NOELIA
“ON YOUR RADAR” IS A WEEKLY GRAD FILM NEWS SEGMENT THAT FEATURES A STUDENT PICKED AT RANDOM.
NOELIA MUINO IS CURRENTLY A 3RD YEAR STUDENT AT GRAD FILM. WE ASKED HER A FEW QUESTIONS, AND HERE’S WHAT SHE HAD TO SAY:
1. Where do you consider home and what is it like there?
This is an easy one. My home is in Galicia, the region in the north west of Spain where I grew up. Galician people, we are known for being migrants and having a lot of nostalgia for our land, so I guess I confirm that saying on us. In my homeland, it rains all year long, something I don’t miss at all, and the rural life is still very prevalent over there. You can try some of the best food in Spain over there, so there is no way a Galician will spend Christmas far from home, and we also have an insane amount of parties during the summer. People say, when you arrive at Galicia, you feel like you got stuck in time, which is quite charming. But also it means our people are left behind when it comes to having access to a good education and resources.
But I must say, there are other places that I also consider home because of what they mean to me: Turkey, because that’s where I learnt all the things life has to offer. And now New York, because it is the place where I learnt the most, and where I lived the most as an adult. So these three places are now home to me.
2. What is currently inspiring you as a filmmaker?
I used to work in animation, so right now Animated movies are my main source of inspiration. I think it is fascinating how many live action films are based on preexistent animation movies. I love the movies from Studio Gibli, and lately I am quite interested in the work done by Alberto Mielgo, a Spanish animation director that did ‘The Witness’ for the series ‘Love, death & robots’. His work brings the live action feeling to the animation, combined with a very artistic approach to the visual style. It is an explosive combination, I love it. I hope to direct projects that follow that inspiration.
3. What has been your most rewarding experience at NYU Tisch Grad Film so far?
I think in general, the fact that I am here at NYU, has been the biggest reward of my life. I have been dreaming of going to a good school since I was sixteen, so I can’t find a single thing from the program that made me feel better than this dream come true. I guess I can say this third year is being the most satisfying one. After all we learnt in the previous years, this is the moment where I feel the most confident and, at the same time, impatient to keep learning. When you finally can sleep eight hours a day again, life has another color!