An Interview With Mariano De Luca:An Inspiring New-Age Storyteller


Hello Mariano De Luca! Could you tell us a bit about yourself? Give us a brief introduction!

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, now Los Angeles, based. I started in the filmmaking industry from the bottom of the Lighting department and made my way thru the Camera department as well, till I became a Director of Photography. In my journey, I had the pleasure to work with a lot of amazing filmmakers and learn from them. To name a few, I worked with cinematographers like Darius Kondji, Robert Elswit, and Paul Cameron. I started working mostly in commercials and branded content, but I really enjoy every aspect of filmmaking and nowadays I found myself working mostly in Narrative and Documentary content.

Where are you located?

Los Angeles, CA

Mariano De Luca filmmaker interview

What is a quote that summarizes everything you’re about as a filmmaker?

“Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Mariano De Luca filmmaker interview

What inspired you to start creating films?

I love music, I’m a guitar player and always wanted to write music for films, but it was my first Cinematography class in Film School that changed everything. In that class, we learn to develop film, and seeing in front of me how the magic happens, was absolutely beautiful. After that, I signed up in every single short film that we made in Film School to shoot it and be the Director of Photography.

Mariano De Luca filmmaker interview

Who most inspires/influences you currently and why?

I don’t know if have a “Who”, I try to be permeable to everything. I learned that dealing with Art means, one should be permeable enough to everything that is happening in your surroundings, so you can react to that and incorporate it somehow into your art. I love Still photography and Painting, so going to Museums is a go-to when it comes to finding inspiration. But also going to the movies and watching movies, I try to go to the movies at least 3 times a week.

Mariano De Luca filmmaker interview

What is your favorite film of all time?

Apocalypse Now

Mariano De Luca filmmaker interview

What is your favorite film genre and why?

I don’t have a favorite genre, I believe movies should make something on you and if that magic happens it doesn’t matter the genre, it’s all about connection. There is something amazing that happens when you remember a movie no matter how much time it passed since the last time you watched it. That means it left something within you… even if you hated it!

As a creator, what do you find to be the thing that most drives you?

Human Nature. I like to try and give the audience something to think about, or something that sticks with them from the visual point of view. So being open to learning, discussing, exchange with others is absolutely necessary to connect at some level with the audience.

What is your absolute dream in life?

I live out of dreams, I make movies, so I don’t think there is just one, there are plenty of them in me and hopefully, they keep coming!

What work do you take the most pride in at this point in your career?

I have the pleasure to have worked on a lot of different projects, I won awards for a couple of Narrative pieces and that felt amazing, but I’ve done a series of Episodes for VICE about Sex Education which were super interesting and hopefully will help a lot of parents and children to understand how important is to talk and to be open to chat about it.

Mariano De Luca filmmaker interview

What has been the most challenging project you’ve been a part of?

I was in a Feature Film, that got nearly canceled because of COVID and suddenly I had to shoot half of it with nearly half of the crew because the other half was quarantining. Luckily for us, everyone ended up being safe with no major issues for anyone, but the pandemic really changed the way of the industry today.

What was the most valuable single lesson you learned in completing that project?

Like my quote: Fall down 7 times, Stand up 8… always keep pushing, and never lose faith in you or what you can achieve.

Mariano De Luca filmmaker interview

What has been the most fun thing you’ve done in your career so far?

Luckily for me, I’ve done a lot of fun things, but maybe a couple of them range from walking inside a glacier for 10 miles until you get to a natural lake, to flying in a Helicopter over 1000 people recreating a period medieval fight for a commercial.

Who is one person that you hope to work with and why?

One of my dreams is to work with Martin Scorsese, I’m a huge fan of all his work.

Is there anyone in particular that you’d like to thank and/or shout out in this interview?

Always thankful to my family, which is the support of my journey in the Film Industry, and everyone else that contributed to my development as an Artist. Fellow Cinematographers, Directors, and my mentor Fernando Arguelles, ASC.

Thank you so much for being a part of The Film Festival Network Community, Mariano! We can’t wait to see what you do next.

 


Keep up with Mariano and all his incredible work to come!