Meet Gioacchino Randazzo

Gioacchino, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
As a first generation American, I was taught the importance of a strong work ethic from my parents and grandparents who came from Sicily to the United States. They saw America as the land opportunity, compared to the situation in Italy at the time. My dad would tell me the story of arriving here with $300 and one suitcase, to eventually owning and operating several Italian restaurants and pizzerias. With little schooling and broken English, both my parents and grandparents were able to succeed and provide for their families with a strong work ethic.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have always considered myself an artist and storyteller. Throughout my life I have found enjoyment and passion to express my ideas and views through many different mediums. Whether it was painting, ceramics, acting, photography, writing or now filmmaking, I felt this urge to explain my point of view on many different subjects. There has always been different things to inspire these ideas. A lot of times it would come from traveling and exploring different sceneries. When I spent time in the city I found myself exploring more portraits and character work or stories. When I was in the wilderness and nature I was attracted towards landscapes and more philosophical ideas. My travels would also dictate what medium I felt I wanted to express through. In recent years I have found filmmaking to be the most enjoyable and rewarding. The collaborative nature of making films is something that I enjoy very much. As I delve deeper into my directing and producing career I think of how to accomplish the nuances of expressing ideas and effecting an audience like some of my idols. It is exciting to be able to take an audience on a visual, emotional and physiological journey. And it is special to be able to share an idea or point of view on a social matter while entertaining people at the same time. This is something that I strive to do with my films.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back I believe there are many qualities and skills needed to succeed in your critic endeavors. First and foremost is to realize that it will not be easy. You will constantly be fighting against rejection, and for acceptance, and the balance of your art and life. In my personal experience I have had to work other jobs for most of my life even up till now to support my art. I have had to endlessly defend my need and desire to live this life as an artist, actor and director. As an artist you have to be confident in your ideas and yet be open and flexible to criticism from those whose opinions you respect. As an innovator and creator it will be hard for people to understand your vision sometimes until you complete it. So I would say to anyone who is pursuing a dream as a creative know that the journey will not be easy and find reward in the process for yourself. Celebrate the small successes because the big ones might be few and far in between. But, when you do have them know that you have left a changing impact.

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?
I am currently looking for producers and other creatives to partner with on some projects I have in the pipeline. The saying “It takes a Village” could not be more true than for a film. I have been able to produce some of my past projects with smaller crews and a lot of hard work on my part. As I venture into telling grander stories with more moving parts and feature films the need for a solid team is all that much more necessary. I would love to find a solid group of people that share the same passion for storytelling and filmmaking that I have. If you are a producer or financier that is looking to get involved with projects I am developing please feel free to reach out to my email: productions@gioimagery.com.