 I'm Christina, and this is The Economy and You. And today, here at Think Tech Hawaii, we've got some special guests that just came in from the mainland. They're getting ready to leave, though, right? Yes. Yeah, this is Jennifer Gidena, and also Alonso Alvarez-Bareda. That's great. And you both recently finished a film, and you're over here promoting the film? Yeah, I mean, I've done several films. But yeah, I'm promoting a few films right now. OK. And you, well, let me say thank you for coming on the show. Thank you. Just thank you both for coming on the show. Thank you for having us. So maybe Jennifer, you can start off and sort of tell us a little bit about these films that you're over here talking about. Yeah, I mean, I'm also an actor. And then I also work with a movie to movement promoting films. So right now, we're promoting Man Down. We're promoting The Longest Road, which is a documentary about Syria. And then I do voiceovers. And I have a couple movies coming out next year that I acted in, Driver X, and a short film. Well, that's awesome. Lots of stuff. Lots of stuff, cool. And so you got into films. How long have you been actually doing work in films? Well, actually, my mom was an actress. So I grew up on set. I went to school on set. And so I always knew that I wanted to be an actress from a young age. I started acting at around six. You mean your mother didn't like, no, no way. You're not going to do this? No. Absolutely not, right? Yeah. Yeah, so I mean, basically, since I was in the womb, she was acting in the film. I grew up on set. But yeah, I've been acting since I was six, doing commercials, and then got into film, TV. So yeah, it's been a long career. That's fun. Do you like it? I love it. Do you? Cool, cool. And Alonzo, you've only been at this for, what, about 10 years now? Yes, that's also about right, yeah. And you're doing more behind-the-camera work. Exactly. I'm not good in front of the cameras. You might tell in a few seconds. Oh, really? I mean, I don't know. Yeah. Well, you started off. You made some short films. Is that how you started? I did, yeah. I watched The Shawshank Redemption when I was 12. I love that movie. That's a great movie. We were going to be best friends. And so that was it for me. That's what got me to turn my face and my attention to filmmaking. And I applied to film schools. And I got rejected from all of them. If you ever watched my film work, you would say the same thing. OK, OK, cool. But I was lucky enough to hear about this guy who was from my same hometown. And I stalked him basically until he realized that I wasn't going anywhere. And he was the person who told me, you should do a short film. You know, they've got laws against that sort of thing now, right? Not in Mexico. Mexico is cool. And so, yeah, so he says you should do some short films. And I did my first short back in 2007. And you did very well. I did very well. I mean, it was a big budget short. I showed it for $50. And so then a year after, one at the Canfum Festival, and that opened a lot of doors for me to come to the United States. And how long have you been in the United States now? It's coming 10 years now. 10 years, man. That's amazing. I originally came for six months. I thought I was coming back. And so, but it turned into 10 years. Wow. And so you're having a lot of fun then? Man, it's been a whole ride. And I'm really grateful for a lot of people that supported me here. So what brought you to Hawaii? What was the impetus for coming here to the islands? Well, I had never been here before. And I've always wanted to come. And I've heard so many beautiful things about the island. And it's been kind of like a dream to come. That was my line. Hey, sorry, whatever. That was my dream. I stole it. And so what did you get to do while you were here? Man, we've done everything. We went to the North Shore today. We went and got shaped ice. We went to the pipeline. Oh, cool. We went to see turtles, but there were no turtles today. No turtles? Yeah, they're shopping. It's Cyber Monday, so they're all shopping. We went to Dukes. You went to Dukes? Yeah, I want to go to KFC too, but just to experience it in Hawaii. Yeah, we went to Lua last night. Yeah, which one did you go to? Paradise Cove. Paradise Cove, that's a great one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's beautiful. So you had a guitar and then did they get you up on the stage? They did. Really? You can't keep me off the stage. I went up there. They didn't even ask me. No kidding? No. Yeah. Oh, good fun. It was fun. Yeah, awesome. I didn't go upstairs. You didn't go on the stage? When they started doing that, I went to the bathroom. Yeah. No, he took the pictures. Oh, well, yeah. Okay, great. Fantastic. So now you're here promoting these films, and these films have done very well. These films are getting a lot of attention. Yeah, I mean, one of them hasn't come out yet. It comes out this Friday. It's called Man Down. And it deals with PTSD and our veterans coming from abroad and kind of what they have to deal with. And I think the film really shows it in a real way what our veterans have to go through when they come home from fighting. Right. So it's a really powerful film. It's a tough road. Yeah, it's really beautiful and it kind of puts you in the world, really, where you kind of are experiencing what they're experiencing. Yes, it's tough. Yeah. It's called Former Marine. Okay. So I know, you know, you sort of get that adrenaline rush, you know, when you're in combat situations, there's always that adrenaline pump going all the time, and you come back to the States and it's all of a sudden somebody's taking that adrenaline pump away from you. Yeah. And I know a lot of Marines, they end up going back looking for that adrenaline pump again. Exactly, yeah. And then this film really shows it kind of, you're experiencing it, is how it feels. So, yeah, I think people should check it out. That's great. That's amazing. And where will people find this film? And why? So, on Friday, so they can just go to the theater and get a ticket. Okay, great. And buy a ticket and go watch the film. Yeah. Okay, awesome. And then you were directing on this film? No. What were you doing on this film? No, I'm not related to this film in any capacity. They didn't invite me. Okay. So what was the film, the last film, that you just did? Well, I did a film for HBO called The Walk, and then I just recently finished the Fox director's program. So I was shadowing a great director named Darren Seraphion. And basically, this program is you're trying to break into TV and episodic. And what that means is trying to get a director's job for one of the big shows. Okay. And so I was shadowing a show called Rosewood. Rosewood, wow, okay. Well, you know, if there was ever a time that there was an opportunity in film, it has to be today. Oh, for sure. Yeah. So you cut from a Hispanic background. Mm-hmm. Right? Mm-hmm. Okay. Now, how do you find now, being in Hollywood as Hispanics, are you finding the doors are opening to you? Is this, you still have to do a lot more door-knocking, or is it? No, I mean, I feel like, from my experience in acting, I feel that before Latinos were represented in a very stereotypical way, you know, the Chola or like the gangster. And I feel now, there are a lot more opportunities, and it's a lot more of a broad spectrum of different types of Latin characters, you know, and it doesn't have to be that stereotypical gangster or whatever. And there's been a lot of kind of trailblazers, I think. Oh, we saw Jennifer Lopez, for example. Right. She's like a very common person that you'd see in this film these days. Yeah. Zoe Saldana, Jeanine Rodriguez, like, they kind of really paved the way, you know, for us younger, like coming up, yeah, to kind of get more different broad roles, like, yeah. And you're not necessarily having to do the stereotype. Exactly. So that's nice. You can play the lead in a film. Yeah, yeah, actually get the role. Right. So it's a good time, and there is so much work out there. There's so many shows, there's so many different networks, and they really, the time is now, you know, where they are really looking to have different ethnicities and different people and faces where you can see yourself. Well, we aren't the makeup that we used to be, you know, in the United States today our makeup is much more broad, covers much more broad spectrum than it did, you know, years ago. Right. You know, the Hispanic vote is now a very powerful vote, although it's not necessarily, you know, any one direction. Yeah. I mean, now you have to sort of address a myriad of people with different political philosophies. Yeah. The Hispanics aren't necessarily one political philosophy. Right. Yeah, so, yeah, right? Yeah. So, you're coming from, you're coming from Colombia? Yes. You're coming from Mexico? That's true. Which part of Mexico? I was born in Mexico City, but I was raised in the most amazing town in Mexico, which is called Tampico, in the state of Tamaulipas, so it's a beautiful place. It's a beautiful place. They shout out the treasure of Sierra Madre opening. Oh, really? Yeah, that's, we're very proud of that, but not a lot of people know that. And was there, is there much opportunity, are you finding like in Mexico itself? Is it opening up? Totally. I mean, there's a great guys working in Hollywood now that they're not, you know, besides the obvious ones, which are, you know, Inyarritu and Cuaron and Toro, who obviously, like she was saying, behind the camera, they're opening the doors for us, the ones that are trying to get in. But yeah, like now there's tons of production in Mexico. I mean, now there's definitely more opportunities and platforms for Mexicans to try to get their stuff out there. And it was a big boom in production in Mexico City. And now, for example, my hometown, I remember back in 2007, like, there wasn't any YouTube or anything, like you couldn't find anybody who was interested in making films. And now there's film festivals, the first film festival, and there's these kids, you know, getting access to cameras and just trying to get their stuff out there. Isn't that amazing? It's incredible. And the stuff that they come up with, it's so incredible, you know? I used to think, I mean, now anybody who has a good idea has no excuse to not execute it. And everything is so social media, and like all these people that are trying to find new talent, seriously, anybody has a chance to do something and to get a job. Like, now you're getting a job just with pictures you take on Instagram, and if there are good pictures, people reach out to you, like, hey, you want a, you know, photography job? And it's just so many things going on, and it's the time to do it now. So, yeah. So we're going to take a short break, and then what we're going to do, we're going to come back. I want to talk a little bit more about this, because I think this is, this is like, if you're trying to sort of get young people excited about the film industry, I think you both have a lot to say to inspire young people. So we're going to take a short break. I'm Chris Litzemuthi Khan, I'm in you, and it will be right back, so stay tuned for more. Aloha, everyone. I hope you've been watching Think Tech Hawaii, but I'm here to invite you to watch me on Viva Hawaii every Monday at 3 PM. I'm waiting for you. Mahalo. Aloha. My name is Danilia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm the other half of the duo, John Newman, welcome. We are co-hosts of a show called Keys to Success, which is live on the Think Tech Live Network series, weekly on Thursdays at 11 AM. We're looking forward to seeing you then. Aloha. Aloha. My name is Reg Baker, and I'm the host of Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. We're a show that broadcasts live every Thursday from 2 to 2.30. We highlight success stories in Hawaii of both businesses and individuals. We learn their secrets to success, which is always valuable. I hope to see you on our next show. Aloha. Yeah. Okay, we're back. Hi, I'm Chris Litzemuthi. This is the economy in you. Today's guests are Jennifer Cadena and Alonzo Alvarez Pareda. That's about as good as I can get it. I think it gets better every time. It gets better every time. Okay. So you're both working in the film industry, and we're talking about how exciting it is to be able to have opportunities to see young people come out and explore their skills and develop their talents in this industry and all the opportunities to come with us. What would you say to encourage young people, and what advice would you give them to sort of get started? I mean, I think important things is to have the drive and to have the passion and to just stay authentic to yourself and don't try to please other people and to just pursue it and to work hard, because that's really all it takes. I think it's just hard work, dedication, and just the desire to do it. Just the willingness to stand in the long lines of catalyzed, what do they call it, cattle calls, right? Yeah, cattle calls. Yeah. Yeah. And you spend a lot of time going to a lot of the time. Yeah. I mean, I grew up in Hollywood. I was born in Hollywood, both my parents are Colombian, but my mom, because of acting, I was born in Hollywood, and I think that as many bus loads of people that I see coming into Hollywood every week of hungry actors or directors, I think the same amount are getting on those buses. And leaving again. Yeah. They give it two years or a year and they get, they feel like, oh, I didn't make it in two years, so I'm a failure, but really it's just putting in that time, because it takes a lot longer than two years. They say it takes like 10 years. 10 years, well. I think that's true. So if you're four, now is the time to start going to cattle calls. Yeah. So you'll get the rolls by the time you're 14 or 15, you'll start picking up the juice you're holding. Right. That's tough. Yeah. So it is a tough business to get into. It definitely is, because you just, you have to put the time in and it takes time to meet people, and there's just so many different layers to it. For acting specifically, it's getting your head shots, getting your agent, getting to know the casting directors, getting to know directors, and that just all takes time and hard work and perseverance. And they kind of have to trust you too. There's a level of trust, right, that you're going to show up, that you're not going to lose your mind and become bipolar in the middle of a movie. Right. Be late. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And for you, as somebody who's working behind the scenes, how would you suggest young people get started? Where do they start to sow their, you know, plant the seeds for success? I mean, everybody has their own story. I don't know if I could give the best advice. I think everybody finds their own way. What I found that worked for me was that I feel, I think the one thing I did right in my life, and I think it's only been one thing, was that I figured out what I wanted to do very early on, and I knew that I had to do it, and I knew that I was willing to go all the way to the end of the race. And so if you have that clear path in your mind, you just don't take your mind off of it, and you dedicate every breath you give to create opportunities for you. Behind the camera, it's a different process, I think, because at least what I do is I'm always trying to stay creating material for me. Like I don't have a name, like nobody's giving me scripts for free, so I just constantly, I'm writing, and I'm trying to create material and opportunities for me. And I think that's, it might be a good advantage that we have behind the camera, because I mean, nobody gives you the stuff when you start, but you can't create those opportunities, and you can write. And nowadays with online courses and books and everything, all this knowledge and opportunities at your hand, I feel like you have all these avenues to make it on your own. It takes time, like Jenny was saying, you know, I mean, I've been doing this for 10 years, and I'm finally breaking into episodic TV. So, Cal, collaboration is a, is there a lot of collaboration? Is that an imperative here? You have to do a lot of collaborating with other people? Yeah, I mean, filmmaking definitely is something that you don't do alone. Like, I would never do the films I've done without tons of people behind. You know, a short film that I did is like 15 minutes, it's a year of my life, and it's 70 people behind it. And so it's definitely a team sport, like nobody does it alone. Yeah, yeah. And you're only as good as the people you surround yourself with. That would be an advice too, like, you have to create your own circle of trust. And they're either going to take you up or down. And you have to be very careful in who you choose to trust. And because it's sometimes there are people that you sort of meet. You go, oh, yeah, they're great. And then after a while, you're sort of, maybe, yeah, I have to sort of. It happens a lot, it happens a lot. And I learned that in Mexico, a handshake, it's your contract. In the US, a contract is a contract. The contract is a contract. The handshake's nice, yeah, like, OK, we're having a great conversation. But at the end of the day, it's what you put down on pen and paper. So when you're meeting people like this, what do you think is the thing for, especially for the Latino community, where do you think that you see the growth in the industry coming from? Yeah, I don't know. Well, the growth in the industry, I think now Hollywood and a lot of heads of studio and people are realizing that there's more voices out there that have interesting things to say. And so literally now is the best time because they are looking for like, you know, you've heard about the diversity and the Oscars are so wide or so wide or whatever. I mean, it's just now it's funny to say and I hear it and I think it makes me laugh. It's being a diverse artist, whether it's in front or behind the camera. It's like a commodity now. Like I've been in directing programs where they're actually looking for diverse people and that goes like from people from Asia, African American, Mexican, so all of a sudden if I'm in a room with 10 people and I'm the only Mexican, that's the car you play. So like when they ask you what you do, I'm like, I'm from Mexico and they kind of want to know what's going on down there. And I'm a different point of view. So I think the growth of the industry now is they realize that there are a lot of interesting people with different stories, new stories, new faces. I mean, there's a lot of Mexican guys working and shows now on TV that nobody knows. We have this great filmmaker, Eduardo Gaut, Mexico City. And he's, you know, he just shot this pilot for National Geographic in March and there's a lot of talent now and their studios are looking for these people. So now it's the time. Well, you know, one of the things that I've noticed is even in commercials, the people that you see in a commercial today don't fit sort of the mold of a stereotypical white person. Exactly. They're a little bit more sort of Mediterranean, I guess, for lack of a better term, sort of maybe not as well defined. Yeah, you know, ambiguous. Yeah, ambiguous. So you go like, I have two daughters that are half Chinese. Right. So if you look at one of them, she looks white, more Caucasian, but you're going, something's not quite there. And the other one, she looks Asian, but then she's not like totally Asian, you know, so I've got two daughters on sort of both spectrums, you know. Yeah, so it's interesting. And, you know, one of them is a dancer and choreographer. And so she's in and out of LA a lot, you know, and working. And I think that's also a strength for her, you know. So I think this is great. Now, what do you sort of envisage for your future at this point? Do you, so do you have other things lined up coming, coming? I do. I mean, I'm doing a lot of voiceovers right now and I'm really trying to break into doing cartoons. That's like one of my dreams is to do cartoons. But yeah, just doing more film and kind of also creating my own content and maybe producing my own, you know, films and scripts. So cartoons now, that sounds like a lot of fun. It's super fun. Yeah, yeah. You're in the studio a lot, though. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But you get to be very creative with your voice. Right. Yeah, that's fun. Like I was, I was telling you earlier about the frog on the motorcycle. You've got to go watch it. If you go to YouTube and check out the frog on the motorcycle, it's the funniest thing you've ever seen. And then you're doing, you're doing more films. Do you have more films here in the U.S.? Are you planning to go? Yeah, I spent a year working on a script. I wrote my first feature. So far I've done four short films that went on and won some awards and played in a film festival circuit. So I came to a point where I dedicated myself to write my first feature, which I'm hoping to shoot in next year. Wow. So I'm literally even trying to do that. And the opportunities on TV now, as you know, like there's, I mean, TV is killing it. Like that's where some great shows out there. And so I'm trying to break into episodics of this. I might have a, I might be shooting, might. Might. Might be shooting an episode of Rosewood in the next season. Oh, OK. That's exciting. It's very exciting. That's exciting. Because then you get a chance to really get hands on. Yes. And you have other people sort of mentoring you as you do this. Exactly. That's awesome. And then you, once you get the first episode, that's the threshold you have to cross and then other things fold. Then the other doors open up for you. Hopefully. Wow. Yeah. As long as you do a really good job. Yeah, exactly. I'll let you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. Yeah, so there's a little pressure there. It is a lot of pressure. But I mean, I think in a way that pressure gets your senses and then you sharpen to you and then, at least in my case, I guess. It's a good pressure. Yeah. Because if now you're taking naps or whatever, then it doesn't work. Where do you find time to write? My gosh, that's crazy. That's a good question. That's a great question. I mean, I know a lot of actors have two jobs. And it's tough because you go on a, I don't know, just for instance, you're a waiter or a waitress. You take a ship that it's really tough and then you have to balance that with auditions and then you're almost like getting fired because you're trying. I mean, it really tests you what's your priority, like either pay rent or pursue my career. And that's a, in my case, I realized quickly that if I wanted to complete a first draft of my feature, I needed to do something because I couldn't, I don't have the talent of having a two job and go work a shift and then go and sit down on a computer and just start typing. Once my shift is done, I don't want to see a computer. I don't want to rest. So I figure out I need to do something. So my answer to you is I contacted some investors that I've worked on in the past and I told them a plan and we made some commitments and I got funded for a couple of years. And so that was a decision I tried to make and it worked out. So now it gives you the time to write? Exactly. So now I'm technically getting paid to write and I have deadlines and so I get an X amount of money per month to write. And so I don't have to go on and get another job. Wow, that's great. Which hopefully next year won't change. It will change, yes. And you're no longer having to do the waitress gigs anymore. No, I'm not right now. Yeah, I have been out of it for a few years. But it's, yeah, I mean, it was definitely really difficult when I was doing that because you really have to put your priorities of what's number one. And the last, my last waitressing job, I had been there for five years. If you want to see some good-looking waiters and waitresses, I'm telling you, go to LA. You see some of the best-looking people working in the restaurant field. It's been fantastic, you know. I've been down to Hollywood and Beverly Hills in that area and you see all these people with tape on their noses. Yes. Yeah, but that's the thing is you meet so many waiters that are, you know, a director, aspiring writer, aspiring actress. And I think the biggest difference is if they put their priority of, you know, first I'm an actor, second I'm a waiter, this is just, you know, my day job. And because there were so many times where I had this huge audition, but then I had this shift that I had to work and you have to think, OK, am I going to go to this big audition or am I going to miss- Can I find somebody to cover my shift? Right, and if you can't, you're putting this situation constantly and I always would, I made a promise to myself that I would never, ever, ever miss an audition. No, now I know why service sucks in LA. Yeah, well, I got fired, so. So don't go out and eat during big cattle calls. Right, don't go eating. Yeah, all the waiters are gone. Everybody's at the studio, yeah, that's too funny. So what's, so we got a couple minutes left and you've got a few films that you were here. Can you go over these films? Just maybe give us a brief on it. Like Crescendo, for example. Oh yeah, I mean, Crescendo we made a few years ago, but it won over 23, 25 film festivals. It was kind of everywhere and it was really powerful seen by so many people. Now where can people watch this film? On YouTube. On YouTube, it's on YouTube and it's called Crescendo. Yes, yes. OK, cool, cool. And then the film is coming out called Man Down. That's coming out shortly. Yes, that's coming out this Friday and I have a movie coming out next year that I'm acting in called Driver X. Driver X. Yeah, with Patrick Fabian. OK, very cool. OK, and then you're coming back to Hawaii to visit us again? I hope so. Yes, good, great, great, great. Yeah, I hope so. Yeah, great. I am so glad that you're both able to make the show today, Alonso, and I hope to see you doing more interesting things and more interesting films. I hope so too, and I hope to be getting invited back. I hope this interview was all right. Yeah, yeah, I think you did great. Because I think it's Spanish and then I'm trying to translate to English. Oh, is that right? It doesn't necessarily come out well. I can't even tell, I can't tell. So you're doing great. Then that's great. And Jennifer, we'll see you back here. And hopefully you'll be back here promoting more movies. Thank you. More movies. And then not just coming to visit. Right. But if you do come back to visit, that's great too. Well, I'm Chris Leatham. This is The Economy in You, and we'll look forward to seeing you again next week, right here at Think Tech Hawaii. Alonso.