Meet Patrick Adam Peña | Filmmaker & Cartoonist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Patrick Adam Peña and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Patrick Adam, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
I disagree with the idea that stories are limited to the three and five act structures of Eurocentric storytelling, such as the “Hero’s Journey.” Kurt Vonnegut’s story structure could be measured in the highs and lows of the character or story, which could be visualized like a graph. And the kishotenketsu story structure of China, Korea and Japan is an incredibly versatile four act structure that allows for twists, epilogues, subversions and commentary that most other story structures don’t allow for. There’s no one way to tell a story!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Most of my work falls into the categories of satire and dark comedy. I’ve always had dark sensibilities and growing up mixed race, I’ve always had an outsider’s perspective.

I’m completely self-taught, and it’s been a long road, but consistency is the most important key to success. If you keep working, you’ll get better at whatever you are trying to do, and if you’re consistent, you’ll get to where you’re trying to go.

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?
Seattle and Tacoma have plenty of cool places to hang out. I love Locust Cider, which has taprooms in both Tacoma and Seattle. In Tacoma, it’s on 6th avenue, along with plenty of other bars. I also enjoy Odd Otter in Tacoma, it’s a small brewery on Pacific.

There are tons of great Korean BBQ all over King County, especially in Federal Way. Soju Anju is a Korean Bar in Seattle that is pretty great. Also in Seattle is The Grand Illusion Theatre, which is one of the oldest running movie theaters in America and has a great atmosphere. They are about two blocks from Scarecrow Video, one of the largest collections of physical media in the world. They have just about every movie you can think of for rental, and lots of new movies to buy. I highly recommend checking it out when you’re in the city. They also rent by mail!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m lucky that my parents were always supportive of my decisions. Even as a young kid, they respected my opinions and my choices, and I think that allowed me the freedom to become who I am.

When I first started filmmaking, I learned a lot online and from DVD commentaries and behind-the-scenes documentaries, but the three books that got me started filmmaking are “Make your Own Damn Movie” by Lloyd Kaufman, “Rebel Without a Crew” by Robert Rodriguez, and “Screenplay” by Syd Field. If you read those three books, you should be able to make a movie.

Otherwise I have a wide range of influences across film, TV, music, video games and professional wrestling!

Website: https://www.luchastyle.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/luchastyle

Facebook: https://facebook.com/luchastyleproductions

Youtube: https://youtube.com/luchastyle

Image Credits
Images taken by Shawn Kelley Jr.

Other images are screenshots from my movie “Microdosing.”