Today we’d like to introduce you to Irene M. Valencia.
Hi Irene M., we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was always drawn to the arts, finding wholeness in experiencing whatever form of it I came across- music, painting, literature, cinema, photography… I started taking music lessons at the age of eight, believing my future was in the music entertainment industry. However, everything changed when my mother purchased a DSLR camera and left it lying around the house during summer break. Suddenly, every square inch of my childhood home became an important sight to be preserved for eternity in digital black-and-white film. I began to question myself: is this it?
At 18 years old I ended up travelling all the way to Montpellier, France, to study cinema and the philosophy around art as a whole. I was desperately trying to understand why it has always seemed to me that life pales in comparison to art, that no matter what I was going through it didn´t matter too much if I could create something beautiful out of it. I wasn’t taking my decision to dedicate myself to the arts lightly, I simply had to make up my mind if it was worth it to take this path. And so the months passed, and I found some answers during my philosophy lessons, while shooting my first short films, and by discovering ancient european cities by foot (and listening to a lot of classical music while I was at it). It was all about transcendence, the expression of the soul, and leaving something behind… if only the testimony of our passing.
I finally understood.
I decided to come back to Mexico after a year in France, with the purpose of studying at the first film school founded in Latin America, the ENAC (which stands for National Cinematic Arts School). I had to take four different exams and wait about a year to finish the admission process, which was completely nerve-wracking. Then I finally got accepted.
It’s been six years since that, and now I’ve become a DOP and part-time film director, working recently on my thesis short film “Fragments of Paradise and a Descent into Purgatory”. I work frequently as a focus puller and camera assistant or camera operator in short films, music videos, documentaries, commercials and, recently, a movie.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has, and also hasn’t been a smooth road getting to where I am now.
In a way, I can’t complain since my friends and family have supported me fully. I also believe that my love of art has made everything really exciting, and honestly I feel so grateful every day to the point of disbelief. However, this industry is highly competitive and demands your 100% every single time. If you make a mistake, if you’re five minutes late to a shoot, if you can’t make it a few times… you might lose your place. There is always someone else in line after you, ready to replace you.
On the other hand, regarding a creative and personal experience at making art (or attempting to), it’s always hard to be vulnerable enough to make something that speaks to you truly and then showing it to your schoolmates, teachers, family, friends, lovers, even strangers. There’s always a competition going on inside someone’s head, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, and some teachers have a way of making you doubt yourself constantly. It’s complicated to focus on your own path and ignore your insecurities or even trust that you are getting better at this thing that you love so deeply that it’s hard to believe you will ever get to be as good as your idols. Nonetheless, we keep going.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a Director of Photography and part-time Film Director. I also studied Photography outside of the cinematic arts, and I’m always working on different series of pictures- mostly collections of feelings, colors, spaces and sometimes abstract shapes.
I’m a Director of Photography and part-time Film Director. I also studied portrait and street photography, and I’m always working on different series of pictures- mostly collections of feelings, colors, spaces and sometimes even abstract shapes.
I love telling stories without words through my pictures, but I have to admit that I’m also completely in love with the more literary nature of cinema. I recently photographed three thesis short films, including a performative documentary which deals with physical and spiritual pain, and the hope of finding meaning through art and nature.
I have also written and directed two short films. The first one, “Phantosmia”, is a comedy that I wrote during lockdown about a couple dealing with a bed-sheet ghost basically bullying them into leaving their apartment in a very childish way. The second one is my thesis short film, “Fragments of Paradise and a Descent into Purgatory”, a psychological horror film dealing with the ways in which violence shapes us unconsciously and turns us into our own worst enemies if we can’t heal the ways in which we were hurt.
I’m also working on writing music and short poems, looking for every way possible to express the human inside of me; the conscious and unconscious, the perpetual and the ephemeral. I think that’s definitely something that sets me apart, the fact that I’m a little obsessed at excelling at so many different things that showcase thoughts and feelings in their own specific way.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I guess what I could say about it now is that friends are literally the most important part of the process. Finding new friends on the road who share and understand what you’re doing creatively are essential to making good art; I wouldn’t even be where I am now without them. Besides, you can always learn something new from working with other people. Cinema is specially a collective discipline, which means you won’t get far working by yourself.
Honestly, making art with my friends is the best thing that ever happened to me.
On the other hand, you´re always your own worst critic, so it’s best to just trust your ideas and work really hard at making them come alive in whatever art form suits you (and the idea) best. Try and enjoy every part of it, even if it gets really stressful sometimes.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irene.montserrat/
