Meet Angel Ruvalcaba Jr

We were lucky to catch up with Angel Ruvalcaba Jr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angel, thank you so much for making time for us today. We’re excited to discuss a handful of topics with you, but perhaps the most important one is around decision making. The ability to make decisions is a key requirement for anyone who wants to make a difference and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your decision-making skills.

It isn’t easy and it’s something I struggle with to this day. I never saw a problem with getting opinions from my wife, my family, and my friends. Whether it was a life-changing decision like moving states or the smallest of things like which candy I was craving, I always sought that outside validation. When I was younger I was told that I did a lot of things wrong, I would often make mistakes and was always told to double-check my work, maybe that’s what gave me that doubt in my own decisions.

It wasn’t until I was Director of “Driftin’ on a Memory” that I learned that I couldn’t always lean on other’s options and had to trust my gut. As a Director people often look to you to make final decisions that will live on forever in the film which is a lot of pressure. Which location are we shooting at? What actors did I want? My instinct was to ask my cast and crew what they thought and they would often tell me the same thing “It’s whatever you want”. There were plenty of sleepless nights when I would toss and turn questioning whether or not I was making the right choices.

I learned then that I had to own my choices, trust the choices of my team, and be confident in what I was doing. I had to stop myself and ask “Do you really need a second option or should you just think about this a little longer”. I found that it helped me to go for a walk and collect my thoughts. I feel like after completing this film, I am more confident in myself and trust my creative choices! The best thing I can suggest is you just have to trust yourself and defend the choices you make. You may not always make the right decisions but a great leader believes in their decisions!

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

I’m just trying to survive in LA, man. I like to make movies, whether that’s writing, directing, or helping produce them. It is just so cool to have your loved ones see something you did on the big screen and to feel that pride in yourself.

I was born and raised in Pacoima, California where I lived in a small home with my very large Latino family. My grandparents were immigrants from Mexico and worked hard to give my family a place to call home. My father struggled with substance abuse for as long as I can remember and my mom was often doing the job of a single mother for three boys. My family chose to move to Mesa, Arizona when I was 11 years old to build a better life (again), the schools were supposed better and my mom would eventually be able to have her own home for her and her boys!

I would be the first on both sides of my family to finish high school and college so the pressure was on and what did I decide I wanted to do? I wanted to go right back to La La Land and be a Movie Director! You know, the most stable career there is! I always loved movies and my family could see that so they were always so supportive of this choice every step of the way. I’ve been very lucky since moving back to LA and try to justify my choice everyday and always remind my family that I wouldn’t be here without their love!

I like to stay involved in the filmmaking community and that’s how I really got started in all of this. I helped mentor young Latino children on how to tell their stories in animation and from there I just took every opportunity I could. I’m a core member of a group called LatinX in Animation where I’ve reviewed pitches to be funded and created by Netflix and I’ve even produced one of those shorts “Pollo Punch”, I love learning more about this community because there are a lot more voices that I’ve never heard before and I’m so excited for them to share their stories with the world!

I just finished writing and directing a live-action short film called “Driftin’ on a Memory”! It’s about three Chicano brothers disagreeing on what to do with their father as he struggles with addiction at a lonely bus stop. As you can probably imagine the film is very autobiographical. This was an actual event that happened with me and my brothers and as a storyteller, I always had it in my back pocket. It wasn’t until my father passed away a few years ago that I felt driven to finish this project. It was very cathartic to write something vulnerable about my life and people have been so supportive. The film will begin its film festival run soon but we had a screening of the film and it was so amazing to have people come up to me and tell me they felt inspired to share their stories now. That’s why I do this.

Check out our instagram page for the film to see where you can watch it!
https://www.instagram.com/driftinonamemoryshort/

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?

Take the leap. I know it might sound scary and you don’t know what’s on the other side but you’ll never know unless you try. Many years ago I was at a fork in the road, I could either take a very reliable job in Arizona that paid great or I could work an animation job in California. Going back to my point about choices I heard a lot of different options but I knew what I wanted. Years later I’m still here in LA making movies, making friends and none of that would’ve been possible if I hadn’t taken the leap.

Find your voice in whatever you do. When you do something make sure people know that it was you! We could have told the story of “Driftin’ on a Memory” in several locations at different times but we thought it was more unique to have the entire film take place in one location. That was our voice. Our costume designer helped pick out specific clothing that I would have never thought of and that’s why we brought them on because they had a voice. Find voices that inspire you and put your own twist on it!

Find tools that help you in areas where you may need more support. I love spreadsheets, they’re the perfect way to visualize information for me. Not everyone loves spreadsheets but they help me. Are you a little forgetful? Use your phone to set reminders for yourself. Do you like to take notes often? Have a mini notepad with you! I know this may sound silly and a bit obvious but I believe tools like this help us be our best selves.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Yes! Let’s collaborate!!! I love working with new people and challenging myself to find different opinions and perspectives.

“Driftin’ on a Memory” is a live-action short film but most of my previous professional experience is in animation so I knew I had to reach out and find new collaborators! I had a blast at each stage of production sharing my ideas with all these professionals, hearing their perspectives, and finding the best way to tell this story. I’ve got plenty more stories to tell and I love helping others tell theirs!

I love working with underrepresented people such as myself because we’ve got to make the change we want to see! Latinos account for 24 percent of box office ticket sales yet we hold less than 5 percent of leading on-screen, off-screen, and executive leadership roles in US media, how does that make sense? My grandfather’s (or what we call him “Papi”) favorite recent movie was Blue Bettle, a Mexican superhero action film. To him seeing his culture in a genre that he loves so much was everything he’s ever wanted from Hollywood. I want to work with people who can help me make movies that my Papi would love!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Mark Carmona
https://www.instagram.com/marxcarmona.raw/

JC Olivera
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/jc-olivera

@flickzbyj

Carlo Tonda

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