Meet Lizette Castro

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lizette Castro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lizette, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

I feel in this day and age, optimism is something that people lack from uncertainty of the future. Which is really understandable, because oftentimes when we are struggling and things are looking so hopeless that we feel stuck. The flooding of internal crisis just starts bombarding the brain with the “what if”, “why”, “how”, and maybe “is this worth it”, making optimism feel like a delusion rather than an option. To me, this is an opportunity to be optimistic because instead of thinking about the worst-case scenario, I have to remind myself that not everything is ever completely doomed; sometimes things can actually turn out great or sometimes, nothing happens at all.

My optimism comes from my genuine hope to not be the same as I was each passing day. What I mean is that, my goal is to somehow improve my mood or outcome of the day to remind myself not everything is so bad. Sometimes, it does not even require too much effort. Something as simple as getting up earlier to stop at my favorite coffee shop before work, or even making last minute dinner plans with friends, those can be tiny reminders that there are things to look forward to instead of dreading the gritty parts of the present. Which brings me to my next point, friends and community are definitely a driving force for me because any positive thing in my life or career can be shared with them. Having them to experience the good, the bad, and the mundane creates unity and reminders of what brings us together and even if we experience bad, how can we make it better next time? Or sometimes experiencing times that might be hard in the moment can turn into things we laugh about remembering how we got through it.

There is always an option to make any situation better or alleviated, and there is an active choice involved in that. I actively choose to find reasons or create reasons to make parts of my life more fun or less tedious. I think it’s better to focus on what’s in front of me and what I can do for myself in the moment, rather than focusing and worrying about things that haven’t happened yet. There is always an upside in adversity, experiences are lessons and I take those with optimism to learn something that can always help me later. It’s all about bouncing back.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

To put it the most condensed way possible, my job is to execute the director’s vision within the parameters of the production’s resources. Especially as an Assistant Director, I need to make sure the day’s work is completed in the most efficient and safest process possible. As a producer, I plan and coordinate logistics in pre-production to essentially produce the smoothest conditions for our crew and cast in production and make sure the right decisions are being made. Both include a lot of homework, but I definitely do not mind because it keeps my brain working and functioning.

What’s most exciting about my job is being able to actively help people make their films and give them the best chance they deserve. I often give my directors and crews the reassurance that no matter how challenging or how terrifying the bandwidth can get, that if we persevere, we can accomplish everything we need to. I am essentially the enzyme that processes everything from pre-production into production, catalyzing our work to handover to post production.

Something regarding my brand is my attempts to actively vocalize my appreciation and empathy for my crew. Especially as an Assistant Director, we have a really bad reputation for being “screamers”, or projecting our stress onto crew, making them feel unappreciated or dehumanized. I do my best to create a fun, welcoming working environment because before my crew members are their designated roles, they are genuine people with lives and emotions. Productions often forget that sometimes and really cross the line with mistreatment disguised as being “professional” or “tough”, which I can understand but I don’t think the price should be people’s dignity or comfort.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

They have to be resilience, problem solving, and community. For resilience, you have to be very grounded and to withstand a lot of obstacles, as well as recover from bad experiences. Being a brown Latinx femme in film has its perks but unfortunately I still experience prejudice because of my background, or people really feel comfortable disrespecting me and my intelligence as an AD which is actually really insane. Having a firm standing in my security and confidence that I am just as capable as anyone else, and staying mentally prepared to brace myself for challenges that come with have really solidified my position in life because if I succumbed to my occasional doubts and insecurities, I would not be where I am at this very moment. Problem solving, although sounding very straightforward, is something I’ve sensed people lacking because they freeze or feel the instant urge to quit because things seem difficult, which is totally understandable. Sometimes our brains just kind of stop thinking and confuse us and make things harder, but for me this is the moment to really lock in and get back on my feet. My mother has always said something that really stuck to me that it’s natural and human to react, but the question is are we willing to stay in our initial reaction of shock or to redirect our reaction and fix the situation? Allowing ourselves to feel those initial emotions is great, but in that instance I will problem solve what we need to do to get us out of this rut. I really believe my upbringing as a child of war refugee parents has also programmed my brain to really act on survival instincts. In terms of community, that is something I very much advocate for. I am so very lucky to have a community of talented friends and colleagues in the field who genuinely support me and advocate for me. My journey as a filmmaker started off as a junior in high school and since then, my career has just really taken off at a fast pace and as fun as it is to keep going, I’ve experienced that alone for the majority of it. Sometimes when I’m really struggling or stressed, I have to remind myself that I do not have to experience this alone and that my friends are here for me to support or alleviate any stress I have.

I suppose some advice I would give to folks early in their career is to have a balance in your life and career aspirations. We hear about work-life balance all the time, but it’s talked about for a reason. I’m unfortunately still very young but learning that it’s great to have a lot of work ethic pay off, but that I still have a life to live. Sometimes life is not just about your career, it’s also about the life you have outside of it and who you can share it with. Quality time with your support system is so important, so I’m actively breaking my own cycle by taking days off or a small vacation. You come first, not your career.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I remember a professor in college telling me that when mentally I’m not okay, to treat myself gentler as if I was physically sick. Sometimes it’s really simple actions, such as shutting my laptop when the bandwidth becomes a lot, playing more upbeat music in my car, or buying myself a very yummy meal that just comforts me. The thing that brings me the most joy, is really spending time with my friends. My friends are my vitamins, genuinely when I lack happiness or human interaction, I remember that they are there for me despite my insanely busy schedule. Sometimes even on set, when I’m working with my friends, there’s times where I’m so stressed but they crack a joke and I immediately can’t stop laughing and it’s a reminder that we are here for eachother. I’m a huge quality time person, I need conversations and banter over coffee or lunch to keep my sanity intact. Having some sort of support system is always recommended, sometimes your friends can be your anchors when you need to be grounded, or your buoys when you need to come up from the bottom.

Also taking days off to sleep and actually rest your brain is always great. Sometimes when I have a busy schedule, I want at least 1-3 days a month to really stay and bed and essentially rot. That’s also part of having a reaction to life, it’s just that you physically and mentally aren’t always equipped to working. Sometimes heavy machinery needs to cool off if they are overheated.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: albarnliz
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizette-castro-2947851b0/
• Other: https://imdb.me/lizettecastro

Image Credits

Ariana Deleon, Diego Lopez De Anda, Omar Solis, Roger Lin, Luis Delgado