In my rebellious teenage mind, I wanted to provoke thinking and challenge the status quo: Patricia Chica

Patricia Chica is a Canadian/Salvadorian talented writer, director, and producer of several films in English, French, and Spanish with a unique voice and qualifies for a subsidy from both countries.

Asha Bajaj, Editorial Director of Canadian-Media catches up with Patricia Chica through an e-mail interview discusses Patricia’s unique vision visible in all her work.

Patricia Chica. Image credit: @GeovannySolis_GOODy

Excerpts:

1. You directed your first video at age 16 while still in High School? What motivated you to choose the film line?

I’ve always known that I would work in the entertainment industry, film, and television in particular since I was a kid. When I was in high school, as part of my English class assignment, I decided to do a video instead of a written essay like everyone and this was marked as a skill I would go on to develop further in the future.

2. Can you give a brief description of your work for eight years as a casting director with your company ChicArt Productions, before you were known as a director-producer?

I started my professional career as a casting director at the age of 16 and when I was 18, I founded ChicArt Productions as a small one-person business and within a few years, it was transformed into a sustainable and successful casting agency with an office at Mel’s Studios in Montreal and 6 full-time employees.

Patricia Chica filming as a teenager

During those years, I conducted over 2000 auditions alongside veteran directors and seasoned actors for dozens of projects ranging from feature films, television series, commercials, and music videos, for Canadian, American, and French productions. Those formative years led to the actor’s director and coach that I have become today. The distinguishing feature of my casting approach, I was told, was giving opportunities to diverse actors: people of color, LGBTQ+, underground-looking people, and newcomers. I was constantly on the lookout for novelty, originality, diversity, and inclusion in an era when those buzz words were not even part of the…