Meet Maria Paula Quesada | Producer & Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Paula Quesada and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria Paula, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My producing partner Gabby Fiszman and I met Freshman year of college and immediately clicked in a personal and professional level. Our similar taste, interests, work-ethic, sense of humor and backgrounds as latina women have made it an incredibly fruitful and easy collaboration and friendship for the last four years. When we graduated film school in the middle of the Writers Strike and getting any work seemed impossible Gabby came up with the idea to make our own jobs on our own, by starting a production company.

I’m incredibly grateful to have a fearless partner like Gabby, sometimes I second guess myself but her confidence really pushed me to see this as the best idea for us, especially at the time. It seemed like if we wanted to keep telling stories we really believed in, and working together, starting an LLC was the best choice.

We then really focused on what we were interested in: fresh, original, diverse content that blends genres, independent filmmaking, and working with talented up-and-coming talent. We wanted to make stuff that felt original, and that stood out, so we came up with the name: ‘Odd One Out Films’. We started off with what we knew best: working with our friends. It’s been amazing to champion their stories and our own to produce short films that we love and in the process we’ve also gotten to collaborate with new people in music videos and short films.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think my background really sets me apart from others, especially in LA where there’s very few filmmakers from Costa Rica. It’s a small country, with a tiny film industry, so I feel I have a very unique voice in terms of my specific background. As a writer/director my voice is very personal and I love blending genres, particularly drama and comedy. I think my closeness to my really large extended family and my interest in the diverse personalities within it informs a lot of the voices of my characters and the themes of my writing (a lot of family and relationship stuff), giving it a unique, diverse voice.

I’m excited about continuing to tell stories that excite me, my friends, and my collaborators. I love working with people that have a similar taste because I feel it inspires further collaboration and passion for a project, which elevates the work. I don’t know what ideas will come to us in the future to produce or what things I haven’t written, but what makes me proudest and most excited is the collaborators, that I’m lucky enough to call friends as well, that I know I’ll get to work with for a long time. They’re incredibly talented, and I feel so grateful that I can participate and help out in telling their amazing ideas, and I have the most fun when I’m working with them.

It’s taken a lot of passion, effort, perseverance, and support to be where I am today professionally. My education and genuine interest in it has been a huge part of it. Having the privilege to have an education in Costa Rica that encouraged studying abroad, and then having the incredible privilege of going to USC Film School, and growing as a professional while getting to meet incredible artists in my peers and true industry professionals as my professors was an invaluable experience that I feel eternally grateful for. It hasn’t been easy, there’s always challenges, imposter-syndrome, personal stuff, and the biggest thing that has helped me overcome every challenge has always been my close circle and their support.

I’ve learned so much in very little time and I’m excited to learn more throughout my professional career while growing my company, brand, projects and hopefully elevating the voices of under-represented artists, especially women, Costa Ricans, and latines in general.

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?
I’m from Costa Rica, we have some American things (restaurants, spots) but not many, so honestly I really enjoy some spots that LA natives might not necessarily recommend because they’re more touristy. I LOVE ‘The Grove’, it’s cute, the AMC is amazing and I’ll usually take people to see a movie there, I love Cheesecake Factory and most friends that have visited are super down for Cheesecake Factory too. I’ll always take people to Din Tai Fung and Salt and Straw cause I love both those chains.

In terms of spots to hang out or have fun, I love taking people to a Dodgers Game or a USC game/tailgating when I was in school, LACMA or the Getty are awesome, the Academy Museum, Malibu or Manhattan Beach for a nice beach day, and I used to live in Culver City so always Downtown Culver. For drinks or a night out I would recommend many spots in Venice Beach/Abbot Kinney, The Wayfarer in Downtown and Zebulon.

To me the most exciting thing about LA is the variety of things to do, there’s so many cultures, Latino culture especially, I love that there’s beach and mountains and parks, and the weather’s amazing. But my favorite thing is that EVERY SINGLE MOVIE comes out in theaters and there’s always incredible events for cinephiles.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think my family has to take most of the credit for who I am and the things I’ve achieved, as well as so many of the opportunities I’ve gotten. My parents’ support has been unwavering both emotionally and financially my whole life, and I would not have the education, freedom, and values I have if it weren’t for them, they deserve all the credit.

My brother and extended family as well have taught me mostly everything I know about how to be a good person, how to value and leverage the things that make you different and special, how to be grateful and humble, and mainly the importance of love and unconditional support in any aspect of life. It’s a tough industry, a hard dream that not a lot of people understand or pursue, but I’ve always had nothing but encouragement, faith and support from my family and friends and it always keeps me going no matter what.

Website: https://weareoddoneout.com

Instagram: @mapauquesada