Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Mbuthia.
Hi Alexandra, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Funnily enough I’ve always loved movies, but as young child had never imagined this is what I’d be doing. I remember forcing my friends – they loved it – to watch Wet Hot American Summer (2001) every Sunday after choir practice, as I’d point out new jokes and physical gags. I was pretty involved in theater throughout most of high school, as an ensemble character in almost 3 shows a year. I started to get involved more with tech and the production side later in high school and college, This, alongside church AV would become the foundation of my skills in this field. It wasn’t until college that I started to take film seriously as a career prospect. I had joined the Mass Communications department, still pretty lost directionally, when I learned of the video production track. This discovery of what a producer was, clicked and I knew that was what I was meant to be doing. In that time, I was enthralled to produce a handful of short narratives and music videos, as well as receiving a small grant to produce a documentary in Asheville, NC. It wouldn’t be until almost two years post grad that I would get my first real producing opportunity.
Immediately after school I hit the Production Assistant/Field Producer track pretty fast, almost too fast. Aside from the amazing mentorship of my screenwriting and directing professor, Anne Slatton, my small liberal arts school education didn’t exactly set me up with all the tools to be successful in a major city up against kids who graduated using quadruple the arsenal of gear and resources that I had access to. I was in way over my head, and then all of a sudden the film industry strikes hit and there was nothing. I pivoted completely back to food service, started writing and kept networking and working freebies for friends I had made. It wasn’t until almost a year later when I booked another job as a PA for the camera department on a vertical drama. I met a lot of friends and being a PA allowed me to get a deeper look into a department I knew almost nothing about. And then I thought to myself, how much better of a producer would I be if I actually had a clearer understanding of how all of these departments worked – their needs, what made them happy, made their days smoother. So I set out to PA in other departments, never turning down any kind of work, no matter how delineating it felt. I was determined to get an inside look while I had not much else really going on.
Around this time is when I was reached out to by a writer and director who was in need of a producer. This would end up being the project ‘Pink Isn’t Your Color (2024)’. With an offer of $200, which pretty much went right back into the project, no locations, almost no crew, and two weeks until the start of principal photography, I had my work cut out for me. All in all, the chaos, I found myself, at the eye of the storm and in my true element. Now a year later this project has had a great festival run, including Cannes World Film Festival and Atlanta Out On Film, with hopefully even more to come. I think this project marks my first producer job that I was really proud of what the team accomplished, and started to make people see me as a producer. Since then I have helped produced almost 10 short form and 2 feature narrative projects in the last year,. The highlight was my Writer and Director debut which I managed to film this December, Athenia, all in various stages of development. I became friends with one of my closest collaborator and confidants, Emma Husk, who has co-produced a handful of these projects with me, and I continue to learn more and more with each project I undertake.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been anything but smooth, but not any less rewarding. At the stage of filmmaking I reside in, there is almost no money in these projects. However, that’s not why I do it. Some of the major challenges has been keeping my head up when the account balances and the inner voices tell me that I need to make a career pivot and fast. What keeps bringing me back is the notion that if I were to quit, there’s no chance I’l get to share the stories that I find important. If I don’t give up, there’s still no guarantee, but I have a much better chance.
I’m also a total work horse. I try to live by a “work hard, play hard” mentality, but this kind of work means I’m always balancing early and late calls, meetings, longer days than most working folks, always juggling multiple projects and shoots at the same time, and always trying to handle each one with the same amount of care and diligence it deserves. Mental health and physical care are two things I see a lot of people, including myself, struggle with a lot in the film industry. Keeping myself surrounded by trusted, caring friends, doing physical activities, like running or going out dancing, and feeding my body, mind and soul with things that make it feel good are some of the things that bring me back when the work gets to be too much.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a producer, I think tend to operate at times like a band aid, coming into a project already in development and taking a fresh set of eyes to see what can be done to bring things to fruition. When I get the opportunity to be a part of production from conception, I treat it as though the shoot portion is only a midway point, as opposed to the finish line. I have a strong passion for post-producing, as many projects in the independent scene can sometimes end up in something I like to call “post-purgatory.” This means evaluating the means of production all the way through the edit process, festival distribution, as well as any other public relations or screening matters. With the small background in Marketing I acquired in school, these skills have proven most useful, because the crew put in so much work during the shoot days, I feel a responsibility to make sure it actually gets seen by the audience it’s for.
I tend to specialize in order of operations, but I also see myself as a creative. Like I mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything that I myself do not think I could do or at least learn. In that same air, I’m willing to do whatever my team needs to be successful, whether that’s burying myself in paperwork in the Production Office, taking out the trash, holding the boom pole or directing talent. I’ve sometimes called myself a jack of all trades, but I think it’s more of a desire to learn more and more each project and be the kind of leader people can trust because I at least kind of know what I’m talking about. On set, I’m known for pioneering a positive attitude on set and being able to seek out and jump in wherever there is a need.
I think another huge thing I have in my corner is my network and relationships with the people I work with. One of my favorite things about film, especially coming from a theatre background is the collaboration and community that comes with it. Building my team with people I not only know are amazing at their job, but I also trust and are fun to be around, is a huge backbone of the work I do.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I guess the main thing people in my professional field besides my close friends may not know about me is my theatre or musical background. This wouldn’t be a surprise to people from my youth who always saw me in choir, some musical, or performing at open mics at my local coffee shop. I even played bass in a band briefly in college. Since moving to Atlanta, I had put music to the side to focus on filmmaking. Recently I’ve picked back up and dusted off my old instruments and have primarily been playing for myself, but who knows! There could be a musical project in the future that interests me – if it’s the right project and the right time. Since I was 7, I have learned to play over ten instruments, including but not limited to piano, guitar, Ukulele, bass, electric and upright, banjo, and the hammer dulcimer.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex.mbuthia?igsh=MWNlcXlhMDBpZnFscg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1MBeSsYd1s/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@alexandrambuthia?si=f8iixeUhv5tO6Fw5
Image Credits
Lilliana Steeg
Michael Ingenito
Charity Mbuthia
