Today we’d like to introduce you to Cesar Aranda.
Hi Cesar, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As with a lot of people who were born in the past 30 years, I was fortunate to grow up in an era where photography/motion pictures have been democratized and have become more accessible. Cameras, analog and digital, always fascinated me. I would spend so much time stealing my family’s camera and shoot whatever a 6-8 year old found fascinating. A little after, I discovered my family computer had a pre-installed program called Windows Movie Maker, and I would spend hours on it editing footage I had shot. Thankfully, it was very self-intuitive, and through many errors, I was able to teach myself the foundation of video editing. This foundation brought me much good and served me very well going into my media classes in HS and later even with my film classes at The University of North Texas.
The main interest has always been in writing/directing narrative filmmaking, but through the years I’ve branched into production design, cinematography, music videos, and documentaries.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with a multitude of other artistic mediums, the road is never smooth.
Towards the end of my college career, and a bit after, funding projects became the issue. What they say is true; financial restrictions can bring out more creativity, but these restrictions can also be tremendously stressful. Obviously, nobody is going to throw money at you for your project if you don’t have a portfolio that proves your capabilities. Thankfully, though, with each finished project, more and more people start to believe in you, and sometimes they’re even gracious enough to help you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I carry various titles in film production and those vary from project to project so I just like to call myself a filmmaker since it encapsulates the entire process. I’m most proud of a proof of concept short film that I shot back in February of 2025 since its the biggest project I’ve worked on, it’s the most hats I’ve worn simultaneously, and it was all self-funded. We are very close to beginning festival submissions in an attempt to get more eyes on the project and to further fund the feature film.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
It might be my naive way of thinking but I think it’s all about taking risks when it comes to chasing something you’re passionate about. In my case, it’s precisely those risks that light a fire under my ass to keep my engine going.
I’d like to think that with most of my latter projects, I’ve taken big risks. Whether that be putting a lot of your hard-earned money into the process or shooting on locations without legal permits, they’ve all ultimately paid off and I have no regrets thus far. That may change later into my life though haha.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chimpacres.myportfolio.com/work
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caersaanrda/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cesaraaranda711/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cesaraaranda
Image Credits
Brandon Johnson
Adrian Trent
Thomas Blanks
