Carlos Estrada on Success of ‘Raya and the Last Dragon,’ First Time Feeling Seen Onscreen and More | Raising Our Voices 2022 - video Dailymotion

Director Carlos Estrada spoke with The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet at The Hollywood Reporter’s Raising Our Voices event.

Transcript

00:00We are here at the Raising Our Voices luncheon, where it's all about representation and diversity.

00:07What do those words mean to you?

00:12It means so much. I mean, I'm a Mexican director who's made his home in the U.S.

00:21And I feel like we're entering a new era of media.

00:27And for my particular field, filmmaking, where representation matters more than ever,

00:34and where people are paying attention to voices that haven't been given much attention for a long, long time.

00:43So I'm just very happy to be a very, very, very small part of this movement

00:48and hoping that as time passes, people like me become less and less of outliers in this industry.

01:01I love that.

01:02What was the reception that you have received following Raya?

01:07And what does it mean to you?

01:09It's a beautiful movie that is very much inspired by the cultures of Southeast Asia.

01:18I've never seen an animated movie that hasn't been an animated movie that had explored these cultures.

01:23So being able to see how people have embraced it so warmly, to see these faces, to see these actors,

01:31it's been a real treat.

01:32For yourself, when was the first time you remember feeling seen on screen?

01:41That's a really complicated question for me, just because it hasn't happened very often.

01:47And I think that that's why we're doing what we're doing,

01:53to make sure that we create more opportunities for people who haven't had that moment,

01:58who hadn't felt like they've been accurately represented on a screen.

02:07So that's why we're here, and that's why I'm making movies,

02:11and that's why I choose to do what I do.

02:14Specifically today, representing Ghetto Film School,

02:17and supporting their incredible mission of making filmmaking

02:22more accessible to communities that normally don't think they have opportunities in filmmaking.

02:30And I've been involved with the organization for probably over 10 years.

02:36So I'm trying to celebrate them here today and support them in every way that I can.

02:42Love that. Thank you.

02:43Thank you very much.