We recently had the chance to connect with Tony Rivas and have shared our conversation below.
Tony, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
My most recent film, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOUR TEETH?, screened last October at a film festival in Salt Lake City. Being present to watch the audience’s reaction was a very proud moment. There was a gamut of emotions: some people danced in the aisles, others covered their eyes during the gory parts, and there was constant laughter at the jokes. It was very affirming.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am an audiovisual artist, writer, and filmmaker with an affinity for creativity and creative people. I am the co-owner of Utah-based production company Rivas & Reza Productions, which I run alongside the extremely talented photographer and producer Sharon Reza. Currently, we are in the midst of finishing a new short film—a still-untitled documentary—and are in the initial stages of producing our next narrative short.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I have always unapologetically been myself. I have never paid much attention to what the world wants me to be. When I was younger I would essentially do what I do now: imagine, research, create. Whether the medium was writing, drawing, acting, music, or something else, conceiving something and putting it into action is at the core of who I am.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
The darkest times provide the contours of resilience. Grief and loss are natural parts of life, as are feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty; they are always recurring and will never completely disappear. Sometimes suffering inspires us to turn inwards, isolate ourselves, and engage in self-destructive behaviors. I would not be able to delineate this pathway if I were not familiar with it. However, this is why it is important to build community and surround oneself with mutually supportive and inspiring people. I like to think I’ve done pretty well in that department throughout my life. In short, suffering afforded me the perseverance required to push through the monotony and arduousness and realize what and who truly matters to me.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I used to put a lot of trust in what I thought was my own sense of truth, the “trust your gut” mentality. Fortunately, my path led me to discourses that challenged the preconceived notions of certainty that had been thrust upon me by society—that is, from advertisers, educators, state and social apparatuses, or even friends and family. Conceiving of awareness as a sort of sieve that our ultimately alien reality gets tangled in or escapes entirely enabled me to identify points of ideological interpellation as well as how emotions (my own or those of others) could be obfuscating perception. It’s not something I think we can ever entirely escape, but a general awareness of it provides a perspective where additional insight can be achieved.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Isn’t that the nature of desire? We’re propelled to the thing we think we want, we get that thing, then desire fixates on something else. A tale as old as time. Corporations everywhere have certainly capitalized on it. This predicament is one of the reasons I am motivated to create. I think artists in general occupy a unique position in this equation, especially in this late capitalist era, because the nature of our humanity is at stake. Are we the “strange machines” that Pasolini lamented, or is there room for emancipation? I don’t know the answer to that question.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tonyjrivas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynesthete/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyjrivas
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tonyjrivas
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tonyjrivas
- Other: https://www.rivasxreza.com/
Image Credits
Sharon Reza, Sofia Guadarrama
