Carla Grace Fajardo: Upcoming Film “High Tides”, Queer Stories & the Journey of an Artistic Career
Carla Grace Fajardo (She/Her) is a queer Pinay filmmaker, native to SF's Mission district and who studied Cinema at San Francisco State University. She is a freelance filmmaker, producer, and hair and makeup artist for the independent film community and media companies for branded content, commercials, and corporate video projects. Like "High Tides", Carla directs films that revolve around topics of queer and cultural identity.
Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Please introduce yourself, your craft, and the project you are working on.
“The story itself speaks about different queer experiences. “High Tides” is a drama that focuses on how these two queer relationships can collide in ways that may feel scary, but also very uplifting.”
I'm Carla Grace Fajardo, and I'm a San Francisco native. I am a filmmaker, and right now I'm working on a project called “High Tides” a Jasmine X Lavender productions.
“High Tides” is a queer surrealist film written by Abby Asuncion about two queer Pilipinx best friends when one confesses their love for the other. In collaboration with cinematographer Ashley Venezuela, the film will incorporate "whimsi-goth" aesthetics, seascape imagery, practical underwater stunts, VFX, and rotoscope animation to push the boundaries in the portrayal of the emotional subconscious. "Kaia" and "Luna" are played by Gwynnevere Cristobal and Jay de la Cruz.
Jasmine X Lavender Production presents “High Tides” a Queer Surreal Short Film directed by Carla Grace Fajardo, Photo Courtesey of: @jasmine.x.lavender
High Tides is a surreal queer short film. The film is from Abbey Ascension's screenplay called Figuring It Out and has been developed into a surreal queer drama by me and the creative team and Jasmine X Lavender.
At the core of it, it’s about two queer best friends. One of the friends has been out as queer for most of their life, and the other one has recently come out as bisexual. The whole story itself revolves about unrequited love between the two friends, but also about how their own unique experiences of their own queerness has affected how they kind of see themselves and see each other. The story itself speaks about different queer experiences.
This film is a drama that focuses on how these two queer relationships can collide in ways that may feel scary, but also very uplifting.
🏳️🌈🎬💌 Amplifying and elevating queer AAPI womxn’s storytelling in film and animation, logo design by: @ev1lh465
Jasmine X Lavender is a Production Company
Behind the scenes of “High Tides”, Photo Courtesey of: @gellipascual
I think a lot of people would want to know more about this type of collaboration with me, as a filmmaker and my production team and the crew talking about our own identities is extremely personal. We can't rely on how other people see us or what the general stereotypes are.
“There’s a lot more to us than what other people may think. ”
How has your perspective as a queer, Filipinx, indie filmmaker and San Francisco Mission District native affected how you navigate your industry and the genres you specialize in?
Behind the scenes with Carla Grace on set of a film production, Photo Courtesey of: @miiinthuta
My experience as a filmmaker and a queer Filipino has been understanding that I have to create certain spaces where I know I can belong. Unfortunately, there are a lot of spaces out there that I don't find myself fitting into, and where I don’t find a voice in to express [myself]. Within my own personal history of my family's experience with gentrification in the Mission District, I've had people come up to me and ask me if I belong here, [when I’m] just walking into my own building that I had grown up in. From that experience, [there’s been] many areas of my life where I don’t feel like I belong anywhere.
“The biggest part of filmmaking has been finding people and finding spaces that say that I do belong. I’ve been thankful that a lot of the filmmakers who I’ve been connecting with and who have been giving me a space to grow as a person, are people that I call my best friends.
They are also queer and POC. It’s a great environment that I wish I had growing up, and that I’m proud to have right now. Regarding my own work as a filmmaker and how that kind of influenced me, I always think about the production set as being a safe space where people can express themselves, but also feel welcome to do the best work that they can.”
Carla’s favorite BTS shot by Brownthought Alumni and Videographer @kenfrv
“That experience as a makeup artist inspired me to be a producer and learn more about what it takes to create a environment for everyone to feel like they can enjoy the work. Making sure everyone feels that in the process of creating films and not being led to cater to a particular mindset, is a big part of who I am as a filmmaker.”
I went to San Francisco State to study film, but it was mainly in the academic and space where I was focusing a lot on film theory and film history. I was mainly thinking about teaching and writing as part of my career in film, not film production. Years after the pandemic, I started to become a lot bit more serious about production as a hair and makeup artist. That’s where I am—being a professional hair and makeup artist. I started understanding and learning more about the process of film production through that department.
However, I also experienced many disencouraging moments in the industry, when I became a hair and makeup artist. I felt that my particular position and my department was very insignificant to everyone else. I'd experience being given the lesser amount of time, and not seeing us as important as other departments.
That experience as a makeup artist inspired me to be a producer and learn more about what it takes to create a environment for everyone to feel like they can enjoy the work. Making sure everyone feels that in the process of creating films and not being led to cater to a particular mindset, is a big part of who I am as a filmmaker.
Up until this point, what has been the most meaningful experience at Balay Kreative? How has Balay Kreative helped you manifest your vision and intention for your project?
Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
One of the most meaningful experiences of Balay Kreative has been the support that I've been getting from everyone. There isn't a particular moment for me, other than the master classes. Those are great and they help me a lot. I love having a space where many Filipinos can support each other, are curious, and want to know about me—as well as my projects and how I see the world. That's something I've never experienced before, especially to [this] scale. I'm blown away by the various amounts of support and security that this program has. I’m really grateful for [it]
Balay Kreative has helped me see that it is important to everyone. Our story is a part of something bigger than ourselves, and that has pushed to challenge how I see myself and my process. I believe the stakes are a lot higher because of that, but I [also], surprisingly, feel very comfortable about [it]. A lot of projects that I have in my head may seem very daunting, but when other people see what I see and are supportive [about] what I do, it makes the project more possible.
Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
The program, in itself, has helped me understand my role as a filmmaker. My role has developed more than [being] a person that just makes films. I am also a person who can create worlds that I want to have in my own life. Or, I would say that I'm a person that creates worlds that other people can see themselves in.
That means a lot as a filmmaker because filmmaking – even though we are working with many people all the time, and we have our own communities – it can feel pretty lonely. For people to come on board to a project and say yes to the crazy things that pop in my head, is cool and reassuring. It makes me want to do more in creating these stories.
“High Tides” Filming, Behind the scenes shots by Videographer @kenfrv
is there any advice you have for your younger artistic self, and/or the next generation of Filipinx creatives, in writing?
“My advice to my younger self is to continue making art. There was a big part of my life where I thought, “this is just going to be a hobby and isn’t sustainable,” but that’s not true.
There’s so many artistic careers out there that rely on your sense of vision, your eye for things, and your sense of [formulating] creative solutions for things. That’s what I wish I focused [more] on growing up.”
The biggest thing is to keep doing the things that you love. My advice to future generations of people in film, and everyone who's going into that area, is to continue doing the things that bring you joy. There are old parts of film that aren't the most fun, but are part of the process or for staying financially stable. There's quite a lot out there. It's not that it's not there, but [it’s sticking] with what bring you the most joy.
That’s what is going to bring you closer to what you want to do, even if you don't know what it is.
“Follow the joy, I guess. ”
Coming Soon “High Tides”, Photo courtesy: @jasmine.x.laender
Can you share your hopes for the impact “High Tides” will have on the local Filipinx community, and larger diaspora?
At the core of High Tides, it is about the spectrum of queer identity, but also an unrequited love and surrealism. That's the part that I feel challenged me in trying to express [myself] as a filmmaker. What I want people to take away from [High Tides], is that there are many ways to express ourselves that are very scary. Going into the experience of what is surreal as a queer person can go into pretty dark places. I'm open to [exploring it] and it will also be very challenging for me emotionally.
“It’s also [what] I would love for people to see when they think of queer Filipinx stories. I want to be a part of that legacy, [in terms of] bringing ideas of cultural identity out of the norm, and into a place where it can be digested in different ways.”
I love how that film can really do that. Whether you relate to the characters or not, you can at least feel what they're feeling, even on visceral or scary levels. As someone who has mainly worked on like horror films, that's what I'm hoping to bring in. High Tides is a drama, but there are parts that I relate to [regarding what] these characters go through. I want to bring [that] out in a way that's probably a little too real, but I'm down for it.
Please share how folks can stay involved with your journey and High Tides.
Go ahead and follow us at @jasmine.x.lavender to support High Tides: A Queer Surreal Short.