Meet Hope Martinez

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hope Martinez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hope, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I have developed my confidence and self-esteem by consistently taking on challenges that I feel are just out of my reach or even intimidate me. I believe that when you commit to doing something that intimidates you it improves your perception of what you can handle. When you finally complete this intimidating challenge, whatever it may be, you can’t help but see yourself as a strong and capable person. Some of the challenges I have set before myself during my life consist of various things. These challenges consist of moving to big metropolitan cities by myself such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Completing a college degree in something I initially knew very little about.

In addition, other intimidating challenges I put before myself were auditioning for the Second City improvisation Conservatory in Chicago. Each of the 5 levels at this conservatory required an additional audition. This 2-year process did wonders for my education in theater and improvisation on an elevated level. A common concept that was said to the Second City students often was to ‘think at the very top of your intelligence’. This is a piece of advice that I took with me throughout my life with every project that I encountered. Thinking at the very top of my intelligence was a reminder to myself to always set the highest standards in anything I commit to with regard to the resources available to me.

After returning to my hometown of El Paso, Texas, I began to undertake the next intimidating challenges of writing, directing and producing my first 3 short films. These short films eventually led to the most intimidating challenge of all which was finally writing and directing my first feature film entitled ‘Gloria’. Upon completion of this film and seeing how well ‘Gloria’ did at numerous film festivals around the world I was able to understand more deeply about what I was capable of if I chose to become committed to overcoming a challenge at the highest level that I could reach.

This process of developing your confidence and self-esteem is a never-ending process. No matter where you are there is always a higher step you can be reaching towards and attempting to climb if you chose. With this in mind, I am currently working on the screenplay for my second feature film that I will also be writing, directing and producing.

You are only as confident as you allow yourself to be, and this is based on what you allow yourself to accomplish. This is something I try my best to live by.

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 am a screenwriter/film director, theater teacher and founder of Open Eye Films LLC. What is most exciting about all three of these things? As a screenwriter it is exciting to pull from real memories or real stories and weave those together like a braid with fictional elements to create a story that is both inspirational to write and inspirational to view in its final edited form. In the beginning of the film process the screenwriter writing a story they want to tell is all there is, and I find that exciting. They are the first piece to the entire filming process.

Film directing is exciting in that you are now trying to create in real time with real people what you once created on a written page. Many times, what you wrote is very different then how it comes about on screen and that is ok. How your written vision appears is based on the film crew and cast that you are working with on a set. I find that collaboration with both cast and crew to create concrete visions and story from a once completely abstract idea to be extremely fulfilling and exciting.

Lastly, being a theater teacher has so many rewards. Being able to share the love I have for both theater and film with young minds is worthwhile on so many levels. For one, the assignments I try and cover in my theater class are not only theater-based activities but also film-based activities. Students learn about theater history, and put on plays consisting of both monologues, scenes and improv games. Students are also able to create their own short films within their chosen group. I try to create the type of theater class I wish I had as a teenager filled with aspects of both theater and film that will both inspire and enrich the students’ lives and spirits.

I am also the founder of ‘Open Eye Films’ in El Paso, Texas. If you would like to learn more about the films that I write/direct/produce along with any updates associated with these films, please follow the Instagram handles below:

thegloriamovie

openeyefilmsllc

skysubmitsshortfilm

finnspartyfilm

stuckfeaturefilm

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?

Looking back, the three skills that were the most impactful in my journey towards creating films were number 1, curiosity. By curiosity, I mean I was always curious when looking for ways to improve when taking on any project. Whether it was watching countless YouTube videos about filmmaking and taking notes. Asking those in the film industry profession endless questions about what I felt I needed to learn or even asking people out of the film industry what they thought of a scene I wrote so that I could get an objective opinion from a potential audience member’s point of view. Curiosity led me to continue learning about something I wanted to always get better at. I don’t think I will ever think I know everything there is to know. Even when I first started teaching theater, I sat down with many teachers and asked them every question under the sun to try and understand what they already knew based on their experience. I never wanted to be one of those arrogant filmmakers that assume they know everything and have average to below average work of which they are in denial about. I know I don’t know everything, and I will humble myself to ask questions whenever I need to. It is only this way that I can make my work better than average.

Secondly, the next skill or rather quality is ‘drive’. Since I was a little girl, I became very driven to pursue any subject I found interesting. Storytelling is something I’ve loved since I was a child, and still being able to tell stories in this film medium is beyond thrilling for me. I know it is cliche and even corny to say ‘Never Give up!’. Regardless though, as cliche as this is, it is also true. Don’t let go of your drive, especially when you are the one driving the ship as the screenwriter/director. Be the kind of driven leader that you would want to be leading you.

Lastly, another skill that has helped me along the way is ‘sense of humor’. There are so many times in life that if I didn’t laugh, I would cry. Many times, there are two ways to look at a situation, positively or negatively. Obviously, there are situations such as death of a loved one that can only be looked at with sadness, and this is natural and cannot be avoided. However, many other situations in life I believe you have a choice on how to look at it. Here is an example of this. I distinctly remember being in Los Angeles and having a very ditzy person that did not seem self-aware at all back into my car. She dented it pretty badly. I was walking to my car at the time, and saw it happen right in front of me. The ditzy woman started singing at the top of her lungs with the windows rolled down driving away in full force. She had no idea she had even hit my car. That’s how in her own world she was. I just started laughing. My car had broken down in LA so many times, and I was done feeling upset about it. If this was in a film, I would laugh. Many things in life we just have to laugh about and move on. Maybe even use them in our next screenplay to see if other people can relate and laugh as well. Use situations like this in your art because then you are being productive with that experience.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always looking for folks both to partner with and collaborate with. The kind of people I am looking to partner with are those who understand and believe in the vision of any particular screenplay I am working to make into a film. Those who can help me raise funds for my film projects whether it be through private funding, sponsorship or through grants I would love to both partner and collaborate with. Anyone who is helping, especially with funding I feel I want their feedback on numerous levels. They are part of the reason the film is able to be made, so why would I not want to collaborate with them.

In terms of a film set, I am always looking to collaborate with any film crew member or actor who believes in the story that I am trying to tell and is a hard worker. Once you find great people to work with on a film set it goes from telling ‘my’ story to telling ‘our’ story and that is a beautiful and inspirational transition to experience in real time. I am not picky about who I work with on a film set. I only ask that they are respectful to me and others, have a desire to learn and grow, and work with my tight budget if there is one at all. So far, I have had a lot of luck finding amazing artists to collaborate and partner with on my film projects, so I am very grateful for this.

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Image Credits

Image credit provided by Hope Martinez

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