We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lou Simón. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lou below.
Lou, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
As a female director, I am often the only woman, or one of a few, on set. Most of my crews tend to be predominantly male. That not only means that I have to work with them, but I actually have to be their boss. On a couple of occasions, to be honest, it has been quite hard, especially when I was still gaining experience. I have gotten a lot of pushback from some crew members, who didn’t respect me. In another situation, you might have a chance to win people over by showing that you are capable to do your job. On set, you have to earn their respect from day one or you’ll fall behind on the shooting schedule. All I could do is move forward, sounding confident, or at least trying to. After seven feature films, I have found a crew that works well together with me. That’s the reason I keep working with them. Even when there is a new crew member, my experience seems to speak for itself.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am best described as an independent filmmaker. I fill the major roles in the production – I produce, write and direct my films. A film takes years to put together. From the moment that the idea strikes me until the film has a final cut, it can take easily three years. After that, there will still be at least two more years of selling the film in North America and around the world. That is how much you really have to love a story that you are willing to devote about five years of your life to it. I often joke that you have to be certifiably insane to do that over and over again. It’s the messages from people watching it across the world that keeps me going.
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?
I have had the opportunity to pursue different careers over my life. I started writing when I was only ten, so that has helped me in my scripts. I flipped properties for profit for a brief time, and dealing with construction crews really prepared me to effectively direct. I had a legal career for about fifteen years, and that has helped me produce my films. At least fifty percent of producing involves contracts. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is considering making a film to get a very good attorney.
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?
We are always looking for investors for our films. Because the process of selling the films can take time, we are often already working on our next film before we get paid on our last. If anyone is curious about being part of the filmmaking business, they should definitely contact me at [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whitelotusmovies.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mslousimon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mslousimon/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LouSimonWLP
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