Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbarella Fokos.
Hi Barbarella, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It was a dark and stormy night— just kidding, we all know it never rains in San Diego. Chances are it was 72 degrees and sunny the day I was born at the old Naval Hospital in Balboa Park. My story has so many chapters that my business card for many years was a tiny, stylistic book titled: Barbarella {Abridged}. Storytelling is the common denominator in everything I do, so here I’ll focus on my favorite mediums for storytelling: writing, filmmaking, and (thanks to the pandemic), chocolatier-ing.
For 12 years I penned a weekly column for the San Diego Reader, Diary of a Diva, providing readers an intimate glimpse into my personal life and adventures. During that time, I was also a frequent guest on local TV and radio, with regular segments on NBC7 and KPBS. In 2013 I seized an opportunity that would set me on an entirely new path: I was given full creative control to create a television show, Art Pulse TV, featuring artists in the greater San Diego and Baja region. With absolutely zero education or experience in creating a television show, I quickly learned as I—along with a team of creatives I recruited—cranked out 20 episodes in 22 weeks. When it was all over, I took home an Emmy Award for Excellence in Arts and Entertainment Programming.
That same summer, on the 10th anniversary of my column, I released a memoir, Diary of a Diva: Behind the Lipstick, co-written (as the show was co-produced, directed, and edited) by my partner-in-everything, David. We have a company, Salt & Sugar Productions, which specializes in documentaries about artists and documentary-style videos about creators and people who are passionate about their work. Now, instead of telling my own stories, I’m helping other people tell theirs.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I consider the bumps along the Road of Life to be lessons more than obstacles, but that doesn’t make falling on my face any less painful. During the making of Art Pulse TV, my eardrum spontaneously ruptured, an incident that baffled the urgent care doctor—he was convinced I’d recently been on a plane or had gotten over-enthusiastic with a Q-tip, but no. I was sitting on the couch, stressing out over the fact that the person who held the purse strings for my show had emptied the bank account for an unannounced personal spending spree, causing paychecks for my team members to bounce.
As with that incident, most of the challenges I’ve faced have had to do with one of two things: lack of clarity between people and overextending myself. As a result, I work to be explicit in my communications, and not feel guilty when it becomes clear that I need to rest and recharge.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Though I retired my column over 5 years ago, it is still how most people know me. However, since then I have been building a reputation as a filmmaker. My films “Tribal Baroque: Beingness” and “From Haarlem to Harlem” have earned Best Documentary Short awards in different film festivals. A third, “A New Stellar Order,” premiered with a sell-out show at the Fleet Science Center. I have been featured for my filmmaking in KPBS, Huffington Post, Pacific Magazine, MV Times, and Vineyard Gazette, and we just completed our first feature-length documentary film, “The Power of Stone.” It is currently being submitted to film festivals.
David and I are particular about who we work with. Specifically, we choose subjects and clients who are passionate about their work; people who strive for excellence in everything they do. We thrive on connection with creators and those who care about their communities. Whether we are creating documentary films or commercial promotional pieces, what sets our work apart is the combination of David’s eye as a photographic artist and my writer’s intuition for story.
I’m most proud of my Excellence in Journalism awards and Emmy Award because for those my work was peer-reviewed. Having my work judged to be excellent in the eyes of others who know what goes into these projects means a lot to me.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
One of the biggest lessons I learned from the pandemic is that there is always something I can be creating, and it’s never too late to learn something new. In October 2020, I took a break from doom-scrolling to inspiration-scroll and came across a GIF depicting a hot cocoa bomb—a ball of chocolate filled with marshmallows that melt into cocoa when hot milk is poured over it. It seemed so comforting amidst the chaos of Covid. I wanted one, but I didn’t just want to simply buy it—I wanted to MAKE it. My first attempt was a hot-melted chocolate mess, but I kept trying until I created a few decent enough cocoa bombs to gift to my family over that first locked-down holiday season.
At one point in the process of making chocolate balls, I realized I was also learning how to make candy. Suddenly, a world of possibilities opened before me. I don’t cook and have never had any interest in chemistry. But my desire to create in this new medium propelled me down a rabbit hole of intense research as I voraciously learned everything I could about the science of chocolate-making. I particularly fell in love with the artistry of bonbons. I have been documenting my progress on Instagram (check out #BarbarellaWonka to see how far I’ve come). Now as I close in on two years of trial and error, as well as recipe and design development, I’m considering launching some pop-up events where I can sell my creations. Stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.saltandsugarproductions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbarellaf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbarellaf
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Barbarellaf
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6020790/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
