People of Georgian: Award-winning Peruvian filmmaker finds inspiration in diversity

People of Georgian: Meet Paul Arredondo Rodriguez

I have great memories in Peru making my first short films with my cheap camera.

We needed to shoot very early in the morning, so I had to wake up my high-school friends and convince them to come with me at 3 a.m. to the forest to work on my films.

At that time, phones weren’t too popular so I didn’t have one. I was knocking on their doors or whistling. Whistling was like a code to convince them to come and join me.

I also had to sneak out at night to do some filmmaking without my parents noticing I wasn’t home.

That process was amazing; we were laughing and playing, and I got pretty good results from my first videos.

The process of filming is a lot of fun.

I don’t have a big budget. I pay for the videos out of my own pocket, so I’m very cheap. I find friends who want to help me with filming.

Nobody’s getting paid, not even me, so it’s more like having a fun time.
At the end when they see the results, they are so happy. They say, “We made this?!” Yes! They feel famous for a little bit.

I enjoy working with people.

What I discovered – and this happened in my experience at Georgian – is that the more diverse that your group is, the better it is for you. Why? You get different perspectives on the same topic and that makes your product richer in ideas.

‘My experience at Georgian is a huge part of my life’

At Georgian, I was a student and also became the lead peer mentor in the First Year Experience office. I think that’s one of my biggest achievements in life.

That’s where I learned about diversity. I’m not just talking about racial diversity, but all types.

I was able to help make spaces for students to be creative, and I got an award from the college for inspiring leadership through building collaborative partnerships in efforts to enhance the student experience. It was one of my happiest moments.

My experience at Georgian is a huge part of my life.

Paul Arredondo Rodriguez, alumnus of Georgian’s former Digital Video program (Class of 2018) and current Support Clerk with the college’s University Partnership Centre.

Paul is also a filmmaker, whose short film, Break, won two awards at the Barrie Film Festival this fall. Follow him on YouTube and Instagram.