This is one of the keys to success that Carla González Vargas, President of Gato Grande, gave us in the most recent edition of “WAWA Inspiring Minds”, a monthly event that reunites members from around the world so we can hear stories from professionals that work in the audiovisual industry.
The most recent guest for “WAWA Inspiring Minds” was Carla González Vargas, founder and Director of Gato Grande, a joint venture with the prestigious American studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and who represents today a reference to streaming productions since she was the creator of “Luis Miguel, la serie.”
González, besides being somebody with great relevance in Latin America Cinema, she has been nominated by Forbes Magazine as one of the 100 most powerful women in Mexico for two consecutive years.
In the event, hosted by Vanessa Velásquez, WAWA’s member of the board, and María Eugenia Muci, Director of the Production Committee, the executive told us what it means to have been included in this important list.
“When I was looking for an opportunity, there were moments of discouragement and doubt, but there were people on the way who helped me and opened doors for me. This generates a moral debt with the universe to become a person who creates opportunities for others.”
She also spoke about her career path that took her from being a cinema journalist to become the head of one of the most important companies in the audiovisual world today.
“I did cultural journalism, cinematic journalism and then I became a film reviewer. I wrote a book and when I moved to Los Angeles, I realized it was better to be a proactive person, that it was better to do things yourself instead of sitting in front of a desk and criticizing another person´s work.
I started studying scriptwriting and when I saw there was an excess of scripts, I thought about directing them instead, and it made me realize that if I wanted to be successful independently, I should be a professional with integrity.”
She developed her first documentary, “Alivio”, where she was the director and the scriptwriter.
“I’d never directed, and I was afraid, but I did it, and I wasn’t looking for anything in return or a profit but to raise awareness. So, I felt fortunate to make a project where I didn’t have that pressure.
I made it to benefit a foundation that supports women studying to become nurses and I realized there was a lot of domestic violence. They were sacrificing themselves, didn’t have good salaries, but they had emotional rewards that healed them from domestic violence.
We wanted to explore how healing others can heal oneself.”
BIOSERIES: AN OVEREXPOSED GENRE
Among the projects she has in mind, she discards the bioseries, which she has received various offers, but none of them have been an interesting proposition.
“It has to be a combination of good variables to achieve an interesting project. Besides, it has been an overexposed genre, therefore we are looking for new ideas.”
“We are now looking for content in English with Latin representation for the American market, which is very competitive, with a lot of risk and not too many players in that field; and our profile with MGM has a chance.
That is what makes sense as a company and, to me personally, it represents a bridge for the Latin talent seeking to enter the American market but have not found a way.”
The executive made it clear that the key to success and inspiration is the capacity, the talent, and the humility to advance in such a competitive industry and she is pleased for the opportunity of being with so many women at this event organized by WAWA.
She said: “I love WAWA’s profile and I’m available to help them in whatever way I can.”
The “WAWA Inspiring Minds” conversations are done monthly and are addressed not only to audiences interested in how the industry operates, but also for the anecdotes given by our great guests: Teresa Fernández Valdéz, “Velvet” and “Las chicas del cable” Executive Producer; and Camilla Hammerich, “Borgen” Producer.
