We had the good fortune of connecting with Imanol Delgado Cadivich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Imanol, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born in Mexico City, but I was raised between Mexico City and a tiny city in the northern part of Mexico, in the middle of the desert called Torreón Coahuila. The two cities are completely different, Mexico City has rainy weather, a lot of traffic, and a fast-paced life. Torreón is the complete opposite, it is very hot, there’s not much traffic and people like to take their time. Growing up in 2 different cities helped me to understand how even in the same country there can be different cultures and how we relate to each other.

As a film editor is really important I understand the different Point of Views of the story and select the one I can make the audience invest more in following the story. By growing up in 2 different cities I got to learn what are the common themes that entertain us and how can a story be molded to have more than 1 theme.

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.
I’ve been in love with movies for as long as I can remember. I loved watching films when I came back from school when I was a kid. I broke a couple of my favorite VHSs from watching them too much. I started professionally editing in 2018, and that’s when I got my first Gig. After that I made a bunch of social media content working with different brands to make their products stand out from their competitors, but my ultimate goal in life is to work on scripted narratives.
I came to LA to study for an MFA in Filmmaking in 2022 at the New York Film Academy. It was 2 amazing years filled with making films and learning from some amazing professionals. I got to work with amazing classmates whom I would help to edit their movies.

My classmates came from all over the world and it was very interesting to understand their perspectives. When I got the chance to work on their project sometimes they would film in their native language like Chinese or Hindi. I do not speak to them, but I understand what is a good performance. I would look at all the material with the directors and ask them questions mostly on performance. I edited most of those movies without knowing some of the lines, but I could see a great performance from the actors and that is what made them good.

Something I learned at the Academy Gold Rising Program was that you need to always be curious. When you are editing you need to experiment with all the different combinations you can make and find which one tells a better story. By being curious you will augment the possibilities in front of you.

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?
Whenever someone comes to visit me I love to take them to the Academy Museum! Is such a beautiful place where you can learn about the history of film and they always have new expositions where they talk about different artists that revolutionized the film industry. I love that they highlight every department that is involved in filmmaking. The museum also has a great curation of films they show in their amazing theatre where you can watch all different types of movies and sometimes they have someone involved with the film to present the film and tell you more about the story behind the movie. It truly is a magical place.

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?
I’m in the place I am thanks to my parents, Luis Guillermo Delgado Pedroza and Elizabeth Cadivich Triana. My uncles Gerry, Martin, and Manuel. The amazing writer Qinyi Fu. And I will always be grateful for the Academy Gold Rising Program.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imanol-delgado-cadivich-954545172/

Image Credits
Blaine Harrington IV Photography

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