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

Hi Vera, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Life is a game of risks. Do you take a risk and bet on yourself or do you stay in a safe lane and never try to speed ahead? I am a high risk taker in terms of trying out crazy ideas as a film maker. I don’t make films for mass consumption but love to target a smaller audience that will get what I’m trying to say. My last movie “Breaking Barbi” was a bit ahead of it’s time coming out in 2019 and was a compete spoof on influencers, online dating and alien conspiracies. People still believed in influencers at the time but today the movie rings so true with more people understanding that whole industry is a joke. My current feature film “Apocalypse Love” is an emo/goth love story set in a zombie/alien apocalypse… all done with play-motion puppets! IT’s wild!

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.
Writing and directing are my passions and telling really funny and out of the box (like way way out of the box) stories is what I enjoy doing. I like the absolute ridiculous and unhinged. My world revolved for many years around pop culture, cosplay and going every weekend to a different comic book convention. I didn’t think I had it in me to become a film maker so my progression started as a stunt woman, then actor, then hand model/puppeteer all while making a small splash in cosplay. While on hundreds of sets, I paid attention to the actual art of film making and slowly started learning how to write screenplays. I focused on genres that interested me; the macabre, the outsider but mainly I love comedy. Being self taught in everything from producing to video editing wasn’t easy. But every skill has helped me along the way. Apocalypse Love is sort of my love letter to all the artists I have worked with that have shaped my twisted sense of humor. How can you go wrong with zombie/alien puppets!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a part of many scenes in LA. It would depend what the bestie would be into… I’m part of the vampire, goth, renaissance fair, fairy, D&D, cosplay, Comicon, pirate, fantasy and rock and roll scenes out here. If there’s a cool themed party going on, I’m probably lurking about somewhere. If they are sporty, I’d take them to the Hollywood Reservoir for an enchanting walk or up to the Wishing Tree. Going to the Observatory is also an LA must. One of my favorite things is the view at night from the Hollywood Hills. Then hit the Rainbow Room for seeing some of the coolest people.

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?
This is a shoutout to all my horror/sci-fi/comedy comic book pop culture loving nerds.

Website: www.apocalypselovemovie.com

Instagram: @veravanguard

Facebook: www.facebook.com/apocalypselovemovie

Youtube: youtube.com/liveactionfigurefilms

Other: Apocalypse Love Instagram @apocalypselovemovie

Image Credits
Me with Puppets: Valerie Perez Me in blue: Fabian Leon Torres other two are just phone pics

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