningful to me, whether they center around family, loss, mental health, joy, laughter or loneliness. I really do feel grateful that I am able to share these stories and perspectives with other people, and focus on topics that I feel are important, or even just entertaining.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
As a filmmaker who writes, produces, acts and directs his own films, I would have to say that my three feature films “Walk Silent,” “Bellow,” and “Reaching Awake” are projects that I really committed myself to, regardless of how challenging they were to film, or how long they took to make. “Walk Silent” is a feature film about a man who discovers the reasons behind his bizarre bouts of sleepwalking. “Bellow” is a feature film about an exhausted man trying to survive a relentless haunting. And my newest feature film “Reaching Awake” is really an encapsulation of what I’ve learned from all the themes of the short and feature films that I’ve made up to this point. All these films were so time-consuming to make, but I’m so happy that I had these experiences, and I’m so grateful that I’m able to do this type of work.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I definitely feel that writing novels and making films is the work that I was meant to do, and I’m so grateful that I am able to do it. No matter how challenging it gets, I am always aware that I am doing work that I love.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.migueldeleonart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miguellopezdeleon1/?hl=en