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

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.

First, thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity: I feel honored for your kind words and receive your genuine welcome with positive energy. It is always great to celebrate your genuine commitment with arts and entertainment. 

Recently, I experienced a wonderful achievement in the Seventh Art: I received an Official Selection to be part of Animation in Cannes 2023 with Animaze and it was unforgettable. After representing Latinos as the first finalist Puerto Rican filmmaker and actor at the American Pavilion in Cannes and achieving my third Oscar consideration evidenced through the screenings of my multi-award-winning short films ONE (2020), 2HOOM (2021) and Princëney (2023) in the “Academy Screening Room” (ASR) of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), I repeated a wonderful adventure in the south of France by exhibiting my new project Princëney in Cannes. The event was celebrated at se Palais des Festivals, at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on May, 22.We already have received several international awards, including the following: “Best Animated Short Film”, “Golden Award Best Animated Short Film, “Silver Award Best LGBTTQ Short Film”, “Best LGBTTQ Short Film”, “Best Original Short Film”, “Best Composition” (“Guaitiao” – AG ORLOZ), “Best director”, “Best Honorate Mention”, among other awards. I am on my way to obtaining 200 laurels and has obtained more than 60 international awards, with evidence, since 2010, The spirit of gratitude, discipline, social commitment, the connection with creativity from a spiritual point of view and the action of considering myself an eternal apprentice has been my fortress in an intense artistic path, but full of great satisfaction and rewarding experiences. Relevant international and national media has appreciated my art for years, so, I have no complaints: I am more than blessed.

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.
Defining specific spots to share with a great friend and talk about why I am so passionate about, for example, art in all its grandeur and splendor, seems to be a wonderful visualization process. I will begin with a pacific walk in the morning on the road close to the letters of Hollywood. For sure I will go to a Buddhist (His Lai) temple that I discovered in L.A., California. Then, we will have an existential conversation in a beautiful little corner near the Palais des Festival de Cannes that is close to the Church of the Beautiful Lady of Good Voyage, in Cannes. After this beautiful experience, we will have a quality time with Mother Nature (Gaia) at Seven Seas Beach in the East coastal waters of the “Shining Star of the Caribbean”, Puerto Rico. Finally, we will taste the different variants that the vibrant New York city offers to us: a trip to Staten Island with the most exquisite dessert will be a must. Definitely, these scenes would conceive a beautiful “montage” that seems to be impossible to do in a week, but I love the impossible.

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?
When I think about the magical process of creating films movies and enjoy in my mind the wonderful achievements that came to my life thanks to my passion for the 7h art, I have to go back to the creative storytelling process of Steven Spielberg that I discover since I was a child, the ingenuity and freedom that I learned from Pedro Almodovar, the existential connection (and fascination) with the fantasy element that characterized Guillermo del Toro’s masterpieces, the braveness and unconditional love expressed by Roberto Perez Toledo (RIP) in the art/science of telling diversity stories with substance and all the spiritual wisdom hidden in the films of James Cameron: we have to recognize our great Masters. I believe that these five powerful figures have shaped my gaze as an emergent filmmaker and continue to be a fundamental influence in my life also as a leading actor, composer, scriptwriter, edition supervisor, and producer. Having a supportive family that believes in me (Orama-López), counting with the beautiful complicity of great colleagues and friends that believe in my art, and receiving the continuous support of relevant media contexts have shaped my life as an “actor who directs” with the purpose of healing others with the powerful legacy of the arts. That is how I want to be remembered: as an eternal apprentice that is in constant gratitude and as a passionate actor who directs. 3 times in the Academy Screening Room, two times in Cannes, and now, Ambassador in the Puerto Rican Day Parade, New York: it is more that any young Latino or Puerto Rican can ask for. I promise to pay it forward forever.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8472995/

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