Meet Jessica Pantoja | Filmmaker

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

Hi Jessica, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
In the past ten years of working as a full-time Cinematographer, my priorities have changed drastically, resulting in a significant restructuring of my life and how I try to balance, particularly after the pandemic.

In complete honesty, I realized that I LOVE making movies and using nonverbal communication as my work field; telling stories and connecting people via imagery is my passion, but it has become evident that the industry is not the healthiest and, frankly, quite brutal and utilitarian. I underwent a personal crisis because I was unfulfilled despite working constantly, and the size of the projects I was involved in grew incrementally. My unhappiness was because I navigated a professional world that did not match my motto of always showing kindness, honesty, and integrity. I felt disconnected and knew I needed to analyze my priorities and restructure so I wouldn’t feel like a hypocrite.
As a result, now I only relate with people I trust and believe are good humans that add to my professional development and from which I also learn on a human level, hoping to do the same for them. These individuals I enjoy getting to know and consequently collaborate with motivate me to give my best and feel passionate about the projects we are trying to make. Some of them have even resulted in collaborations that go beyond the cinematographic level. They have evolved into mutual trust and support to develop long-lasting projects, including some I’ve wanted to create but didn’t find the proper support and infrastructure to lift from the ground.

This decision to only work with people I want to be around has developed in less work on set. Still, it also provides more time for me to have a life outside of work, where I keep track of my mental health, have hobbies, dedicate time to meaningful friendships, and work out almost every day. Consequently, I am happier and now understand that working more is not necessarily a reflection of success.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The more I grow as a person, the more I want to work on projects that reflect what is important to me in life, and one of those things is the human connection to nature and cultural diversity. Currently, I am a diver with a specialty in underwater cinematography. I sometimes work in music videos or narrative pieces but would love to focus on nature and scientific monitoring of underwater biodiversity, as data acquisition but also for storytelling purposes. For that, I have decided to continue my professional education as a Scuba Diver. Later this year, I will be heading to a small island in an archipelago in Mozambique, where I will move forward with my education but where most importantly, I will also volunteer in scientific research—supporting local research and monitoring of animals, including dolphins, humpback whales, manta rays, and several species of sharks. Conservancy work is essential for humanity because it helps preserve our resources. Therefore I want to support many people’s efforts to save our planet by using my cinematography and nonverbal communication skills and bringing their stories closer to those back home in hopes of motivating others positively. My passion for documentary, filmmaking, and nature has also resulted in me writing a documentary TV series Called People of The Water, which I am currently trying to find the resources to develop. Hopefully, it will come to life in the upcoming years.

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?
To me, LA is all about food. One of the few places on earth where you can eat legit food from almost anywhere; as a result, LA is also a place where cultural diversity and intersectionality exist. That being said, art and food go hand in hand, and Downtown is the place to experience both; starting with coffee and breakfast at the grand central market is imperative, followed by a visit to LACMA and then a walkabout around the arts district. To end with a theater or dance exhibition at the Red Cat and KBBQ in Ktown, Los Angeles is also surrounded by nature, and California has so many Parks that sometimes I choose to drive outside of town towards San Bernardino or the PCH, find a spot, and explore what nature and luck have to offer for us that day, driving back to have a picnic by the beach and watch the sunset.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As cliche, as it may sound, I sincerely believe we are what we program ourselves to be. The mind is a powerful tool that, if tuned into positivity, can help us achieve everything. For that, I am not trying to say that I owe my success to myself, but instead trying to elaborate on my previous answer and why I wanted to surround myself with people I like, admire, and who possess good qualities because by surrounding myself with humans I like I would also set myself to be more like them and always keep in tune with my priorities. I’ve been fortunate to have found incredible individuals on my path to whom I am very thankful for sharing their time with me because that is the most precious thing we can gift others. With time we share experiences, grow, and create memories. These people include my close friends, family, and a handful of professional collaborators. But to avoid making this piece too long, I will focus on a single person for my shoutout—one of the most significant relationships I have found and developed in the last couple of years.

Delaney Buffett is a genuinely fantastic human and an even better collaborator. I like many things about our professional relationship, including her unique talent for finding uncommon stories to capture in documentaries; this talent lies in the fact that there is nothing ordinary about her, making it an enjoyable journey getting to know her as a friend. She also has the talent to surround herself with equally talented, lovely, and singular people. Therefore I am and will always be grateful to her for making every working experience delightful. Delaney is also a kind and supportive person, always willing and happy to provide a hand to uplift others. She has done it for me through trust as a cinematographer and storyteller. She knows how passionate I am about documentary stories about the connection between humans and nature and how I want to focus my career as much as possible on impactful work; for this, she has kindly tried to help me find opportunities to develop them and direct our collaborations to another level. I am very appreciative of her and the opportunity to work alongside her, and most recently, for the chance to reciprocate and support her professionally, moving her directorial career in the direction she wants while having the most rewarding experience as we shoot her first comedy feature project later this summer.

Website: www.jessicapantoja.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jl_pantoja/