Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Asse.
Hi Carlos, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Mexico City to very loving parents. I was always a good student, trained gymnastics all my life (since it was the only thing that could drain all my energy), and dedicated most of my free time to community/volunteer work focused on non-formal education. I met one of my closest friends when I was eight. Together we built a few electric toys using trash and a few reused parts from other R/C toys and cars. At 12 I was sure I’d be an engineer and I would change the world with one of my inventions.
In high school my world shook. I started loving literature, history, and started taking the arts more seriously. Simultaneously, my aversion for math, physics, and chemistry skyrocketed. The closer I got to finishing high school, the more certain I was I wouldn’t be an engineer.
Writing, photography, music, and nature started changing my life rapidly. I was this hyperactive kid that enjoyed fying in the air while spinning and flipping, and then found peace and quiet among the pages of a book. Neither I nor my parents could believe this. No one expected Carlos to sit still for more than 40 minutes straight. When high school ended, I went on a gap year across the Middle East. There, I realized I wouldn’t change the world with one of my inventions, but I would transform people with my films.
Currently, I’m a freelance producer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. I’m always looking to work on projects that are shaped by storytelling and attention to detail, striving to create thought-provoking narratives that have the power to transform society. I am a 2022 Commercial Director Diversity Program Finalist which is backed by the AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers) and the DGA (Directors’ Guild of America). I’ve worked for brands like as Toyota, Nissan, Lexus, PayPal, Apple Music, between others; and have produced and directed films that have found success around the globe.
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?
I truly believe that very, VERY few people (if any) in this world pursue their passions without hurdles and obstacles along the way. So the short answer to this question would be: No, it hasn’t been smooth, but it’s been well worth it.
I have to thank my parents, Claudia and Jose, and my gymnastics coach, Edgar, for making me a resilient, tenacious, and committed person. Everything I decide to do and embark on I take very seriously, and that has been of extreme importance of building a career. I almost feel like the second I decided to become a filmmaker and come to Los Angeles, obstacles started raining all over me and the path I would follow. Coming to LA was hard, it took lots of hard work, proving myself, and a bunch of very selfless people and organizations that decided to support me and my career financially. As I mentioned before, I was always a great student, but in this industry, good grades are worth nothing if you don’t have a portfolio to back them up.
As one of my favorite filmmakers, Guillermo del Toro, once said (and I’m paraphrasing here): people always see one’s life as a straight line from beginning to end. People only see what goes well, what is happening, what gets made. But people never see what doesn’t get well, what doesn’t happen, what doesn’t get made. Del Toro makes an analogy to compare this with a car accident. When you’re a bystander, you see a car crash and it all happens in a split second. Two cars collide, that’s it. On the other hand, if you are the one driving one of the cars, everything happens in slow motion. You collide with the other car, your head hits the hearest and you injure your neck, then your face hits the wheel and you break you nose, the seatbelt hold you back and friction burns your skin, etc. And that’s what the life of a filmmaker (and I’m sure many more people) is like. By the time we complete a project and share it with the world, all these things have happened behind the scenes that no one is aware about.
But again… it is worth it if you are putting your heart and soul on those projects.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a film producer, director and writer. I’m also a human.
I’m an ice-cream lover.
I’m a plant dad.
Okay I’ll stop.
Throughout my career I have I’ve been in the pursuit of discovering my artistic voice, what I want to say, what moves me, what inspires me. I think that’s what us, artists, have to discover and question constantly. Our voices change with time, after certain life experiences, and that’s what separates us from one another and from the rest of the world. What we want to say, how we say it, and to who.
So yeah, I think that’s what separates me and my work. In a way, that’s the real, most basic reason I’ve been able to work on the projects I have. Because of who I am, because of how I view the world, and because ideally, I would only work on the projects that no one can make better than me, because those are stories and visuals that no one could create in a more nuanced way than I.
Currently we are in the final stretch of post-production of a short film I produced alongside Whisky Films titled “Five Tool Player” by the extremely talented director Carlos Ramirez III.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
To be honest, everyone that deserves to be thanked and mentioned for supporting me and my career has received endless messages, hugs, and calls from me saying so. But I’ll try to mention them here as well.
First and foremost my parents and met sister. The best supporters and cheerleaders since day one. Without them I’d had nothing. I’d be nowhere.
To my grandma, for being my motivation and my force.
To my collaborators: producers, cinematographers, directors, production designers, editors, colorists that have worked on my passion projects and done me huge favors so I can move forward and find the work I want to create. (I can’t list all of them here, but they know who they are)
To my sponsors who supported my career financially so I could come chase my filmmaking dreams in LA.
To everyone that has expressed love, interest, and honesty in me. THANK YOU!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carlosasse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlos.asse/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlosasse
