We recently connected with Yashira Ponce and have shared our conversation below.
Yashira, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
As a film director in L.A, still early in my filmmaking career, I am one of thousands of aspiring filmmakers who face an enormous amount of competition, rejection, and pressure in the uphill climb to establish myself as an artist.
How good you look on paper, who you know, or how many checklists you’ve checked off to be considered “successful” are often given ultimate priority and praise instead of what kind of person you are or what kind of values you hold. It’s easy to believe that your value comes from your career and think the world of yourself when you get into the “right” film festival or beat yourself up when you fail to get the “right” internship. I have absolutely fallen into this mindset and it has only led to burnout.
Now, when I face adversity in this career that I’ve chosen and love (despite its many challenges), my resilience comes from my understanding that my job is not me and I am a whole lot more than my job.
I don’t need a film job, festival, internship, connection, grant, scholarship, etc. to give me validation that I am a good artist and a good person. These things might help advance my career and help share the films I make, which I’d love, but without them I already know the value of the stories I’m trying to tell and knowing that is enough. This knowledge helps me bounce back from any challenges I face in my career.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m an independent writer and film director. I’m also currently a graduate student at Loyola Marymount University. Directing films can be taxing and overwhelming and also absolutely exhilarating, especially when you see the finished product at the end, share it with audiences on the big screen, and see how the story you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears is having an impact on people.
It’s also incredibly vulnerable and terrifying. When you’re directing a story that you’ve also written, there’s nowhere to hide and if you’re an honest storyteller, your heart will be there on the screen for people to judge. As a director you need to have the answers to hundreds of logistical and creative questions, to communicate your vision with clarity, to navigate different personalities with diplomacy (or not, if you want to be difficult to work with), and to always shift the focus back to the story’s heart which easily stops being a priority when faced with issues in the budget, scheduling, locations, etc.
For me, it’s incredibly rewarding and I can’t wait to do it again as I prepare for my next short film to be filmed in December this year.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The values of perseverance, self-care, and family have been very important for me.
My filmmaking journey has required a lot of perseverance, from immigrating to the U.S from Honduras, to getting through grad school. Cheesy as it sounds, I 100% believe that if you persevere for long enough, you’ll achieve everything you want. Maybe not all at once, or as you expected it, but you’ll get what you need.
Self-care has been a must in a business where twelve hour work days are a standard and where you’re constantly juggling multiple projects. Putting self care first has made me pass on several opportunities that might have advanced my career but would’ve led to burnout.
For a long time I was kind of reluctant to say that my family was a priority over my career because I wanted to be a “career-girl”. But my family absolutely comes first. Opportunities come and go, careers flourish and dry up, and in those times when things have dried out, I want my family there.
For anyone early in their writing or directing journey my advice is to really try to develop your self esteem and your values early on and lean on them, tell stories that are honest about you and the people you know. Even if they don’t end up technically or aesthetically perfect, your story will speak volumes.
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 always looking for collaborators who are interested in Latinx or other diverse stories. My main themes are family, feminism, women’s issues, diversity and I love exploring these themes with anyone who’s passionate about the same things! IG: yashiraponce
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yashiraponce.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yashiraponce/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashira-ponce/
Image Credits
Dominic Czarnota Meimei Liu
