Cinema Is Power: A Night of Film, Movement, and Creative Communion with Film Dispatch at MCASD La Jolla
Alexander Contreras, founder of Film Dispatch, interviewing cinematographer Roger Deakins
There is a particular kind of magic that happens when art forms collide — when film brushes against dance, when live music lifts a silent frame, when strangers gather at the edge of the Pacific to witness new worlds being born.
Cinema is Power, the collaborative event from Film Dispatch and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, carried that magic with a rare sincerity. It felt less like an event and more like stepping into a living organism made of vision, talent, and unmistakable creative hunger.
The Origin of Film Dispatch
The heart of the night made even more sense after learning how Film Dispatch began.
“The Film Dispatch started the moment I finally chose my passion over my old job — when I decided to create something for the creatives who, like me, just wanted to be seen.”
What began as a simple offering to the local film community blossomed into a year of powerful events, intimate conversations, and genuine connection.
Now, Film Dispatch is stepping into its next chapter: building a global platform where underrepresented voices can claim their place, tell their stories, and contribute to cultural change.
Their mission is clear and deeply felt throughout their programming:
To illuminate the world of cinema with clarity, context, and care
To make complex narratives accessible and nuanced
To champion independent voices and emerging talent
To create space for thoughtful critique and vibrant community discourse
Walking into Cinema Is Power, this ethos was unmistakable.
Arriving at the Museum: A Threshold Moment
I walked up the steps of MCASD and found the mezzanine already alive with people — filmmakers, dancers, students, industry hopefuls, curious locals — all leaning against the railing, gazing out toward the La Jolla coastline. The ocean was slate blue, restless. Below us, the waves carried their own rhythm; above us, conversations braided into an anticipatory hum.
Inside, programs rustled. A side gallery ran experimental shorts — flickers of memory, nonlinear narratives, visual essays, and the kind of playful abstraction that challenges you to loosen your grip on sense-making. I slipped in and watched a few minutes of a film layered with reflections and light leaks. Even before the main event began, the night felt mischievous and alive.
The Performances: Improvisation as Emotional Language
When the lights shifted and the performances began, the room changed temperature.
The dancers emerged — expressive, fluid, improvisational — moving in conversation with one another and with the music that seemed to rise from beneath the floorboards. Their bodies traded tempo, tension, breath. Nothing felt choreographed, yet everything was in perfect dialogue.
You could feel it:
that childlike wonder,
the playful risk,
the emotional precision masked as spontaneity.
Some sequences felt like whispered secrets, others like full-bodied declarations. The curator Milana Aernova envisioned a show that embraced whimsy, vulnerability, and the raw ache of being human — and the dancers carried that vision with startling grace.
Songs we all know surfaced like unexpected memories: Howl’s Moving Castle, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Amélie.
But instead of sentimentality, they evoked something else — a kind of tender recognition of where we’ve been and who we used to be.
The Film Dispatch Q&A
A few days after Cinema is Power, I reached out to Alexander with a handful of questions. He responded with generosity and candor. His answers are shared here exactly as he wrote them, with brief translations added for readers.
How did you first get into filmmaking?
“Honestly, todo empezó (it all started) on those long desert drives from Imperial Valley to San Diego. I’d just stare out the window and daydream whole películas (films) in my head. That’s where it clicked.”
Who are some of your creative inspirations?
“The big three Mexican directors for sure. Lubezki and Deakins — they taught me how to really see light. And también (also) people like Sam Zemurray… founders who started with nothing and found their lane. That mindset inspires me a lot.”
What exactly is Film Dispatch — and what prompted you to start it?
“Film Dispatch started as a regalo (gift) to the film community. After taking a master class at the ASC, I realized how life-changing the right guidance can be. I wanted to build something that gives creatives clarity, confidence, y una ruta más clara (and a clearer path).”
What’s the core mission or message behind your work?
“To be real about border life — la vida entre dos mundos (life between two worlds) — and to explore the human condition in a way that feels honest, not maquillado (not glossed over).”
Any advice for emerging filmmakers or curators?
“Learn the business side, por favor (please). It’s not sexy, but it protects your art and gives you freedom later.”
A Personal Note: On Belonging, Imposter Syndrome, and Creative Becoming
This part is not in the program. It is simply the truth.
Standing in a room full of artists — dancers, directors, cinematographers — I felt my old companion surface: imposter syndrome.
What was I doing here on a media pass?
Who let me in?
Was I… “media”?
I’ve never taken a journalism class. I’m not a filmmaker. I’m just a woman trying to build something — slowly, imperfectly — on the internet and in my city.
That quiet unraveling was interrupted only when Roger Deakins spoke about honesty
His message — make the thing, even if it’s messy — met me exactly where I was standing.
And just like that, the room felt less like a stage where I didn’t belong, and more like a community I had simply arrived late to.
Cinema has power.
But so does being seen.
And so does being invited in.
A Community Worth Returning To
As people spilled back onto the mezzanine after the program, the ocean was darker, thicker, almost cinematic. Conversations lingered. A musician tuned something in the distance. Filmmakers swapped Instagrams. Someone laughed too loudly — beautifully — into the night.
Events like this don’t just entertain.
They electrify creative communities.
They remind us why we make anything at all.
Film Dispatch and MCASD have built something that feels both intimate and expansive — a cultural gathering place for those who love storytelling in all its forms.
If you ever get the chance to attend, go.
Let yourself be changed a little.
Credits & Artist Links
Thank you to Film Dispatch for supporting the making of this article
IG @filmdispatch
Headshots by Sanchez Productions
Performance Curator
Milana Aernova
IG @milaaernova
Performers
@enigmaticnosrevi
@meeshthehuman
@nsdanceco
@raniermartinez
@alexadancechoreo
@caseythebug
@_lordofbees
@therollingpoint