We recently connected with Alessandro Gentile and have shared our conversation below.
Alessandro, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?
Growing up in the 80’s/90’s I had a lot of independence. I was what they called a ‘Latch Key Kid’. I would ride my bike to school in the 4th grade and stay late playing with my friends. During those younger years my parents were mainly focused on building a future and making money. Being immigrants they are still from that post-war “Baby Boomer” generation. I wasn’t technically an only child but spent a lot of time alone. My brother was 7 years older than me and spent a lot of time with his biological father, and when he graduated moved out. I taught myself a lot of things. Like how to shave and even how to read in Spanish. When time came to applying to colleges I did everything by myself and met all the deadlines. So I guess I built up a self-disciplinary tolerance as a child and that drive played an important role in my work ethic today.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
After graduating film school in 2001 I knew there was so much more to learn within the world of filmmaking. I started off as a production manager, but with a big interest in capturing images. Parallel to producing I kept teaching myself how to run and operate a video camera. In 2002 I directed and shot my first feature documentary on a Burningman grant artist titled, “Fire Fall: Road To Burningman”. In 2003 I was approached by a film school friend of mine to be the director of photography on his first feature film, “In Your Eyes”. I hesitated at first but ended up taking the leap and that film went on to world premiere at the Santa Barbara Int’l Film Festival. But I knew I still needed to learn more about my role behind the camera. From 2005-06 I decided to go back to school and studied cinematography at UCLA. My newly gained knowledge of cinematography gave me the confidence to pursue being a camera man in the industry. I moved back to Los Angeles in 2007 and started booking small jobs that lead to bigger ones. In 2013 I was presented with the opportunity to be the director of photography on the TV pilot for the Emmy Award Winning series “Schitts Creek” featuring Eugene Levy and Catherine O’hara. From that moment on I’ve been building my filmography as a director of photography with 47 credits to date. But I had higher aspirations and wanted to revisit my early interests of becoming a full time director. In 2020 I had the opportunity to direct my first narrative short film, “Lodo” that went on to garner me the prestigious Tim Burton Visionary Award as a director at the 2022 Burbank Int’l Film Festival. I just premiered my recent film at Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, a documentary on East Los Angeles Chicano Photographer Luis C. Garza, “Razón De Ser: Luis C. Garza”. My second narrative film, “Della’ is about two estranged sisters that are forced to rehash their traumatic past is currently in post production. Presently I’m starting a new feature documentary on a Guatemalan immigrant that full filled his dreams in the United States. Being a director of photography has given me major tools in directing films. Going into each project it gave me great confidence by fully understanding the camera side of things. Whether I’m operating a camera or not I know the language.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I trace back my hard work ethic to the days I was a child and doing things on my own. It gave me the disciplinary skill to transition into working for myself for these past 22 years. I learned to work with integrity and constantly value each verbal agreement I have made with potential collaborators and clients. As a director of photography I learned how to work with various personalities and it ultimately taught me patience on a film set. This quality carried over into my directing. Today I’m able to manage a full team and execute various film/commercial projects. I follow my disciplinary work ethic by using integrity, patience’s, and collaboration.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
There has been many individuals that have influenced my journey in becoming a director. First and foremost my wife and three children. They have been extra supportive since day one and I’m grateful for them. But, the one individual that stands out is my long time friend/collaborator Trae Brier’s from UCSB film school. He has been the most loyal person I have worked with throughout all my years in the industry. In 2024 we are slated to film his third feature film, “Cuate”. Another person that comes to mind is Juan Escobedo. Juan gave me many early opportunities in Los Angeles as a director of photography. Then is 2020 with the hit of the pandemic everything changed. I began to re-evaluate my path as a filmmaker. At the time I was the co-founder and artistic director of the Highland Park Independent Film Festival and was avidly working as a director of photography. But I kept shifting my mind into pursuing directing full time. I finally realized I needed to free up some brain space and in 2021 I stepped down from the film festival. It was difficult bc it’s something special that I birthed for the community of Highland Park. But it left me in a cross roads and I ended up syncing up with long time friend Heather Flores. We had been discussing her feature documentary on Richard Duardo (the master printer and artist) since 2015. Then in 2021 Heather invited me to film a short documentary on local artist Frank Romero. It was a trial run for us to see if we can work together. That then lead us into collaborating on various projects and in 2022 we decided to establish Radium 88 Productions. Heather’s ongoing support and creative drive has aided us into working on 3 feature documentaries, 2 commercials and 3 short films. In addition we are beginning to book for 2024 and have various films in development. Our chemistry as collaborators is something you search for years but never find. Heather and I came together at the right time in our careers. We both produce for each other and at the same time run an on growing production company. I’m very excited for what the future holds for Radium 88.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.r88productions.com/
- Instagram: @r88prod
- Other: https://www.gentileimages.com/ @alessandro_dop
Image Credits
Getty Images, Barlo Photography, Heather Flores, Zhi-Zhi Flores
