Ask A Former Assistant: Diego Nájera (Director of Narrative Films at Participant)

Diego Nájera,

Director of Narrative Films at Participant 

- Interview by Don Rutledge, Staff Writer & Former Participant Assistant -

Diego Nájera is the Director of Narrative Films at Participant, the leading company dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change. Prior to Participant, he worked as an executive at AG Capital, the U.S. arm of a Latin American studio founded by producer Alex Garcia, and as a Film Programmer and Producer for the Guadalajara International Film Festival. As a Producer, Diego’s film projects have been supported by the Sundance Institute, NALIP, the Tribeca Film Institute, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He has produced award-winning short films that have been featured at the Berlinale, SXSW, FICG, Fantastic Fest, AFI Fest, Miami Film Festival, and on HBO.

Hey Diego! Thanks for taking the time to interview! Tell us about the day-to-day life as the Director of Narrative Films at Participant (Roma, Judas & The Black Messiah, Spotlight, Contagion, Wonder, American Factory, Food Inc.).

I'm one of five development executives at the company who oversee the full film slate of Participant from inception to finish. My job is to: 1) Find the gems and projects that could become great Participant movies, and 2) Work with those artists to make sure that we're making the best version possible by supporting their vision of how they want to bring it into the world. Ultimately, this involves finding writers, talent, and filmmakers, giving them notes, developing the script, packaging it, securing finance partners, and putting it all together. Making sure that the movie at every single stage is becoming the best version it can be; that's the job. 

And what's your favorite part about it? Hearing pitches? Getting financing? 

My favorite part is definitely the story. I think creating stories, whether it’s working with a writer or filmmaker, that moment of partnership when you hear their vision and read their pages and give feedback, you know, having those creative conversations—that, to me, is the meaty part. That’s the way you really understand what the filmmaker or an artist is trying to do. In your job as a Creative Executive, you’re really a sounding board to make sure that vision is coming across and if there are things we can do better. There's different processes for creative people, but I think it’s important to not be alone, in a cave, just working on your own. Seeing the things artists have in their minds actually coming across: that is the most fun part.  

And the other part I love is discovering filmmakers. I come from a background of working in film festivals as a programmer. I’m a filmmaker personally and a film geek. I love finding new movies that excite me and blow me away, and then try to figure out how to work with those people. 

Speaking of your film festival days! You're originally from Mexico and you were a Programmer at the Guadalajara International Film Festival. Before that, you started at the festival as a Communications Assistant. What was it like in those early days of your career?

I always knew I loved film. When I was a teenager, I became a film buff and just watched everything. It became my refuge. Then through conversations, I realized there was a career that I could potentially pursue. My choice was to go into Communication Sciences, which was the closest thing to media that I had locally. That was the way I started learning about media, how things get made, storytelling, literature, and all those kinds of things.  

When I did a year abroad my junior year of college, I was able to sneak my way into UCLA’s film school. But when I got back to Guadalajara, the only industry-related thing I found was that festival. As soon as I graduated, I applied there for a job, and fortunately within a couple of months, I was able to get a temp job for like 6-8 weeks doing press stuff with the communications people. I think I did a good enough job that I got noticed by another department, so when the time came to staff the festival the following year, I got the call to work for six or seven months. I was tasked with a technical, operations role because of my media experience in college television. At that time, there was a transition from film to digital projection, so I got a chance to learn a lot on the technical side about how movies got presented. From that job, little by little, I started to get interested in film curation, and I was able to segue into programming. I did that for a few years while still holding the technical job, and then eventually, became part of the programming department where I oversaw everything that had to do with movies on the technical side. I was also starting to have a voice in terms of which movies were standing out and serve as part of the festival’s selection committee.

Did you think about staying on with the festival? What was your impetus for leaving?

My decision to move on was a combination of things. I did grow at the festival, and it was a great opportunity for me to move up the ladder. Once I got the job—which was basically Producer for the programming department—I only reported to two bosses: the Director of Programming and the head of the festival. There was no one else. There was no room to grow anymore. I didn't have the experience of those guys (and it wasn't like I was going to take their jobs!).

My end goal was always to be on the filmmaking side and actually make movies. As much as I loved the festival—they’re probably the safest, best spaces in our industry in terms of connecting with artists and enjoying the art together—it wasn't the place to stay for the full-length of my career.  I got that job and was like, “Okay, this is my last year here, and then I'll go to grad school."

And that was The Peter Stark Producing Program at USC?  

The Peter Stark Producing Program was exactly what I wanted. I always wanted to be someone that had some sort of creative input and while at the festival, my skill set was essentially producing. I felt like producing was my calling.

The program trains you to be a Creative Producer. You take classes on writing, script analysis, development—you’re really focused on how to tell good stories and how to work with people who create them. You get to be in their shoes and know what they're doing and understand the process.

The program is also great because it’s very business-minded. They're really trying to get you out into the industry as soon as you start, so I was doing internships at the same time. The first year is pretty involved—you're there all the time, it's just 24 of you, you're taking all these classes, you're making short films, and so on. But the second year, you're going only at night, like 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM every day, and you get the whole day to do work—a full-time job, an internship, or whatever you want to do. The idea is to get out there. So while at Stark, I did four internships, produced two shorts, did my thesis, wrote a script, and more stuff, all within two years. 

You also encountered this sort of “redo” as an assistant, right? Can you talk a little bit about that? 

In this industry, it’s a traditional path: you start as an assistant for someone else and learn how the business works from your boss—like an apprenticeship. You start building those relationships and creating that network, and it's the way the industry has worked for a long time. There's a lot of value in that. 

Obviously, I had come from working four years at a festival. I had already managed my own team and had a Master's degree, but what I realized was that those things didn’t necessarily make a difference. There's no, “OK, you're going to get an executive job right away.” I had to build a network from scratch again, humble myself, and learn by working for someone else.

I don't know if that path is necessarily for everybody, and I don't know if that path necessarily creates the most talented pool of executives. In some ways, there's value in people coming from different walks of life, different perspectives, different communities, which we all know has been a struggle for the industry in terms of opening up its doors to people who come from different backgrounds. Not everybody can afford an assistant job. Not everybody can afford a certain type of education. Especially living in LA, and the lifestyle of going out for drinks every night… These kinds of things are costly, difficult, and traditionally belong to a certain group of people. So, I have my questions about that being the way that the industry builds its workforce, but there's value to it. I think there has to be a balance in how the industry creates its talent. 

I'll agree with you. It does create like-minded talent with a singular perspective instead of championing diverse voices. 

In some ways, I think the industry is like a club. It has its advantages, but it's not the most conducive and open industry to other people who have no connection to it. It does keep some people out. 

After the Peter Stark program, you had four internships under your belt, a Master’s degree, and you were back to working as an assistant, now at AG Studios (Jack Ryan S2, Desierto, The Belko Experiment). How did you build the skills to eventually get promoted to Creative Executive at AG Studios? What role did your prior MFA and film festival experience play? 

A lot of the growth in this industry is through relationships and building your network. I think everybody who wants to be in the industry has to network. Having said that, the Master’s and previous film festival experience did give me a leg up. Whereas people that have never been to a festival or don't get a chance to go to festivals for their job might not have that know-how, I knew how to read material, give notes, know filmmakers, navigate festivals, and know what was going to pop at certain festivals. And not everybody has to go to film school, but film school does provide a certain kind of support system and community.  

And the other thing that I invested a lot on, because I was working at a small company [AG Studios], was continuing to develop my creative projects. It's kind of on you to expand what that role provides and continue to learn. I was producing short films, continuing to meet filmmakers, and going through artist development programs (ex. Project Involve through Film Independent). I supported the filmmakers who had feature films in development, and eventually became attached to their projects as a Creative Producing Fellow when they went through the Sundance Labs. It was really important because that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to meet filmmakers. I wanted to work creatively. I wasn’t just focusing on the people that I was meeting through the job. I was producing stuff on my own, which is something that everybody has access to if they want to do it. You need to figure out how to navigate that with your day job and how to have those conversations with your employers.

Last question: What is your best advice to Hollywood assistants of this next generation?

Be kind. It's important for everybody. In this industry, I think it's even more important because it's all relationships and being kind, truthful, and honest with people.

Also, know who you are and know your taste (which comes with time). There's room for everybody in this business in terms of taste and what you want to do, but you really need to know, and you need to consume in order to find your taste. To talk about your taste smartly, you need to watch and read and consume culture. It's part of the job, but it's probably the part I like the most.