Bio Statement

Kayla Gutierrez is a Senior at George Mason University. She is a double major in Business (Marketing) and Film (Producing) who is expected to graduate in 2024. Kayla produced the short-film Alcohology. Alcohology will be screened at the Mason Film Festival 2024. Kayla also produced the pilot for the web series Duel or Die. She worked as the production coordinator for the short film The Audition. Kayla worked as a production assistant on the student films Transcendent Love and Bourbon, Cajun, and Jazz. She also wrote the pilot of the web-series Bad News.

Artist Statement

As a student producer, it can be hard to find work that reflects my interest or concerns. However, I managed to find something to connect with in each of my projects. That thing is the mind. The human mind is an extraordinary thing that we know so little about. I strive to create work that observes the human mind. That may be done in the exploration of alcoholism as in Alcohology, or in the display of wild personalities in Bad News. The exploration of the mind gives understanding as to who people are and why they are. More understanding of people can lead to my sympathy and empathy. My process in producing a film is a strong pre-production phase. With a strong pre-production phase it makes production smoother. Also, this phase also allows me and the director to work together to find the best way to bring the vision to life.

I also hope to expand my work into different genres. I enjoy working in narrative filmmaking and exploring different genres allow me to explore themes and convey messages in different ways. I hope to work on more films that have a large musical component. One of my greatest influences is Baz Luhrmann. I like the idea of combining the medium of music and film to expand the reach of my message to an audience.

In the future I hope to explore the human mind in more specific contexts. I would like to explore fame and its toll on the mind. I would also like to explore themes of observation, the act of looking. How people view others is a big part of society and can be negative and lead to negative outcomes. If the how and why of observation is explored it will lead to changing minds and hearts. I hope to foster understanding of all types of people in my work.