Whether you’re watching a Netflix film on your phone or in the comfort of your home on a 55 inch tv screen or on a date at the movie theater, watching a film is an experience. For up to an hour and a half to 2 hours, your eyes are glued to the screen as it projects motion pictures to your brain for you to process what you see in front of you, along with the music and sound effects that compliment the film. It’s nearly hypnotizing to say the least. At a young age I was always curious about the filmmaking and creative process behind making a movie. What intrigues me the most are the storylines, I appreciate a film with a great storyline, esp when it has a nice plot twist to keep me alert. Years later after I discovered the time consuming process that it takes to make a movie, my attention shifted to indie/ independent films. Since then, courtesy of Netflix and friends, I’ve watched a countless number of independent films. Films of the indie genre seem to give a more unique perspective towards expression and storytelling. Earlier this year, I came across an upcoming indie film at the time that had a huge buzz on Twitter. “Dirty Money” was the name of the film. Prior to it’s March release date, the promotion was stirring up a lot of attention. The cast of the film is what caught my attention; it was a local cast. Furthermore, the trailer was pleasing enough for me to anticipate the release. My curiosity lead me to research behind the scenes and find out who was behind this visual creation. A moment and gulp of a water bottle later, I found the culprit: Ciara Boniface. Weeks later, I found myself sitting comfortably in bed with my blanket covering my lower extremities watching Dirty Money. I was impressed enough to watch it is three times. It pushed me to find other films she created. I stumbled upon her Vimeo account and some of her videos/films she was on her account, including “Mental Patients Only”. It became imperative that I find a way to share a conversation with Ciara. Months later and I’m able to grasp an opportunity to have a talk with her over coffee. We decided to meet up at Zera’s Coffee Shop, located on the corner of McKinney st and Bell Ave in Denton. Their lemon squares that they have right next to cash register is amazing.

Ciara was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and was raised there until she was 7 years old. Alongside with her parents and her 2 brothers, she was forced to leave New Orleans in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina . From there, they moved to Dallas before moving to McKinney where she ended up going to high school. Ciara’s introduction into film was from skateboarding in her adolescence. She enjoyed recording herself skateboarding. After recording, she would edit and post the videos on YouTube, “I was terrible at it at first, but it was definitely a start”. One of the first cameras she used to record herself was a flip camera her parents brought her. In middle school, she would brainstorm ideas about making short films but at the time, it wasn’t doable. Her passion for writing and editing developed in the 8th or 9th grade when she recorded her first short film on a small camcorder. Despite the end result, she loved the process of making films. As she entered high school, her passion for writing, editing and directing grew stronger. Determined and goal oriented, she applied for several film festivals during this time. One of the films she created in the 9th grade was featured in the student section in the LA Diversity Film Festival. In 2015, she got accepted in The All American High School Film Festival and flew out to New York. That was her first film festival experience and first time traveling to the east coast.

I believe one of the key factors in Boniface’s success in her craft is the love and inspiration she receives from her family. Many like minded individuals that are deeply invested in the creative world struggle with the lack of motivation from the relatives. The blessing of having her family cheering her on as she continues her career works in Ciara favor. Her parents are always there to push her talents and made sure she was doing her best. From the beginning they got her everything she needed, from her first laptop to her first camera. Her brothers were also inspirational as well. Along with constantly motivating her, they were so headstrong in their careers that it inspired Ciara to put forth the same amount of energy into filmmaking.

As far as cinema, she is strongly influenced by suspense/ thriller films. She always had a love for horror films and is a fan of shocking the audience and keeping them on the edge of their seats. One of the first films that truly inspired her to make thrillers was Unstoppable, the 2010 action thriller directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. One of the directors that influenced Ciara’s style is Sir Alfred Hitchcock, a well known director and producer who was regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema.

Fall of 2016, right after high school, Ciara begins another journey in life; college. She chose the University of North Texas, better known as UNT, because it was closer and had a really good film program. Attending college is extremely helpful for Ciara as it gives her the opportunity to network and solidify relationships with people in the same field that she is in. Majoring in Media Arts, she mainly focuses on film production and film analysis, which she describes as “very beneficial.” Upon enrollment, Ciara became apart of the short film club. Shortly after, she was given the opportunity to DP (director of photography) for her first film as UNT. Currently a senior at the university, she is set to graduate this year.

The creativity that Boniface possesses when she is in pre production of a film she is about to create is interesting; she makes films based upon what she hasn’t seen, what she wants to see, something that hasn’t been talked about/ elaborated as much as it should or something she can tell in her own unique way. She enjoys making films that don’t have an happy ending, it feels more realistic to her. Her process for choosing her cast member is simple; if she isn’t using casting calls or databases, she used Instagram or Twitter to find people fit for the role. Currently she is in post production for two short films that she will be releasing this year and in pre- production for another film that she is shooting for including Newport City starring Roman Rose from Daily Ooze and No Face Benny: a story about a young black man overcoming his trauma but has to face his past to do so.

I want to briefly talk about the film that peaked my interest from the start; Dirty Money starring Hailee Dyer and Dallas hip hop artist Pat Ron. In the process of making Dirty Money, Ciara and her friend wanted to make a film about people robbing a bank. Initially, they wanted to shoot in Austin and use an actual bank, but shortly after that they realized that wasn’t going to happen. Late 2016/ early 2017, Ciara was shooting a music video consisting of rappers in a garage, flashing their money and other items. A idea came on like a lightbulb, “What if, instead of robbing a bank, they end up robbing rappers?”. She wanted it to give a “Set if off” esque vibe, so she picked the cast to being mainly women. Ciara’s goal for Dirty Money was to portray a 90’s feel but not set in the 90’s, she wanted something modern. Hailee’s character is the film was inspired by Tupac’s character “Bishop” in the movie Juice. Other films that Dirty Money was inspired by was Boyz in the Hood and Menace II Society.

I’m excited to see what else Ciara has up her sleeve. From the work I seen from her so far, it’s entertaining. I’m glad I was able to get the opportunity to meet and chat with her. Her films are one of a kind and I hope that her work inspires other to get up and get out there and make films that I can spend my evenings watching, like how I used to do when I was a kid. I’m definitely a big fan of Ciara and her creativity and I would love her to become a household name in the world of cinema.

To check out more of Ciara’s films, check out her website

www.ciaraboniface.com