Jimmy Fernandez is a Chilean-American director and musician, born and raised in Washington D.C.
After several years working as head of art for a Chilean agency, Fernandez decided to jump into the advertising world and started working as an assistant director. He began to establish his profession as a film director within the advertising world working with some of the most prestigious agencies in Santiago, Chile. In 2017 he made his first music video called, “Dejando Libre el Amor” by the acclaimed Chilean band, Chancho en Piedra, and with over 2,000,000 views started to make a name for himself. Now in 2020, Jimmy has traveled around South America shooting commercials for brands such as Jeep, Nestle and just recently developed branded content for Gretsch Drums, one of the most prestigious musical instrument companies in the world.
iFilmFestival: Tell us a bit about your most important film so far.
"'Born Like a Bullet' is a collaboration project which combines poetry, dance and film, all in one, with the objective of creating awareness of our heritage and human rights. Like our black brothers, we have faced social discrimination and constant harassment by certain political figures. We've had enough. This must stop now and this is our way of protest. We want to let the world know that we are proud of being latinos."
iFilmFestival: What were the key challenges making it?
Fernandez: "Doing the project without any money at all."
iFilmFestival: What’s one aspect that you’re particularly proud of?
Fernandez: "I'm proud at the hard work we put into it."
iFilmFestival: What new projects are you working on or are you hoping to work on in the future?
Fernandez: "I'm working on a short film and a short documentary at the moment."
iFilmFestival: What role do film festivals play?
Fernandez: "They play significant role as an alternative distribution channel for non-commercial films. It's also a great way to get known if you make the one film that gets recognized."
iFilmFestival: What is your advice to filmmakers tackling the festival circuit?
Fernandez: "Go for it with all you got! Check out what films have won festivals and use it to gain knowledge on how to do things correctly."
iFilmFestival: How do you see the future of film?
Fernandez: "I think it really depends on what type of film we are talking about. The independent movies are going to remain the same in terms of production. It's the big companies that are absolutely going to suffer a change in budgets and distribution."
iFilmFestival: Which filmmaker do you admire and why?
Fernandez: "Denis Villeneuve. I just think he's a great director that overcomes any problem and on the other hand, I love the scripts he chooses to direct. He's awesome!"
iFilmFestival: What film have you recently seen that you have admired in one way or another?
Fernandez: "Jeremy Saulnier's 'Blue Ruin'. I know it´s from 2013, but I have just seen it. This movie is very well directed and accomplishes the tension at all times. It´s was made with 420,000US and it feels worth a hell of a lot more than that! It better than most of the big studio movies I've seen."
Thank you Jimmy for answering our questions!
Visit Jimmy Fernandez' website here.
Interview by iFilmFestival on 18 February 2021
