“Feelings of abandonment came to me, but now that I’m an adult, I understand everything. My mother had to work,” she explains. (Nicole Mejia)
At the age of 25, Nicole Mejia made a decision that would change her life. Living in Seattle, her artistic inclinations and love for writing led her to pack her car with belongings and head to Los Angeles in pursuit of a dream that has not disappointed her so far.
“That’s pretty much how it happened. I decided that if I wanted to pursue my dreams, I had to move to the entertainment capital,” says Nicole, of Honduran origin but born in Florida.
This Latina filmmaker has directed several films at the age of 35, written others, and acted and produced even more. “I believe in God, and I believe He has a plan for me. I always give credit to God,” she confidently states, explaining her achievements.
During the phone interview this morning, Nicole sounded as if she had just awakened from a long dream. She laughs when I mention it. “I spent the whole night writing a script that I have to submit. I slept very little,” she replies, laughing.
Listening to her speak so casually about the process of “making films” leaves us surprised. “I have to confess, the thing is, I have very naive confidence, I have a delusional confidence,” she says, laughing, as she often does during the interview. “Now that I have what I have to do, I have no choice but to do it.”
“I believe in God, and I believe He has a plan for me. I always give credit to God,” she confidently states, explaining her achievements.
Nicole was born in Florida; her parents were living in Honduras but wanted her to be born in the United States. After her birth, they returned to their home country. They stayed there until she was six years old, after which her parents divorced. Her mother emigrated to Alaska, and her father to New York.
She stayed with her mother in Alaska and returned to Honduras at the age of nine to continue her studies. Again, at the age of 14, she reunited with her mother.
“This experience can be very good for telling stories about my experiences, but it was very difficult to form an identity. I didn’t know who I was; there was a lot of confusion. Also, in Seattle, I suffered a lot of bullying. There weren’t many Latinos, only Asians and whites. For a while, I joined gangs, but I did it to identify with something. In reality, I never became part of their life. I was very good in school,” she says.
During the periods she spent in Honduras, she worked in a very famous chain store owned by her relatives. There, she learned the basics of business. Later, she helped her mother in a construction business she had started. Now she says that it helped her understand the process of producing a film. Many things had a lot of similarities.
“I thought I was going to be a businesswoman,” she says, laughing.
I was awarded the AFI @audi fellowship directing scholarship and am not only grateful but excited to embark on this new journey of powerful storytelling. The award was given to me at the one and only Denzel Washington’s lifetime achievement ceremony and while I was surrounded by some of the most talented artists on earth I couldn’t help but feel humbled and inspired to work harder than ever in order to achieve my goals. (Nicole Mejia)
Constant migration had made her very introverted. She loved to read, and her mother enrolled her in theater classes, where, she bursts into laughter, she played the silent elf.
“Feelings of abandonment came to me, but now that I’m an adult, I understand everything. My mother had to work,” she explains.
She never thought she would enter the world of cinema. As a child, she loved to dream up stories, but her family brought her back to reality, telling her to forget about it.
“I saw it as normal; I hadn’t understood what the world of cinema really meant. I did it when I was 28 or 29 years old. I saw myself more as a writer,” she adds.
An incident profoundly impacted her; she experienced a sexual assault that left her in pain and depression.
“It tore apart my life; I thought I had no purpose to live,” she recalls. She remained in that state for several years; her mother had remarried, and this man commented that Nicole had artistic talent and could enroll in BFA at Cornish College of the Arts, where she graduated.
There, she had to write an essay to be admitted, and she recounted a part of her experience with sexual abuse, which later became one of her first projects, “My Life Stopped at 15.”
“I have to confess, the thing is, I have very naive confidence, I have a delusional confidence,” Nicole Mejia says, laughing.
“It wasn’t easy; I didn’t speak, I didn’t relate to anyone. If someone approached me, my body rejected it. I still suffered from that trauma. A teacher helped me; she shared that these kinds of experiences can be left in the past,” she comments.
After college, she was determined to migrate to Los Angeles. She didn’t know anyone, had a vague idea of what she was going to do, and rented a room through Craigslist. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, she started working as a waitress.
“I was very shy, but I told my clients about all of my projects. They became my interlocutors. I was 25, didn’t know anyone, found a Honduran restaurant I went to every day; the lady there looked like my grandmother. I felt protected,” she says.
The restaurant managers gave her the worst tables, thinking the customers wouldn’t leave a good enough tip, unaware of the surprise that laid at one of those tables she served.
“Once, a man in his 70s was sitting there and heard me talk about my plans. He introduced himself, told me he now lived in Seattle, which was another coincidence. He had worked as a producer years ago and still had connections in the industry,” she says.
He recommended that she apply to the AFI program, for which she had to produce two short films. A Guatemalan friend joined the project, and they both helped each other produce the two short films. They recorded them with an iPhone, a (huge) team of two people, she smiles again.
“I have always considered myself a director more than an actress. I function based on images; I visualize things.”
To their surprise, both were admitted to this two-year program. Although it took place during much of the pandemic, they had access to various renowned directors. As they wanted practical experience, she, along with a group from the program, ventured to produce her first feature film, ‘A Place in the Field,’ which was picked up for theatrical distribution by Lionsgate and Grindstone in 2023.
“Then came ‘My Life Stopped at 15.’ I already felt capable of making films. I have always considered myself a director more than an actress. I function based on images; I visualize things. After making ‘A Place…,’ everything else seemed super easy to me,” she adds.
Later, she obtained different grants and support for other productions. At this moment, Nicole considers herself in a transformation stage. Besides the impact her projects have on the community, she treats them as a business, with well-defined goals and plans.
“My purpose as a person and filmmaker is to be the one who picks up the phone, saves lives through my stories. I have a plan, I have a voice, I’m going to do it,” she says.
“I think that’s a problem when we approach Hollywood. It’s not about presenting ourselves as a film director, actress, or screenwriter. We have to explain what and how we want to carry out this project. For them, it’s a business,” she says.
“There are people who talk and people who do, that’s what I’ve learned. What I try to do is tell a story that matters and impacts people,” she adds.
At the age of 25, Nicole had suicidal impulses and went through a tough time. She searched all suicide prevention organizations for support, but no one answered her calls.
“After that experience, my purpose as a person and filmmaker is to be the one who picks up the phone, saves lives through my stories. I have a plan, I have a voice, I’m going to do it,” she says.
Nicole continues with therapy, which helps her in defining the next steps. She is taking therapy with horses, has learned a lot from them, knowing that the horse reacts in the same way as the person riding it. Also, she has learned to meditate from them.
“I’m still growing, looking for my place in this world. I like where I am; I have plans to film in Honduras and Mexico. I’m a person who dreams a lot. I don’t sleep much, in two-hour intervals, I don’t know why. But when I wake up, I jot down all my dreams; they are ideas, stories that can come true,” she concludes.
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