Meet Fernando Rocha | Cinematographer

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

Hi Fernando, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
It took me a long time to become comfortable taking risks. Risk is in the very nature of Freelance, I rarely know when my next project is going to be or where it will come from but therein lies a great deal of freedom. The biggest risks I feel I take are when I say no to a project, it requires a belief that other work will arise and even when I can tell a project is not a right fit for me, it’s never an easy choice to make. Creatively, as a Cinematographer I often have ideas I want to test and finding a right story and project to do so with can be tricky. At the moment, I’m co-developing a passion project about Day of the Dead celebrations in a Mexican-American enclave in Chicago. We’re going to be showcasing a lot of visual cultural elements; dresses, murals, altars, etc… and I really want to capture this project in Black and White. I feel like this part of Mexican culture is so rich in textures that by stripping away the color we may be able to see something new. This is, of course, a creative risk and we won’t know if it ‘works’ until we try it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a cinematographer, one of the biggest challenges you face is balancing the specific demands of a story and visual approach. It’s a very intimate process where you need to both work with a Director and a creative team but also identify your own emotional connection and ‘in’ with a story. Every project I shoot, and every Photobook I read, teaches me how much more there is to learn. One of the most important lessons that I keep coming across is the importance of understanding yourself, creatively and emotionally. This is an ever-evolving task but I found that once I started to tune into myself as a creative, as a professional, and simply as a person, I am able to move past creative and professional roadblocks. I am trying to continuously evolve as a visual storyteller, I try to let my everyday experiences inspire me by being present in the cotidian but I also am able to find a great deal of inspiration from my Mexican culture. I love the freedom of constantly switching between fiction and non-fiction projects and the narrative projects that most inspire me have a sense of realism and freedom that docuementary projects have and on the flip side I am more attracted to documentary projects that have strong artistic visions and narratives.

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.
Whenever I can I like to bike along Santa Monica and hit up Dog Town Cafe. It’s a nice way for me to mentally re-set and it’s the first thing I do when I have a day off. It also helps me when I need to sit on an idea or work through something in my head and not overthink. So that would be a must, I also really enjoy the atmosphere at Great White in Larchmont, whether I go on my own and read a book or bring a friend out of town, I always enjoy the relaxed vibe there.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to the mentors I’ve had throughout my career, it’s not an exaggeration to say that not only would I not be the person or Cinematographer I am today but I more importantly wouldn’t be on the track to becoming the person and Cinematographer I would like to be. I have three specific shout out’s I’d like to make; Tom Mallan, Maru Montero and Alejandro Mejía, AMC. Tom nourished my love for cinema since Middle school, the work he’s done inspiring young generations of creatives and giving students a safe creative space to fail has led to an impact that is indescribable. Maru, my Mexican Folkloric Dance teacher of over 15 years taught me what it means to be an artist; to be able to use an art form not only for expression but also reflection, inspiration, and as a guide to navigating the formation of your identity. This was particularly impactful for me as I grew up in predominantly white spaces, leading to a complicated relationship for myself and my Mexican-American culture during my formative years. And, of course, I can’t leave out the maestro Alejandro Mejía. Alejandro is a guiding light for me and one of the unfortunately too few Mexican Cinematographers working at some of the most prestigious levels. In the two years I’ve known him he’s helped me reshape my creative and professional journey, pushing me to challenge, question, and grow.

Website: rochafernando.com

Instagram: @brownmanwithabrownplan

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-rocha-958706144/

Image Credits
No credits needed, some of these are stills from projects for which I have permission to share.