Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Zapico.
Hi Ruth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
How I started and how I got to where I am today? I feel like the question is so simple when asked, but so vague for the person that has to answer it. How did I get to start my own business, Zapico Studios, and slowly make everything work out and make sense? Truly, I don’t know. I could tell you it is a lot of trial and error, I could tell you it takes a community or I could tell you it takes lots of patience, but I don’t feel as if any of those really fully encapsulate my trajectory. My path has been hell in the sense of not really knowing where to turn my head and ask for help; it has been hell finding out how to navigate a million things that are the main components of a business. Even registering the business was a big process for me as English is my second language and second culture; therefore, many things regarding paperwork or taxes were extremely difficult and new to me. I’ve had to teach myself many things and not be very tied to certain ideas, specifically when starting I was struggling a lot to find a name and a logo. I felt really pressured to have the most perfect finalized branding and marketing components that were going to take the business very far, but it wasn’t until I was talking to Dad, a fellow CEO and business owner, who told me to do what feels right at the moment, not focus so much on the future sense, to leave everything with the option for change, and that things are good when they change because they have to evolve and grow as the dynamic of our environment, technology and society grows simultaneously. So back to your question, I started Zapico Studios with a lot of ambition and passion, and we got to where we are today with a lot of perseverance and dedication.
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?
It wasn’t the smoothest road I would say. It was full of sweat, exhaustion, disappointment and tears, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Sometimes the road is less curvy than others with being paved and not so rocky. I have never doubted where Zapico Studios was going to go or what it is capable of. However, the frustrations from the industry is what keeps me in doubt at times. It seems like it is all just turning into an industry that feeds entertainment to people, not as art, but very much as candy, to keep individuals mellowed down and quiet, while behind doors all kinds of fucked up shit is happening.
Nevertheless, my soul tells me to keep going and going and going even if sometimes you don’t know where you are going. Making art that very much relates with the audience and lets the audience feel seen and understood is what keeps me grounded. It serves as a constant reminder of the truth about every experience, every feeling, and the world around me. I am very proud of myself for always just doing whatever I want to do creatively. I have never had a project that I turned down or that I didn’t say “How can we make this work?”. In reality I truly believe that artists are problem solvers with lots of taste. I am very proud of myself as well for always surrounding myself with people that are always on the sidelines cheering and believing in me, such as my partner because she allows me to continue pushing Zapico Studios forward and to create media and entertainment.
Zapico Studios is a FLINTA production company and one of the main struggles at times is not having that community of women and non-binary individuals to engage, collaborate, and create the rules ourselves in a way. But that is very much at the same time what keeps me going; being able to create that community and bring closer amazing individuals that are able to create and collaborate with us gets my soul fulfilled.
As you know, we’re big fans of Zapico Studios. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Zapico Studios as I mentioned before is mainly a FLINTA creative Entertainment production company run by myself, Ruth Zapico, where we are trying to build a community where everyone has a space of visibility in the film industry, in the USA, and within Europe.
Zapico Studios not only strives for the creation of more inclusive women & queer spaces for artists, but also the diversity of the art that is being produced.
Zapico Studios has on the works The Volume of Something from Souls Inbox, a podcast that shares not only my personal experiences, but also stories that individuals have shared with us through the following link – https://soulsinbox.zapicostudios.com. It is open and we are still receiving stories for new episodes.
I work as a Director and Gaffer for many other independent projects, studios, etc.
I just got back from Europe where we were expanding Zapico Studios. We successfully shot a short film with a lovely crew of women called Hogaza and a documentary in Spain. For the upcoming year we have quite a few projects on either the writing table or pre-production stages. We will be working on a feature film, a mini series, an animation and a short film. We are very excited to be working with a lot of diverse artists from all fields that bring various perspectives and insight into our art.
Zapico Studios is looking for individuals to expand our community, we are looking for writers with stories to create, executive producers to believe in the projects, and distributors/PR individuals to locate the works in the market.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I go back and forth trying to find what success means to me and what success would be for Zapico Studios, and up to this day I don’t really know what to say. I know we definitely feel successful when people choose ZS to work on their projects and bring their vision alive. It is a lovely feeling when people reach out because they want to work with us or when actors ask us for help building their reels. I feel success when I ask my people to come by for support and everyone is pulling up because they believe in me, the team, ZS, and the overall success of the project.
Nevertheless, I do battle internally with this question on almost a daily basis as I am not sure what enough is to me. I am not sure what I am trying to reach. It seems at times as if I am trying to reach for something. I experience this when another project comes and before it is even over I am already looking for the next without giving myself the opportunity to enjoy the one we worked our asses off to perfect. There is a very typical quote for those in the film industry and it says, “Don’t get too attached to the baby (the project)”. At times I wish I was more attached to reflect on how proud I am of myself and my committed team for what we accomplish. I never allow myself to have that space and I am not sure why – I should probably work on it. Again, I am not sure how to define success, but lately I feel as if the idea of it gets closer and closer to not being so overly critical with myself.
Un beso,
Chao <3
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zapicostudios.com
- Instagram: @zapicostudios
Image Credits
Photographer: Tina Somphone https://www.tinasnapsatl.com Creative Director: Ruth Zapico
