Bossing It: Rebelling Against the Norm with Cynthia Ángel
Cynthia Ángel is a filmmaker and producer working across film, TV, and commercial production. Born and raised in Queens, NY to Colombian parents, she is passionate about telling stories about the Immigrant, Latinx and Indigenous communities she identifies with. She has won Clios and Cannes Lions for her campaigns for Spotify, Google, Nike, Vevo and Amazon.
Her deep rooted love for film led her to found her own creative studio - D L A Films. Focusing on diversity in front of and behind the camera, Cynthia's goal is to bring cinematic and compelling stories to life all while giving a voice to the voiceless. SUN is Cynthia's first feature length film project and a continuation of her intention to tell the stories of those who come from backgrounds similar to her own.
LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?
Cynthia> My first experience of leadership started at an early age. My parents are Colombian immigrants. Spanish is their native language and they had limited English reading and speaking skills. I became fluent quickly in grade school and was able to help them translate, organise bills, legal notices, etc. I helped them lead our household with tasks that required English.
As soon as I turned 14, I applied for an employment certificate and started my way into the work world so that I could contribute and buy myself the things I could not otherwise have.
LBB> How did you figure out what kind of leader you wanted to be – or what kind of leader you didn’t want to be?
Cynthia> As I worked my way through jobs, college, internships, receptionist positions, VFX production management, post producing, line producing and executive producing I encountered my share of great leaders who inspired and motivated and poor leaders who had difficulty communicating and stifled growth. I learned early on that I didn’t want to be the latter.
I have always been attracted to creating a positive environment where curiosity, problem solving and open discourse can thrive. My leadership style is geared towards cultivating positivity, warmth, open-mindedness and collaboration while encouraging the best from my incredibly talented collaborators in executing an idea and delivering to our clients.
LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?
Cynthia> Co-writing and producing my first short film-a piece created for the American Museum Of Natural History. As I transitioned out of post production I was hired to concept and produce the pre-show film at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. Despite my inexperience I elected to create something which would inspire young girls to pursue astronomy and which would be comprehensible to children and visitors for whom English is not their first language.
Armed with a minuscule budget I lead a team of creatives and technicians to create a film which would satisfy the museum curator’s mandate of scientific accuracy while telling an inspiring and entertaining story. It was the first time I was in charge of a budget and a film production from conception through delivery. It was nerve wracking and involved many sleepless nights but I learned that I could not waver, nor could I be indecisive as everyone was looking to me to lead this crazy enterprise. I persevered, learning how to steer the ship as I went, fighting my fear, watching the budget and preserving the vision.
Against the odds we achieved success - 'Discovering The Universe' is soundtracked by Neil Davidge of Massive Attack and played 20 times a day, seven days a week for five years in the Hayden Planetarium. Such was its popularity that it was imitated by various ads and sold to museums and planetariums worldwide. Now I had the confidence to go further.
LBB> Did you know you always wanted to take on a leadership role? If so how did you work towards it and if not, when did you start realising that you had it in you?
Cynthia> After I left the museum I knew that leading a team was the only way I could thrive. I moved into production full time creating impactful work for brands and agencies and ascending through the ranks. The confidence I had gained through creating 'Discovering The Universe' grew as I freelanced producing advertising campaigns for Nike, PepsiCo, Google and G&E before going in house at a tech company.
Here I was fortunate enough to head up the production department and create work which won many awards including Cannes Gold Lions, AdAge Creative Brand Ideas and Clios. Along the way I took in everything that I loved and everything that I thought needed improvement. This urge drove me to start taking on more responsibilities with the goal to become someone who could provide opportunities and open doors.
LBB> When it comes to 'leadership' as a skill, how much do you think is a natural part of personality, how much can be taught and learned?
Cynthia> What was reinforced in me growing up was the same that was reinforced in many of my contemporaries - keep your head down, get a stable reliable job, start a family and don’t make waves. But I always rebelled against the norm and went in my own direction.
From entering the workforce at an early age, pushing through entry level jobs in production, producing films and commercials and ascending into EP positions, leading the way was always something that came naturally to me. However, I constantly learn from my personal experiences, my peers and people I admire. I believe it is important for everyone to sharpen their natural skills in order to improve on their chosen path in life.
LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?
Cynthia> For a female business owner the struggle is real. For a Latina business owner the struggle is even more real - the struggle to be seen, the struggle to be heard, the struggle to be taken seriously and the struggle to be respected in a society where BIPOC, female leadership is rare.
I know it is my culture - New York City, Urban, Latinx which brands and agencies now seek to channel. And that is what powers me to thrive. That no matter how many challenges I face my most authentic self is a valuable and highly commodified thing and if I remain true to this in my work and in my life then I cannot be stopped.
LBB> Have you ever felt like you've failed whilst in charge? How did you address the issue and what did you learn from it?
Cynthia> I can be very demanding of myself and of others. It is through hard work and determination that I have risen to where I am today. I expect the same level of dedication from those who I employ and when I do not feel I am receiving as much as I am giving I can be a hard task master.
Whenever I find myself becoming too judgmental I always remind myself of the following truth: no one ever thrives through being reprimanded, they only thrive through love. And most importantly we never know who is going to be the next legendary CCO, ECD, EP, producer, director or cinematographer so we must be kind to everyone and nurture talent wherever we see it.
LBB> In terms of leadership and openness, what’s your approach there? Do you think it’s important to be transparent as possible in the service of being authentic? Or is there a value in being careful and considered?
Cynthia> In my journey through the production ranks I witnessed many instances where transparency was the best policy and many instances where a careful and considered response proved to be the way forwards. I learned that when discussing budget and schedule based realities with clients, creatives and vendors transparency is always the winning formula. When managing creative temperaments, client expectations and artistic visions a careful and considered approach produces beautiful work.
We are in the business of making dreams a reality. But it is a business. And for this reason the practicalities must be addressed before our ideas can take flight.
LBB> As you developed your leadership skills did you have a mentor, if so who were/are they and what have you learned? And on the flip side, do you mentor any aspiring leaders and how do you approach that relationship?
Cynthia> Growing up I didn’t see people who looked like me thriving in creative positions. I didn’t know these opportunities existed until I discovered them for myself. After a few years working at the tech company I felt the urgent need for change. I vested my stocks, drew in my breath, took the jump and founded my own company.
With DLA Films I am building the kind of company I wish I knew about as a kid and wanted to hire when I was a client. I’m creating a place where diverse leadership matters and my rich culture permeates every aspect of our work.
My goals is to uplift BIPOC, immigrant and working-class communities through powerful, cinematic storytelling and to inspire and mentor the next generation. I want us to be there for little girls and boys like me who would not otherwise see a future for themselves in this business. I want to discover and nurture the potential in the next generation and help them grow into the leaders they are destined to be.
LBB> In continually changing market circumstances, how do you cope with the responsibility of leading a team through difficult waters?
Cynthia> DLA Films was built as a flexible, adaptable company. We are founded on embracing the new. Not preserving the old. We scale and contract based on the needs of a project - sometimes I lead a team of three and others I lead a team of hundreds. Regardless of the size of the production I am always directly available to my clients and my team members are too.
We are built this way to ensure that no matter what the market circumstances, budget level or platform we can look after our clients and give them the best product and the best experience possible while also ensuring that our filmmakers voices are developed and that their vision remains intact.
LBB> As a leader, what are some of the ways in which you’ve prioritised diversity and inclusion within your workforce?
Cynthia> Diversity and inclusion is built into my business from the ground up. I am a first generation daughter of working class immigrants. As I moved through the world of production it became apparent that there was not a lot of diversity.
To change this I campaigned for diverse hires within the corporations for which I worked, I championed representation behind and in front of the camera and I searched for production partners whose staff and rosters reflected the diversity of the world in which we live. When I could not find those production partners I became the change I wanted to see - founding DLA Films as a home for unrepresented voices.
From the very start I have always had the same belief and practice - the members of your team should reflect the myriad colours, genders and orientations of the world in which we live and with whom we seek to communicate. Diversity from within is crucial for success.
LBB> How important is your company culture to the success of your business? And how have you managed to keep it alive with increases in remote and hybrid working patterns?
Cynthia> Everything we do from the directors we sign, the type of projects we take on, the creatives who we partner with and the aesthetics which flow through our work finds its roots in my dual indigenous Colombian and native New York culture. It is this culture which is the key to the success of my business and the reason our clients come to us.
DLA Films has always encompassed a hybrid working pattern. My company grew out of my home office, expanded into WeWork spaces and has now found its home in a hybrid creative studio/ events space in Brooklyn, New York. In pre-production we often work both remotely and in person but when we move into production everything is in person. Whether we have local, national or international productions both myself and my core team members will always be physically present to ensure that our clients and our creatives interests are correctly represented.
And to ensure the survival of the community we are building we dedicate in person time to junior staff and interns. After all its really hard to mentor and teach someone if you can’t be there with them.
LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?
Cynthia> The reason I am here today is through hard work, persistence, determination and most importantly my people skills. These I inherited from my parents who worked long hours in manual labour and who did not have much to give except their love.
The love they gave me is the love I spread through my business. It is the love I have for the work I do, for the relationships which I have built and nurtured and for the experience and aesthetic product which I deliver to my clients.
