Richie Duque-Henao is a filmmaker who studied at Boston University, but has since returned to and is currently based in New York. Raised on Long Island, he spent much of his time skateboarding and experiencing the world around him with friends, and it is this aspect of his childhood he often looks to for inspiration. Richie is currently working on some short films, as well as with his own production company, oneonefive productions, to produce a music video for the Colombian music artists, Duina Del Mar and Cabas.
Olivia Sztanga: Can you pinpoint the exact moment at which you realized you wanted to work in film? If so, describe that moment.
Richie Duque-Henao: The exact moment was definitely when I was applying for college senior year. I had done some fun, little movies in middle school with friends… stuff for school projects, stuff on VHS where editing was basically stopping and playing on a VCR. Once, my friend’s grandpa even came up in the background of our film because we filmed over a home movie. And during high school, I had a media class where I was always coming up with ideas and directing all my friends, but I never thought of it as anything until the moment I started applying for college. I kinda realized I didn’t want to go to college, and although I had done pretty well academically, I didn’t want to do anything academic. I hit some weird, existential wall in my life where I just wanted to do something fun and something real. I wanted to create. So I decided right there, if I was 100 percent honest with myself, it was film. I knew I had to go all the way with this and never look back.
OS: What do you consider to be the greatest accomplishment of your career thus far?
RDH: It would definitely have to be the last project I just finished. It’s 35 minutes long and before that, I had only done really short, five minute stuff with no real acting. My main thing is to do narrative features, and school wasn’t satisfying my need to create. I had this really ambitious project I wanted to take on and no one at school really thought I could fit it into my class schedule. I was discouraged and told nonstop that I would fail and that I wasn’t ready as a filmmaker… but to me that was the point: going to school, jumping into something you’re not ready for, not being afraid to fail, and if you do, just stepping back from it and saying, “f***, I just learned so much from that.” So I tackled the project on my own with money I saved up. I directed, co-wrote, produced, did most of the cinematography, edited, and self-financed it. The weird thing is, it’s my biggest accomplishment, yet I haven’t submitted it to festivals or really shown anyone. I don’t see it going on to win many awards or anything, but it taught me more than all of film school. It taught me what goes into making a film logistically and artistically, it taught me about my identity and style as a filmmaker, it made me realize what I needed to focus on, it made me really self-aware about my life and why I focus on certain themes. I’m happy I didn’t listen to my professors and risked failing.
OS: What are some of your other accomplishments? What kind of projects have you completed?
RDH: I finished another zero-budget, 16 minutes film. Then there are two music videos I co-directed with a friend from Boston this summer, some promotional stuff, and now I’m here I’m here in Miami. I’ve also been to Cannes Film Festival twice already: once interning with a talent agency, William Morris Endeavor, and a second time as a program coordinator. Having the experience of being at the world’s largest film festival has really opened my eyes. It made the “unreal” “real” for me, and then it also gave me an incredible sort of perspective on everything, even some stuff about the industry I hate.
OS: What are the things you hate about the industry?
RDH: Oh god, I don’t know. It’s like any industry… how political and bureaucratic things can be. I saw a lot of things that rubbed me in the wrong way, like a lot of people go into film for fame or money or power. I mean film is business to many, but to me, film is something really sacred. Film helps me cope with things and I almost felt like I was seeing this holy thing just completely violated. People who aren’t even in film come to Cannes to party on yachts and sadly, you see a lot of men who want to feel like they’re in power and they use girls like accessories, like having an attractive girl on your arm means you’re important, and I hate that. Now after saying all of that, I would also see incredible, encouraging things, like Ryan Coogler, a 26-year-old filmmaker who won Sundance and got his film in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. I bumped into him one night, just hanging with his mom and fiancée. He’s one of the biggest up-and-coming directors, and his humility and connection to his family was really inspiring and refreshing. Cannes is an experience I want to be a part of every year, and I think if you don’t like something, you should be one of the ones trying to flip it on its head, not running away from it.
OS: So right now I know you are in Miami filming a music video and my brother also mentioned that you are working on a feature length script. Can you tell me more about your current projects?
RDH: So this music video is for Duina Del Mar, who is a pretty big, rising Colombian musician, and she just did a duet with Cabas, another big Colombian musician. It was a very fun, free, and creative environment with both of them. We were very spontaneous regarding what we were capturing for the video. The video is more about the cinematography and the chemistry the two artists have for each other. I’m also in pre-production for a short film. It’s a magic realist film that deals with being a first generation Colombian-American, and the feature length I’ve been developing with my friend, Chris, is what I’ve been most excited about. It’s an exploration of male adolescence, a story more rooted in rhythms than plot. It follows three friends around my hometown on Long Island, Lindenhurst, during one night. It’s incredibly personal and deals with a lot of our feelings about childhood, of being lost as a kid and not understanding the world around you. I’m also really excited because the three friends are on bikes during most of the film and it calls for “skateboarding” cinematography, and I’ve always loved skateboarding and skateboarding films.
OS: I feel like this is an appropriate place to ask where do you draw your inspiration from? It sounds like a lot comes from your culture and your childhood on Long Island.
RDH: Yeah, I think that’s basically where it comes from. I’m very interested in stories of childhood and adolescence, and people who are trying to run away from adulthood or trying to find their identity. People who are lost. I try to be honest with myself and see where I naturally go and I usually go to those places. Different sounds of the world also interest me, especially in this one film. Like the feeling of the wind on an October night, or the hums of a generator near some industrial plant mixed with crickets when you’re alone at night and decide to walk around town… that stuff really inspires me. And obviously, other filmmakers and creative people inspire me. John Cassavetes is one of my biggest heroes, just because of how courageous he was in going against all conventions and truly doing what he thought was right in film.
OS: Last question: What advice would you give to a young, aspiring filmmaker?
RDH: If you’re a film major, supplement your education nonstop with everything you can: read books, read articles on film, read essays on film. Watch classic films, experimental films, indie films, international films… Eat up and consume different directors and different styles. Learn it all, but learn it all with caution, because people are gonna tell you, “this is the right way to do it” or “the best way to do it,” and you always have to be careful with that. Go out and start creating things, make little tiny shorts, collaborate with people. Also, really try to find yourself, and find what you need to say, what your style and identity is, or even better, if you can’t find yourself, understand why you’re lost, and that’s the best time to make a movie and find yourself. I don’t know… that’s basically it. Being a filmmaker is hard, and people think that those who are successful come out of nowhere but I’ll guarantee you all those dudes took years and years to develop their style and worked hard for a long time before they rose “out of nowhere.” If you love it enough, all that struggle should be worth it.
Sink: Robbing Mela’s (Teaser) from Richie Duque-Henao on Vimeo.
