By: The Don

Hello Phillytainers! We are back at it again with another person to add to our Faces of Film list! I had the honor of interviewing Frank Aguilar, a local of the Philadelphia region who is currently a writer, producer and a collaborator of an independent film company called Strange Films. He works with his son and is living the film dreams in Philly. We had the honor and privilege in reviewing one of his short films Center City recently. Check it out on our reviews!

Follow their social media pages:

Instagram: strangefilms_

Facebook: Strange Films

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCtJvYzgdd4vILPSZ0opu7A/videos

INTERVIEW

What’s your name and how long have you been in the film industry?

My name is Frank Aguilar and I’ve been in the industry for about 3 years now, along with my son August Aguilar.

What do you do within the film industry?

I’m a writer, producer, and collaborator of our independent film company Strange Films.

What initially got you into film?

My son August did. He called me late at night about 3 years ago and asked if I had any ideas for a short film. That film was titled There’s Something Down The Road and it was up for best local short down in Knoxville, Tennessee. The rest is history.

Did you have someone within the film industry that was your inspiration?

Sure, all the greats but I never thought we would get even this far within 3 years! I mean our films have been all over the country including two major events down in LA. Right now my son August inspires me the most. He’s a good Director.

Was film something that ran in your family, or was it a hobby, or just something you wanted to do?

I’ve always had a creative side but it wasn’t unleashed until my son August graduated film school and we talked about There’s Something Down The Road. He wrote the script and I flew down to Knoxville to help film it. That day I caught the bug big time. Shortly after that, I wrote our award-winning second film Center City that was shot right here in Philly! I’m not sure if it’s a hobby because we take this filmmaking very seriously and we have a lot of fun doing it.

What’s the main goal that you want to achieve within the film industry?

Strange Films to be known. I also want Philadelphia to get involved with us too. Our whole Center City series is all about Philly. We have one more film left in the series and hopefully, we can pitch it to some networks after we wrap up.

Where did the name Strange Films come from?

We have a character from our first film called “The Stranger”. He is the villain from There’s Something Down The Road, and also makes another appearance in the film Passenger.

That’s amazing! Are you the CEO of Strange Films?

My son August is the boss and we started STRANGE FILMS together. Our production page on Facebook is a lot of fun. Check it out. Yeah August was born here in Philadelphia and is now currently living in Knoxville Tennessee. I take care of business here and he does business there. Then we meet in between on projects. We have a pretty good following right now too.

Awesome. So how many films have you done in total?

We have about 8 films and working on two of them now. The new films are Center City 2, and Happy Mother’s Day.

Nice, how many awards have you won so far?

Two. Best Drama for Center City and Best Editing for Subject.

Nice. Locally or out of state?

Center City won Best Drama up in Manayunk at the Philly TV/FILM Festival. Subject won Best Editing down in Knoxville TN, at the Southern Oasis film festival.

Who is your favorite actor and/or actress and why?

Harry Ford was my favorite actor for a very long time but now it has to go to Phillip Seymore Hoffman. RIP.

Why is Philip Seymour Hoffman your favorite actor and what is your favorite film with him?

He gave such an honest performance in his films and I related to many of his characters. Magnolia is my favorite performance from him.

What is your favorite movie of all time?

Hard to pick a favorite film, but I love the classic Spielberg movies and the one that really got me excited when I was a kid was “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. It really got my imagination going as a kid and made my film-watching experience exciting.

Do you have any advice for people interested in film?

Go for it. Make friends along the way and stay loyal to the people that help you.