An interview with Cris Romento, visual storyteller, editor, filmmaker and founder of Big Aloha Pictures. We discuss the business of living as a creative, as well as the importance of telling genuine stories and amplifying BIPOC voices.
Cristina Romento, or simply Cris, is the founder and director of Big Aloha Pictures. Her production company develops doc-style creative videos and films telling authentic stories. She works with brands, non-profits, artists, musicians and other visionaries in various fields such as holistic health, yoga, conscious living and the environment.
Cris has mixed Hawaiian, Filipino and Mexican origins and enjoys promoting indigenous cultures and bringing greater awareness to BIPOC stories and Hawaiian culture.
She recently launched a short film titled "Someone I Used to Know." The recently released short film is a blend of cityscapes, art and culture woven through a poetic breakup story. As she'll elaborate further in this podcast episode, the tale inspired by real-life memories is an empowering take on lost love and parallel existences.
Cris spent fifteen years working across the United States in entertainment television as a visual editor as well as a marketing and branding professional. A few years ago, she took a leap of faith and moved to Saudi Arabia to work in science communications and entrepreneurship after one of her entertainment TV colleagues and friend relocated there for a career opportunity. That's actually how I ended up meeting Cris—when we both worked in Saudi Arabia.
Following a family health scare, Cris later moved back to the US and embarked on a new transformational journey as a creative entrepreneur. Our conversation starts as she reflects on that pivotal time which she refers to as her mid-thirties gap year – when she left the safety of a full-time job to embark on her entrepreneurial journey.
"I'd like to normalize the time and trusting the timing of your own process," she said.
The p a u s e from Big Aloha Pictures on Vimeo.
