Meet Fernanda Lamuño | Independent Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fernanda Lamuño and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fernanda, how do you think about risk?
It’s everything! Risk-taking is by far the factor that impacts your filmmaking growth curve most. I’m not talking about the “do-it-for-the-vid” mentality which tends to render more reckless than productive results. I’m talking about the risk-taking mentality you need to have to even begin trying to create something that someone else can relate to. Risk-taking in filmmaking means putting yourself out there and give everything to tell a story honestly and wholeheartedly at the risk of someone not agreeing with or not even understanding what you mean. It also means taking the risk of giving your all to a production when at times the logistics, the budget or the end results are unclear. It takes guts to tell a story effectively, but even if you don’t succeed it’s worth the sacrifice. To wrap up my ever so eloquent growth curve analogy, when you add risk-taking to the filmmaking function, everything becomes exponential.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
There are many aspects that have made my video brand successful but there is one that has guaranteed more clients than any other one: I am able to create real emotions out of video footage. By “real” I mean literal, truly palpable emotional reactions to video content. I’ve seen viewers go from understanding the value proposition of a brand to experiencing for themselves the passion and the drive that made my clients’ companies exist in the first place. It’s a combination of filming choices during production and pacing decisions during editing that allows my videos to connect with a client’s audience on an intrinsic and personal level. Add to that an undeniable love for what I do and a crazy work ethic and you’ve got yourself a recipe for success. The hardest part about freelancing is client acquisition, but it starts getting a lot easier when the clients are satisfied with your workflow as well as with the end product. Not only are they happy to refer you, they keep coming back! In this day and age, it’s not worth it for companies to overpay for video teams that guarantee top-notch quality. Everyone can do that. At our production studio, clients are not just guaranteed top-notch video quality, they are investing in the chance to truly connect with their audience in a way that will change their brand is viewed for the better. High quality and real emotional impact is exactly what we offer.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Miami is notoriously one of the most celebrated cities for cultural diversity, which is why I would start off the trip with a stroll down Calle 8. Not only are there amazing places to eat there like Mi Rinconcito Mexicano, the cultural melting pot you’ll find at places like Domino Park is something you won’t find anywhere else in Florida. There’s an ice cream place right by there called Azucar Ice Cream that was a common pit stop during long filming days. Their cream cheese and guava ice cream is a must!! As a film buff, I spend the majority of my free time watching films (surprising, I know). A quintessential theatre I would recommend attending to watch a couple of classics is the beautiful O Cinema, and a personal favorite of mine is Tower Theater. Miami is the type of place where you could have no itinerary and you’d still find things to do so my last recommendation would be to simply walk around!! You’ll be surprised by the incredible people and places you’ll find by doing just that.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My love and dedication to filmmaking stems from the support and mentorship of a handful of truly extraordinary people, but I have to start with the person responsible for sparking my interest in it in the first place: Andrei Tarkovsky. His films are the reason why I do what I do the way I do it. Let me quickly explain. In school I was practically obsessed with his films because they were the ones I understood the least while simultaneously related to the most. Thanks to him I understand that filmmaking is a way of looking at life as much as it is a profession. He is all about the idea of giving yourself up for the art in the hopes that someone will find themselves reflected in your work. I live for that idea. That was the seed. The growth that came after I have to attribute to 1: my family’s crazy unconditional support for what I do and 2: the help from everyone at Imaginex Movies, a production company here in Miami. Imaginex gave me a start in “real world” productions, and gave me the opportunities to develop the skills that my career is now backed up on. The people behind Imaginex have gone from being my first production crew to my ride-or-die film family. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in my career so far and truth is, a great deal of them I have to thank Imaginex for.

Website: fernandafilms.com

Instagram: fernanda_films

Image Credits
Fernanda Films