Today we’d like to introduce you to Tristan Ortiz.
Hi Tristan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My mother always told me that a voice is a powerful gift. I’m a second generation Puerto Rican-American and I come from a family of fighters. I was born with a cleft lip and palate so from day one my ability to use my voice was attacked. Naturally this led to a speech impediment that had to be worked through as a child and also led to some challenging times in school as a kid.
My father was a filmmaker before me. He started out in the late 80s and 90s as an actor in New York and eventually found himself behind the scenes of the industry. I came along during this time and the passion my father had for the art passed down to me.
I found film as a means to express myself oftentimes through acting out scenes or quotes when I found myself insecure of my voice. Film became a way to lift up my voice and over the years I’ve come to realize that the stories that I want to tell could give a voice to others. I knew storytelling was always a passion of mine but I didn’t exactly know in what way I wanted to tell my stories. I experimented with acting growing up but I always found more excitement in writing and creating worlds from my imagination.
This led me down the path of directing. I always knew directing was a job but I didn’t fully grasp the idea until my early teenage years. By the time high school came around I had become more serious about and found myself taking my first steps in a much larger world.
I gained my footing in college with a couple short films but I knew everything I did could be bigger and better. I spent my last semester in Los Angeles and that was a real eye opener for me. To see firsthand how the industry worked and how casual everything felt was a bit of a culture shock. I grew up in Orlando, so anything that was even remotely LA or Hollywood felt new and exciting for me. I knew all about its rich history and revered the monuments the city held up in tribute to filmmaking. It was all a time of great opportunity.
After graduating college I didn’t have a job lined up so I came back home to Orlando and decided I was going to work and save up money to make the big move out to Hollywood. This was summer of 2019. Later that year I had applied for a position to work on the Paramount Pictures Studio Lot and somehow by some miracle I would be called by their recruiting team saying they want to fly me out to LA to meet me. I was ecstatic! A dream job to work on one of the most historic studio lots in film history? Sign me up!
A week later– Covid hits. And just like that, the opportunity was gone.
I was devastated. So much so it sent me into a depressive spiral for several months. I was angry, confused, and defeated. But after months of sulking I was still determined to continue my dream of being a director. I decided to get involved in the film industry in Florida.
Much to my surprise it the industry in the state was a lot more robust and hungry than I ever gave it credit for. I initially volunteered my time on set, doing anything I could to meet people and build my network. Those unpaid gigs eventually turned into paid gigs as the productions got bigger (albeit more stressful). This was from the end of 2020 to the start of 2022. All the while I kept to my dream during this time by writing and directing shorts. I wanted to build up my portfolio as a director, still am with anything I do.
With a few scary decisions here and there my networking eventually paid off with the current job I have as a commercial producer for Spectrum cable. Though this day job of mine is what keeps me surviving, my original dream of directing is stronger and hungrier than ever. That is what keeps me living.
I’ve had films that have played across the country at festivals, have won awards for the work, and continue to find something new to learn about my craft everyday.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In short, no. This journey has been wrought with struggles and heartbreaks. I wouldn’t still be doing this if I didn’t love what I do.
I would say the passion one has for the craft they love can be a real life saver at times. There’s been many moments along the way where I’ve found it easier to just give up and settle down. To throw it all away because the odds just seem too impossible to overcome. But for me, there’s always a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. The feeling that my craft is my voice and I cannot let my voice be silenced because it got difficult.
In the times where I’ve felt defeated or had gotten too comfortable, there was always that feeling that I need to tell stories, I NEED to bring my stories to the world. Why? Because it’s who I am. I can’t help but make movies. Each film I’ve done reveals a piece of me to the world. And I think there’s something very human about that.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a film director. I’ve directed a number of short films, documentaries and many commercials. The next phase for me is a full length feature film. That’s what I’m working on now. I’m not beholden to any one genre, I think whatever the story is will reveal what “category” the film falls in naturally.
Often times I start from a place of asking. Questions like “what do I want to say? Who I am trying to talk to? Is this for me or for others?” are real igniters for wonderful pieces of work. What makes me the most proud of my work is that each film whether I realize it or not, whether I know what it is or not, always reveals a piece of who I am. I always tell people, if you wish to know me deeply, look at my work and you’ll understand me better than myself. This kind of authenticity is what I believe sets me apart.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’m a man of faith. Each piece of work I do (if it’s coming from my own mind that is) centers around some act of redemption. Redemption I think is the crux of humanity. What was once broken is now mended, what was lost is now found. This flip from one way to the other can speak volumes to audiences. This notion that you are not who you are now forever, you CAN change, you CAN be different, you CAN be the person you seek to be is what moves people. That is the power of film at its finest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.deepbluepicturesllc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tristananthonyortiz?igsh=MW5veTd0dG90MXFsMA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
