one day in san diego

Meet the Ambassadors: Guillermo Briseno

Posted by Melissa Cabral on April 11, 2014 at 8:00am

Writerz Blok - A Short Documentary Film from Guillermo Briseno III on Vimeo.

Guillermo Briseno is another one of our One Day in San Diego ambassadors who will be out and filming on April 26th. An active member of the San Diego arts scene, Guillermo's video work is shot artistically and is simply gorgeous! Along with his film work, Guillermo is also an intern at the Museum of Photographic Art (MoPA). He also has and is still currently working alongside many organizations in San Diego that are thriving towards making a difference in San Diego.

Who are you and what is your profession?

My name is Guillermo Briseno III, 27 years of age, born and raised in San Diego, CA. My Profession is Video & Film Productions.

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?

I am of Hispanic background. Most of my family is from San Diego, but they now live all around the U.S. I have 2 brothers on my father's side and 1 sister on my mother's side. I lived all around San Diego, but grew up mainly in Chula Vista. I graduated in 2004 from Eastlake High School and attended City College to pursue curiosity and skill sets in photography, which later led to an itch to jump into video and film.

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

Ever since I was a kid, I can remember that film and photography always caught my attention, but I never did anything to pursue it, except "wonder" about it. What inspired me to become a filmmaker was seeing my father at the age of 42 take a photography class at a community college. He began to show the family a couple of photos he developed, and this is what ultimately led me to take a beginners photography class as well. From then on, I knew this was a passion of mine that was growing within me, so I trained and developed my eye for photography and continued to take photographs of anything and everything that was of interest to me. In 2011, I ventured out to Europe and backpacked through 15 different cities and 9 countries for 2 months. This is where I created my first amateur video, which was a compilation of both photo and video. At this point, I was fully convinced of my passion, and I knew that without a shadow of a doubt this was the path that was going to lead me into my dreams.

Who or what do you most admire?

I admire people who put others before themselves. I admire people that set an example for real hard work, and I admire people that can simply smile even when adversity has struck their life.

What do you love about San Diego?

I love the cultural diversity we have here. I love the great stories that are going to be uprooted from this city.

What do you fear most for San Diego?

That we will continue to believe that "True Freedom" is the right to do as we please, when in reality True Freedom is the power to do what is right!

What do you hope for San Diego in the next 20 years?

My hope for San Diego in the next 20 years is to see this city transform into a place where every business and education system sets a new standard for the youth of our future. A standard where it doesn't matter how "good" you are at something, but how effective you are at helping others in your community and striving to becoming a leader for your family and circles of influence. People who help people just because... should be praised over everything.

------------------------------------

Check out more of Guillermo's work: www.gb3photography.com

Sign up to participate on April 26th at OneDayinSanDiego.org

Have questions for Guillermo? Comment below.

Join the Conversation: What do you hope for San Diego in the next 20 years?

Meet the Ambassadors: Cy Kuckenbaker

Posted by Melissa Cabral on April 10, 2014 at 8:00am

Landings at San Diego Int Airport Nov 23, 2012 from Cy Kuckenbaker on Vimeo.

Cy Kuckenbaker is another on of our One Day in San Diego ambassadors. Recently, his "Landings at San Diego Int. Airport" video went viral, getting over 4 million views. He has traveled the world and produced some fantastic work showcasing the way people live in different places. He is currently working on a project called "the San Diego Studies" which, in a way, researches the way San Diegians live their lives. The most recent addition to this series is a composite of 4 minutes of San Diego traffic condensed and organized each car by color. It is an extremely interesting way to look at how we live here in San Diego. He also teaches at San Diego City College.

Who are you and what is your profession?
I'm a filmmaker, photographer and teacher. My film/video work is diverse in terms of genre but at the core of all of it is an ethnography impulse. I'm interested in large scale socio/political phenomenon and people.

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?
I grew up in Arizona, Central California, Texas and Alaska. I studied filmmaking first at Southwestern College then SDSU. After school I joined the Peace Corps and worked as a school teacher in Lithuania I did my graduate film studies at CalArts following Peace Corps. I went back to Lithuania as a Fulbrighter then worked in Baghdad for two years before returning to San Diego. I'm currently adjunct faculty at SD City College. While abroad I also spent months in Malawi, Africa and have a special interest in that society.

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
My father is a story teller and it's something I've always been interested in.

Who or what do you most admire?
Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Joseph Heller and Agnes Varda.

What do you love about San Diego?
I've called San Diego home for twenty years now. I love this town for all the obvious reasons, but San Diego is also puzzle for me. I'm intrigued that a place with such a simple outward identity hides so many secrets.

What do you fear most for San Diego?
I think that our city has an under developed self-narrative that caters to a unique complacence.

What do you hope for San Diego in the next 20 years?
I'd love to see the creative community develop a reputation such that claiming the city becomes an asset: Made in San Diego.

-----------------

Check out more of Cy's work: http://cysfilm.com/

Sign up to participate on April 26th at OneDayinSanDiego.org

Have questions for Cy? Comment below.

Join the Conversation: What are San Diego's best kept secrets?

Meet the Ambassadors: Angelina Sereno

Posted by Melissa Cabral on April 7, 2014 at 8:00am

Meet Angelina Sereno: One Day in San Diego Ambassador

Angelina Sereno is one of our One Day on Earth Ambassadors. After 12 years in branding and advertising, she decided to take the leap and tell the stories of inspirational people full-time. Her travel films are nothing short of breath-taking. Plus, she has a pretty great vision of where San Diego can go in the future. We are excited to have her on board!

Who are you and what is your profession?

My name is Angelina and I’m an Entrepreneur/Branding Expert/Web Designer turned Filmmaker. As my business grew and evolved, I quickly realized that to be an expert at any one thing, focus is required, so in 2013, I decided to make the switch to film full-time.

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?

I’ve lived in many places, including San Diego, New York, San Fransisco, England, and even Southeast Asia for a short time.

At the early age of 6 months old, my parents realized they were growing in different directions and decided to go their separate ways. My father took my sister and I to San Diego while my mother moved to India for a few years in search of greater purpose and meaning studying alongside her Guru, Osho.

Throughout the course of my life, my sister and I bounced back and forth between our parents respective homes, fortunately almost always moving together. We never stayed in one area or school long enough to get too comfortable which gave us a unique strength and ability to adapt quickly to new environments.

With my mother being a traveling gypsy/artist and my father being a successful dean of a university, I had both the influence of creativity and business in my life. It is through this blend of perspectives that I have found entrepreneurial success along with an immense amount of passion and love for what I do.

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

It is my mission to tell stories of people and organizations who are doing something to change the world. I believe film is the most engaging and dynamic art form and one that will allow for the widest distribution of important messages today.

Film has always been my passion and what I intended to study when I started at the Art Institute of CA in 1999, but there were no film programs at the time so I studied Advertising to get a base knowledge of all things related to media and arts. My skills in graphic design progressed quickly which lead me to a position at Euro Style Advertising for 6 years and eventually inspired me to open my own creative agency in 2006. With a focus on branding and web design, Skybox Creative grew to a team of 12 people and a beautiful office in the heart of Hillcrest.

I had all the trappings of material success, but in the back of my mind I wasn’t completely happy with the direction I had taken.

Then last year, I had a flash of clarity about my life and my purpose on this planet… Thanks to a short video I stumbled upon by the incredible Mr. Alan Watts, I asked myself the question: “If money were no object, what would I do with my life?” The answer came without a moment of hesitation: “I would travel the world and create meaningful film projects”. The good news is, there are plenty of ways to make money doing that… So I took all the steps required to make it a reality, including letting go of my staff, selling my furniture and taking off on a trip around the world. Now that I’m back, I’m fired up with passion and purpose as I dive into film full-time.

Who or what do you most admire?

I am inspired and motivated by stories of human greatness.

I admire people who are willing to take risks, to make the difficult choices and sacrifices to help others and make a positive impact in the world. I’m always curious about the “why” and the “how” behind these stories and intend on telling them in a way that inspires others towards purpose and action.

What do you love about San Diego?

What’s not to love? It’s one of the most amazing cities in the world (and I’ve seen quite a few places)!

We have the ocean, perfect weather, incredible people living healthy/conscious lifestyles, lots of hiking trails, delicious craft beer and we’re only 2 hours away from the desert and the mountains. We’re close to LA (which is great for filmmakers), Vegas, Mexico and more but without the heavy traffic or the chaos. To top it off, we have tons of cute neighborhoods all with their own unique vibe and style.

There is a wealth of opportunity but also nature and an overall laid back attitude. We have the best of everything… San Diego is where my heart lives!

What do you fear most for San Diego?

Although we’ve come a long way, we still have quite a ways to go in 2 key areas: Sustainability and Education.

There is still a lack of awareness or implementation of strategies for a more sustainable future, including: systems for recycling (on the streets and in public places), public transportation systems (to avoid excessive consumption of natural resources), the accessibility of local/organic produce, a balance between nature and development, the impact of over-consumption, etc.

The issue with education is not only about understanding our impact on the planet but also the education system in general. Traditional public schools teach students to sit still, be quiet, follow directions and think like the group while teaching many topics and theories that are completely irrelevant to success. As a result, we’ve created and continue to foster a general population that hasn’t developed their critical thinking and problem solving skills, is afraid to think outside the box and continues to perpetuate many of the problems we’ve created through this type of thinking. Instead, we need a system that teaches empowerment, personal accountability, authentic communication, compassion and creativity with regard to expression and problem solving.

What do you hope for San Diego in the next 20 years?

I hope for San Diego to be a city where 100% of businesses are designed with the greater good of humanity in mind. Whether it’s a non-profit or a for-profit business, it is my hope that “people over profits” is a concept that is fully embraced and prioritized. From poverty alleviation to environmental sustainability and re-invented education systems, we have to come together with compassion (aka love), patience and creativity to change the ways we live in order for us to survive and thrive for generations to come.

I also hope for San Diego to be a leader in the green movement through innovative problem solving, action and advocacy.

Check out more of Angelina's work: http://angelinasereno.com

Sign up to participate on April 26th at OneDayinSanDiego.org

Have questions for Angelina, comment below.

Join in the conversation: What do you hope for San Diego in the next 20 years?