Meet Marta Pérez-Coca | Writer, Director and Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marta Pérez-Coca and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marta, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Honestly, it was a “now or never” kind of thing. While writing my first feature film, I knew I had to open up a production company, but it was only when I got in touch with lawyers, accountants and other people of the sort that I thought, “Wow, I’m opening up a business!” The curious thing is that ever since I was in college I knew I wanted to start up my own business, but the specifics were always hazy. Things cleared up when I decided to pursue my passion, which is filmmaking, and then I knew I had to start up a production company. This is how Coquita Films was born, out of both courage and necessity.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a filmmaker with a love for things dark and twisted. Laughing about things we usually shouldn’t laugh about and not taking life too seriously are things that I look for. Right now, for example, I am very excited about my short film, “A Deadly Shoot,” circling around festivals and making people laugh and gasp at the same time. I am also very excited about my first feature film, which is in pre-production, called “Here She Comes,” about a mother and a daughter who heal their very strained relationship through a dark and surreal circumstance. It has definitely not been easy, transitioning to filmmaking from my original background in business administration and finance, but it has been the best thing I’ve ever done. Even though it took a lot of guts and risk to leave something more “secure” behind to follow my passion, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else today. One of the biggest challenges was getting over my own fear of taking a different route after having gone through the whole process of getting a degree in Business Administration. That, and zoning out the different voices telling me I was insane for leaving a stable career in finance for something so unpredictable. However, I felt my soul being crushed every day by the “stable” routine. Yes, filmmaking is unpredictable and unstable, but it so much more exciting.
One of the biggest lessons from undertaking a career in the arts and from my life in general is that being persistent is key. Not giving up, in my opinion, is more than half of the battle. I look at this as a marathon, not a sprint, and endurance is what counts. This doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been a fair share of disappointment and frustration along the way, and there have also been some tears at times. When I was a kid, for example, I had to struggle with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, so I just had no option than to keep going and go through the discomfort. Sometimes, it took double the time for me to learn what other children easily got done. I just stuck to it, and didn’t give myself the chance to give up even though I got discouraged. This is an attitude that I think I have taken with me into adulthood, and turned those previous difficulties into strength.
Coquita Films, my production company, is a product of persistence and risk. We are just starting out, me and my Mexican-American associate, but we’re definitely on the same wavelength when it comes to “no risk, no reward,” and we’ve put most of our eggs in one basket. As to the name “Coquita,” this comes from the nickname my friends had for me in college, taking the “Coca” out of my last name and turning it into the more endearing “Coquita,” which roughly translates to “little Coca.” The lady bug is my associate’s favorite insect, and she has always related them to good luck. All new businesses need a heavy dose of luck to help the hard work go further.

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.
When friends of family come and visit, I usually start off taking them to less touristy places to avoid them being overwhelmed and help them see the city in another way. For example, I love taking people to the Hollywood Reservoir for a walk and the special view of the Hollywood sign. After that, we start going to the busy places, like Griffith Observatory, to take in the beautiful views of this enormous city. Santa Monica pier is also a must, but I try to avoid it on the weekends, since the crowds can sometimes take away from the experience. Driving and walking around the Pacific Palisades, especially this beautiful, closed off street called Via de las Olas, is something I like to do with visitors so they can take in the magnificence of the Los Angeles Coast and the Pacific Ocean. I would definitely try to go down to Gladstone’s on Sunset Boulevard and the Pacific Coast Highway to have some seafood by the beach. At night, bar-hopping on Melrose is something that I like to take visitors on, and if they’re willing and able, dancing at the clubs down in West Hollywood (although that’s not for everyone). On a different day, when we’ve gone through the more basic, touristy places, I like to take people to Glendale, where I first lived when I arrived to LA, and go down Brand Street for a bite to eat and some yummy drinks. My favorite place there is Baccari, where they serve tapa-sized bites and make a mean sangría. Strolling around the Americana and the Glendale Galleria is always a good idea if there’s money burning in your pocket and you’re looking to shop until you drop. One bar worth mentioning in Hollywood, that I discovered almost by accident, is called Daddy Diamond. You can have so much fun there with the free, old school games like pinball. The DJ mixes the music with vinyls, and the drinks are reasonably priced. In the back of the bar there is a huge vinyl shop where you can find loads of artists. Insider tip: you can ask the DJ to play your vinyl for you and test it out on their great sound system.

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?
First of all my family and my partner, thanks to their support I’m here now. And also to my amazing teachers at the NYFA of Los Angeles.

Website: www.coquitafilms.com

Instagram: @martaperezcoca

Youtube: Marta Pérez-Coca

Image Credits
Zeel Sangoi, Mingyuan Liu, Hilary Jones