Student Snapshot – Julio Aceituno

Introduce yourself briefly and tell me a little bit about your background. Are you an MFA or BFA?
My name is Julio Aceituno and I’m a Venezuelan filmmaker from Orlando, Florida. As of now, I’m currently a BFA2 in Production and the first person in my family going towards a fine arts major. I’ve been making films ever since I’ve had a camera, aka a Nintendo DSI, but got more serious about it my senior year of high school. At the moment, my favorite role in filmmaking is directing. Communicating with the cast and crew to create my vision is not only rewarding but also very exciting. I’m excited to learn more about it and nurture my skills in this program for the next two years!

Who is your favorite Filmmaker and What is your favorite movie?
My favorite filmmaker is Jared Hess, director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. He’s a genius and I refuse to elaborate. At the moment my favorite movie is Everything Everywhere All at Once. It really enflamed my passion and interest in filmmaking and I have very fond memories attached to it.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on scripts for my F3 and thesis support with the upperclassman. I’m also directing a small personal project I hope to complete during the semester with my classmates.

What does your typical day look like?
My typical day is waking up early, trying not to destroy my phone alarm, and trying to find a parking spot as soon as I can. I’ll head straight to class and mess around with my friends before our lessons begin. After class, I’ll usually head straight to the student union for lunch and discuss later plans with my friends while we’re there. I’ll work on homework and sometimes my scripts and make sure I’m on top of every assignment. When I’m done, I’ll go home and hang out with my roommate for a bit, maybe watch a movie, and eventually go to bed to prepare for the next day.

What has been the best part of film school so far?
The best part of film school so far has definitely been the relationships that I have been building with my classmates. Everyone has been so welcoming and meeting new classmates I didn’t last year has been so fun. It’s great to bond with new people through similar interests other than film, and meeting new people means hearing new stories. I’m excited to work with this little family of ours on movies for a while and I feel that we’ll be friends way beyond film school.

Which faculty member has made the greatest impression on you and how?
The faculty member who made the greatest impression on me was Paige Roberts. As a transfer student wanting to enter the school, she treated me the same as her students already in the program. She made me feel welcome and eased my nerves about the application process. She would always reach out to me for volunteering opportunities at the school to add to my portfolio which also helped me gain more on-set knowledge. She has also helped me with my film projects, giving me notes on my scripts and edits. With her guidance and generosity, I was able to succeed in my endeavors. She also has this really awesome candy jar in her office that has helped me get through some pretty long days.

What do you think someone applying to the program should know about the FSU Film School?
They should know that they’re applying to the best film school in the country. Although I may have my biases, I feel that this is because of the small class size and exemplary faculty. In this school you will build long lasting relationships and connections that you will have even after school has ended. It’s like one big film family!

Favorite Film School Moment?
My favorite film school moment was the documentary trip and screening. After leaving for three weeks to New York and Virginia, I met some of the most beautiful people I’ve had the honor to film and interview. Other than being an incredible experience, it opened my eyes to the importance of understanding perspective and how we can all learn from each other by doing so. At the screening, an individual came up to me after it ended and thanked me for the documentary I had directed. It turned out that she had the same disability as our interviewee and thanked me for sharing his story as she related to him and the message of the documentary. I stood there realizing how powerful films could be and how people can be impacted. At that instant, I was reminded why I do what I love. It was a beautiful moment that I will never forget.

It’s late and you are at the Film School working on something you need to finish before tomorrow: where are you and who are you with?
I’m going to be in the WOPR computer lab trying to finish up my weekend project and I’m most likely going to be with my best friend Sean Denney. I’ll definitely be stressing about Avid not working and complaining to Sean until I finally manage to export it.