We had the good fortune of connecting with Alicia Nava and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alicia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Well, I felt it was essential! I have always wanted to be apart of the making movies and growing up the lack of people who look like me in front and behind the camera was terrifying. As Lily Tomlin quoted, “I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was that somebody.”. It is my goal to create safe spaces on screen for all ladies and make sure that all ladies are able to see themselves represented in film the same way that men have had the opportunity for years.  It’s time for women to write, star in , and produce diverse and authentic stories. Since im so early in the filmmaking process im just “doing it”. I am constantly writing and if I want to film it, well I schedule off work assemble a crew and we get to work. I will say it was very difficult at first because you are your worst critic, but I felt I needed to just do it! I did it and with every new project I gain such a level of confidence in my work.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The most important factor in my story telling is REPRESENTATION. Media and movies are powerful! I mean the average person spends around 7 1/2hrs a day looking at digital media. We as a society need to understand how much it effects an audience when you’re not represented. It’s no secret the how overwhelming and unfair societal pressures on young women are— it’s more than unfair it’s suffocating. This idea that you need to look, act, and speak a certain way to just be respected or feel comfortable is absolutely wrong. It is our job now in 2020 to empower and encourage women and people of color to write their own stories. We need to see all women on screen. Not this “idea” of a woman that has been portrayed in the media for years. I’ve started a “meetup” to celebrate women! I basically invite women to come be apart of a photoshoot. I just want to create a space where women can just feel empowered and leave feeling like they can run the world. It’s a really young concept and it’s small, but I really think I’m on to something. I call it “Somebodies not Somebody’s” the idea that everyone of us is in charge and has a FULL potential to be whoever we want. I want to say all of my projects come from a real place. Maybe not directly but something in my life that I’ve been through has inspired me, whether it’s a character, the plot or a line of dialogue. In a world of so many artist it’s competitive but I believe everyone story is what sets them apart. This has been and will continue to be a long journey, and my faith is incredibly important to me. It centers and keeps me balanced. With all the uncertainty of making “ movies” and performing it can absolutely make me a nervous wreck. I suffer from intense anxiety and I can get incredibly overwhelmed but it’s just trusting in God to guide my steps. In the end all I gotta do is my best and trust Him.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite place in Dallas is definitely the Dallas Arboretum, I could spend all day there and at night I’d head over to Deep Ellum for some art, music and drinks!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I was raised by a single mom and that being said I have incredibly close relationships with my mother, grandma and my two aunts. I grew up having examples of strong, independent and vastly different women. My upbringing is what inspires my work the most, everything I write comes from a real place and I give all the credit to the ladies in my family.

Instagram: Instagram.com/alicianava.cm
Other: https://linktr.ee/TheAliciaNava