Meet Christie Conochalla | film director

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

Hi Christie, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Balance is possibly the most important thing a person can discover for themselves. When you work in a fast-paced, artistic industry where the lot of us are freelancers, it is easy to get lost in a sea of saying “yes” to everything out of fear that one day there will be no more asks. I’m grateful to myself for seeing a path for me to create that balance for myself but it wasn’t until the pandemic where I lost all my opportunities that I saw perspective on not only the industry I am in but the decisions I have made for myself, and the “whys” associated with them. We often act out of fear that things will end but what I learned is that things end whether you feel fear or not. I learned that despite my fears I survived what I’d previously seen as “the worst thing” and fear has lost its power. I now see perspective that fear was guiding my life and fear was an unwanted passenger everywhere I went, whether for work or play, and fear took the wonder out of my life. Once I let go of those feelings I started to see that the universe is working in my favor and there was no need to fear. My next step was to take advantage of the experiences laying out before me, experiences I didn’t previously see because my eyes were so veiled in fear, but now the balance is working for itself rather than me feeling I need to control my surroundings to find it. Work is important, doing work you love is important, but life is important as well. Enjoying every day is the best gift we can give ourselves but before we can do that we have to look at things from a perspective that many in the country aren’t taught is the adequate journey. Productivity is important but now to me, no matter how many things I want to do with my life and career, it is never more important than the day to day joy I gain from living each moment; in work, in play, in life. We only get the one.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a writer/director with a passion for telling widely relatable stories about women in the lgbtq community. I am proud to have a body of work that has been loved and recognized by a diverse audience and am excited to have the opportunity to continue telling stories of this under-represented community in a way that speaks to the larger audience/world. This has not been and easy journey. I don’t believe any journey into the filmmaking world is easy. It takes a lot of guts, a thick skin, a community of supporters, and an un-matched endurance. At times I felt I wanted to give in and stop. When one thinks about the world, we don’t have to do any of things I do but every time I felt I wanted to quit I’d always somehow find myself back getting a project off the ground. It is an unconscious thing that I don’t believe I can ever stop and though making my feature was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, I’m so proud to have pushed my way through it and I am excited for all the things I will create as the days go by. I’ve learned a lot of things on the journey but the most important thing I learned is to do everything with joy. Filmmaking is meant to be fun and if it’s not then something is off…once I let go of control of the image I had in my head of what I want my life and work to look like, that’s when all the fun started! And now I am so excited to be building the first sitcom featuring lesbian characters entitled “Welcome Home.” Every day I fall into the flow of what I can do and how far I can go and every day I’m having the best time throwing out all the rules and just creating for the sake of creating. The funny thing is, people are more resonating with this work than others and I am full of joy walking the journey.

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?
Los Angeles is such a wonderful place, despite the traffic. I would have to take my guest on a picnic to Malibu, a drive through the Santa Monica Mountains, a movie at the historic Egyptian theater. We’d definitely have to eat from the Bridgetown Roti food truck and watch a concert under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl. There would absolutely be a hangout to watch a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and an Old Fashioned at Big Foot West. Tanners Coffee in Culver City would be on the agenda, it’s the most comfortable, easy going coffee spot in LA with bagels that rival any I’ve had in the north east. A drive down the PCH with a stop at the arcade at the Santa Monica Pier, and maybe some camping at Malibu Creek. There’s too much to do!

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?
Without Kacy, Lisa Tedesco, James Spratley, LesFlicks, and the Alliance of Women Directors I wouldn’t have had the opportunities or support I feel today. Each entity has been influential, empowering, and uplifting on my journey and I am ever-grateful for the opportunities that exist because of their help and support.

Website: https://www.lesflicks.com/community/creatives/creativebios/christie-conochalla/

Instagram: @cconochalla

Twitter: @cconochalla

Facebook: Christie Conochalla

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChristieConochalla

Other: https://vimeo.com/christieconochalla https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4545878/