Adriana Ledesma is not the typical filmmaker who wanted to make films from a young age. It wasn’t until her early 20’s, after creating a few projects for social organizations, just for the love of it, that it became clear to her. She proved it was possible to send a positive message to the masses, instruct them and educate them, while doing something she enjoyed. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Advertising, she decided to pursue a Master in Film and Media Production, the combination of her knowledge made her understand she could use her ability to create compelling stories.
This young prolific Mexican film director has brought forward an impressive array of award-winning and festival-accepted films, and she’s gaining recognition as an important female voice on the Hollywood landscape, with recognition from organizations such as Glendale International Film Festival, Festigious International Film Festival, Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival and the Female Filmmakers Fuse Film Festival among others. We had the pleasure of speaking to her about her career.
Thanks for taking the time to speak to us. You appear to have stumbled into the industry, creating a few projects for the fun of it. Please tell us more about how you got into filmmaking.
They say nothing happens by accident. As one of my greatest idols, rest in peace, Steve Jobs, once said, “you can only connect the dots looking backwards”, and he was so right. For me, being now in LA making movies, wouldn’t have been possible if I had not created my first feature film a few years ago. This would not have happened if I had not collaborated with my colleagues, in all departments that require my presence while making a fan footage film. This would not have existed if I had not first made short films with some great friends who were as passionate about the arts as I am, without even having any equipment nor knowledge at all.
We wouldn’t have created anything if we weren’t curious about entertaining ourselves with a different activity, exploring new ways to present stories and have fun doing it. That curiosity would not have existed without my interest in behind the scenes; something I gained working on several projects, one of them and a very important one, being an underwater video we created for Houdini the Musical, which would not have been possible if I had not been in charge of a few college musicals as a stage manager, such as Legally Blonde for instance, which would not have happened without me first having taken the opportunity to first step on a stage singing, acting and dancing. You got to take a chance on life and so that’s why I’ve done a few times and here I am.
After completing your Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Advertising, you decided to pursue a Masters in Film and Media Production. Please share with us how this has impacted your approach to filmmaking.
Everything you learn and live in life shapes you to who you are and what you do, and, for me, all of it has led me to do what I’m passionate about the most, which is making films, particularly directing them. A key element to what marketing and advertising is psychology. Sounds, shapes, color, language, and how these elements are used, impact consumers on an emotional level.
Not many people know this about me but for 3 years, before I got into filmmaking as a full-time job, I worked for Kellogg’s, the cereal company. I was in the marketing and sales department and at that time, I spent a lot of time coming up with creative ways so I could convince the grocery stores to buy more of our product. Once the product was there, I had to come up with more ideas to be able to sell it, and so the ways on how would I present the product, after analyzing our consumers’ minds, and how to make the biggest impact on them, became key to our successful sales.
If we translate that into cinema language, and in my very particular case when directing, I think it is precisely that, the emotional-psychological-sensitive part, what I inject in my way of directing a film, in order to achieve the greatest impact on people. To deepen into the psychology of the film, the story, the script, and the characters, and look into creative ways to present my idea and go deep into the audience heart, mind, and spirit to be able to reach them the best way possible, that’d be one way my marketing background has impacted my approach in filmmaking.
What do you enjoy most about the film making process?
I enjoy every single aspect of it. As a Director, you get involved in all 3 stages of production.
Most of the people who are not familiar with this industry have no clue on the incredible amount of things that are required to make a movie. Although it is not something that you do by yourself ( it is based on a constant collaboration with a team you fully trust), I still love to get involved as much as possible in the entire process and all possible areas.
If I had to name a few stages that I enjoy the most, these would be:
- Everything related to research. I love the whole “finding out” process, digging what’s behind the story, behind each character, and the script itself. Understanding every single aspect of it makes it easier to direct. When you know all this like the back of your hand, it is easier to make decisions or improvise on the go.
- Working with actors. It all starts when auditioning, where sometimes it is hard to find the character you have already picture in your head by reading the script thousands of times. Although sometimes, and it happens, you can tell right away that the person that just walked in, is exactly who you’re looking for. After you’ve cast your talent, all the intense work that revolves around the actors before and during filming, while we explore who is this particular character they’re playing, is something I like. It usually happens that you come across a myriad of ideas that actors bring to the table, which in many cases, even you as a director had not discovered before. There’s also that magic that happens on set when the actor is “being” the character and wraps you in his world and his story. It’s wonderful.
- Meeting with my Director of Photography. There are many department heads and, with each of them, there’s always something interesting to discuss, but it is with my DP that I love sitting down the most to break down the movie. It varies depending on the story but, for me, there’s a reason why the story should be told the way you want to tell it. Therefore, there’s this excitement when looking for the most appropriate tone for the film, framing and camera movement, color palette, the psychology behind certain shots or certain blocking, the lighting, the technicalities for certain scenes, among others. If you want your audience to feel everything you are trying to show them, then you should use all possible elements to do so, even including props, wardrobe, the location itself, etc.
- Being on set. I could spend hours and hours talking about the “on-set” experience. Everything you’ve worked for comes to life in this stage, and with that, there are many emotions that you go through at the same time while being on set: excitement, stress, fulfillment, anguish, happiness, satisfaction, adrenaline, overwhelmed, anger, courage…
You prepare everything you can beforehand, but you should always be on the lookout for when you have to get creative and improvise. Time is money so problem-solving is one of the most important tasks as a Director on set. The good thing, again, is that your highly efficient teammates, help you go through it. I really appreciate teamwork and collaboration. Undoubtedly in every project, everyone is constantly contributing to something new and interesting, so it is satisfying to see how all gears work efficiently to achieve the same goal.
For me, being on set is the feeling I like the most, the one that, despite everything, keeps me going and wants me to do this over and over again, no matter what difficulties you encounter on the way.
- Magic while editing. This is a highlight moment when, after all this hard work, you can see all pieces put together captured on screen. They say sometimes movies are made in the editing room, and it is absolutely true. You make your best to achieve everything while shooting, but it isn’t after you analyze everything you’ve got and you select the best of the best to tell the story, that the movie takes shape. Sometimes the editor has to change the original story because of the material you’ve got or move scenes from one place to another to tell a good story and as a director, you have to be able to adapt the best way possible for the sake of the film.
- Music department. An essential phase that I truly love is when I sit down with the composer, to listen to the project’s music. It is like the icing on the cake. Music enhances the film in a huge way, highlights the emotional impact of it, and pushes it to a different level. Sometimes because of the music, you feel you are watching an entirely different film, a better one, and that to me, is satisfying in a way that takes me to another place, where I can truly enjoy the full experience of filmmaking.
Is there a particular industry player that inspires you and why?
Although I’ve had the influence of great film directors, from whom I’ve learned a lot and who have served me as inspiration, it is my same colleagues who inspire me every day to be better and continue this journey.
Being at this independent filmmakers’ environment, you have the opportunity to share everybody’s journey and effort, from a scratch project to its full realization, and that is something I always admire. It is a reality that it is a very competitive industry and envy and bad vibes often appear, but there is also a community that is always willing to help. I am fortunate to be surrounded by friends and colleagues who are extremely talented, which makes this an enriching experience at all times.
You have an impressive array of award-winning and festival-accepted films. You’re also gaining recognition as an important female voice on the Hollywood landscape, with recognition from organizations such as Glendale International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival, and the Female Filmmakers Fuse Film Festival among others. To date, what would you say is your most rewarding achievement, and why?
From managing to create a compelling story in a single location, being this a jail cell, to working with several children at the same time, to making a decent movie with zero budget, to working with people with different abilities as the protagonists of the film, each project has its own challenges, and therefore, each project is a gratifying experience.
Two of my most recent achievements are: “Shadow Wall”, in which, unconventionally, we discuss some features of a person with borderline disorder and how is it that they can suffer daily. Due to its sensitivity, this film has obtained a good response on the festival circuit, having 15 national and international awards so far, including best original concept, best performance by an actress, best directing, and best music.
The other project that I’m very proud of is called “El Fred”, which revolves around a struggling single mother and her bullied son. It was a great experience to be able to work with children because, as I mentioned before, what they bring to the table, especially with their innocence and their very peculiar way of seeing the world, is inspiring, besides we were able to talk about a delicate topic such as bullying, but in a creative way, combined with fiction, to get the attention of our viewers. This project is already giving a lot to talk about as it begins to obtain recognition and nominations in different film festivals.
The industry has been going through changes, particularly after several high-profile cases regarding equality and representation of social groups. Please share your thoughts, experiences, and conclusions regarding the industry.
There’s no doubt the industry, as we know it now, is not the same as it was 10, 20, 50 years ago. Through the years, and derived from certain situations, it has evolved. However, I believe that there is still much to do to achieve not so much equality but equity to amend the imbalance that is still notorious nowadays.
As a woman, I can tell you it is a reality the fact that we have to try harder. It is already difficult to earn a place in this industry, and it is even more difficult when you are evaluated by your gender (or in some cases by your ethnicity, beliefs, color, etc.), and not because of your abilities. Fortunately, I’ve never been harassed in any way, but I’ve been, at times, discriminated against.
I’ve been on a few sets where, just because I’m a woman, my opinion is not taken seriously right away or there have been occasions where people have gotten surprised because of the good solutions or ideas I offer. There is still a big mistrust in our work and our skills, hence the lack of opportunities, differences in salaries, and the underrepresentation of the female gender in cinema is still very noticeable, but I think we are on the right track to make a radical change in these next few years.
Thank you for sharing your thought with us. We’re almost done but I’d like to ask you one more thing. What projects are you currently working on?
There’s no doubt the pandemic has slowed down our plans and delayed several productions, but there’s always something going on and as a filmmaker, you need to have several projects cooking in the oven. As of now, there’s a few projects I’m working on that are on development and on pre-production.
One of them is “Dirt and Ashes”, which follows a particular moment in the life of a homeless man that lost everything in a fire, including his family. We’re very excited about this project, which stars the great actor Diego Medellin in the lead role, and it’s taking a lot of strength.
There’s another project I’m working on in which all the protagonists are elders, it’s called “Trust Me on This”. This is a project I’ve been working on for a few years and it’s closer to production than ever. It represents a new challenge for me so I’m really looking forward to it.
And last but not least, I’ve been hired to direct other films in the next couple of years, but I can’t say anything yet. It is still confidential but, you can follow me on social media to learn a bit more of both of them in the next few months.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
The social media I use the most is Instagram (adry.lr – www.instagram.com/adry.lr/), this is where I usually post some behind the scenes pictures or some updates on what I’m working on at the moment. There’s also Yaxakal Production’s site (www.yaxakalproductions.com), where some of my work can be seen, or directly in my IMDb page (imdb.me/adrianaledesma).
Images:
- Adriana Ledesma finding frame Photo by Diego Medellín
- Adriana Ledesma on set Photo by Katie Kirkpatrick
- Adriana Ledesma Directing ‘Shadow Wall’ Photo taken by Charlie Coralejo
- Photo by Polina Zakharova
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