Meet Daniela González Reyes | Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniela González Reyes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniela, what principle do you value most?
I rule myself with a lot of values, but I consider RESPECT as the most important one. We are humans, we are surrounded by more humans, everyone is dealing with their own struggles. Being respectful to people can lead you to so many things. Respect for their work, for their opinion or mindset, respect for their time, etc.
Being part of the audiovisual industry (TV, Media and Film) you can find different people and/ or companies that their work ethic could be better if they include respect in all its aspects.
What I’ve learned as a filmmaker is that the industry has evolved. Someone told me that film sets should be tough, people can yell to each other and “that’s the way they learn, that’s the way it has alway been”, and the truth is that it’s not like that anymore. If someone doesn’t do their job correctly, there always can be a way to approach and talk to that person.
Another situation that happened to me once, was that I worked for a long time for free, but my job wasn’t value, and I had to talk with the Producers of that film and let them know I wanted some kind of acknowledgement. Since that day, I made a promise to myself which was: If you don’t show respect for yourself, for your work, for your effort, then no one will ever do.
It takes nothing to show respect to people.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As I mentioned before, Filmmaking is what I currently do. It was not something I dreamed about, but I knew eventually I was gonna follow this path. I studied Film for one intense year, and big filmmakers would say that you don’t need school to learn about how to make films. I don’t know if I agree with them, because school gives you very good tools and a strong base to then go to explore and put hands-on on film sets. The one thing school doesn’t teach you is how to deal with different personalities on set, this is something you need to keep an eye on it, this is something that as and individual you have to work on. Every set is different, your role might be the same in each one, but people are so variable. I like to compare film sets as a Kinder Egg- you know they’re all the same, but you don’t know what does it have inside.

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.
Wow! LA is so big and with so many activities to do that I wouldn’t finished. I am a food lover, so everything that has to do with food, I know places to go.
I had brunch at Butcher’s Daughter. A fair price for an All You Can Eat.
I love Mexican Food of course, and I went to this place on Venice called “Chulita”, sooo yum!
Don’t feel like cooking on Sunday? The most precious place to be in LA is “Smorgasburg”. That place is heaven.
Regarding places I would take my friend, would be catch a sunset on Griffith Observatory, go buy things on Los Feliz Flea Market, watch a movie on a rooftop, on a boat or on an old movie theatre.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
100% will be my parents. Without them I wouldn’t be in the position I am right now. I will always be thankful with them. But as weird as it reads, I think I will give credit to the people I’ve met on jobs, on sets, on classes that have been an obstacle for me. Not because of the people themselves, but mainly for the way they treat you, they refer to you. The people that consider that you are not good at something, or think that you don’t have the skills for this job or this position. Those people are the ones who encourage yourself to give your 200%, and not because you want to show or prove them that they’re wrong, but for me it has been more as a motivation to work on myself, on my skills, to prove me and only me I am capable.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14150385/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-gonz%C3%A1lez-reyes-477862141/?locale=en_US