Eduardo Castrillo, Uncia Films and Finishing the film. Never an excuse not to finish.
Today let’s take a look and deep dive at Eduardo Castrillo, owner of Uncia Films and another filmmaker in the bay area scene. Uncia Films has been making films for over a decade, and Eduardo currently has 11 movies under his belt. From sports drama to psychologic thrillers and even a gritty World War 2 drama, Eduardo has ventured from genre to genre. Castrillo is a master of indie resourcefulness—for his film Worth, he skipped renting expensive sets and used his own Muay Thai gym and local fighters to keep it authentic and cut production costs.
During his production of the film, Bears on a Ship, Eduardo Castrillo had gotten laid off from his day job. He signed up for unemployment, which frankly, isn’t much these days since it was last raised to a stagnant $450 per week in 2005. A sensible and cautious person might have canceled or halted production, but that was never an option for Eduardo. He turned to crowdfunding to raise money and used his new-found time to focus on production. Even when the crowdfunding wasn't successful with only rising $6000 out of the 10,000 goal, Eduardo pushed on. “Never Give Up. I had every excuse but i just couldn't do it”. Eduardo is a firm believer of when you start a project, you have to finish it to the end, as there is never an excuse big enough not to finish. (Unless you die, not much you can about that sadly)
From Being Laid Off to having your Movie Poster in Times Square. How things can change.
Born to divorced parents, Castrillo spent his childhood bouncing between the Bay Area and Orange County. Even though they’re in the same state, the culture shock was real—every time he swapped directions, he’d return to find he’d missed out on an entire era of new music or fashion trends. In high school, he was rocking the jock vibe for a bit, but he and his crew had a habit of ditching Friday sports practice for the cinema. That’s where the spark caught fire; once he saw Once Upon a Time in Mexico in 2003, he was hooked for good on that movie magic.
Castrillo has been behind the camera since he was 18. A proud alum of the Art Institute of San Francisco, he’s a huge advocate for the film school experience. While some say you can learn it all online, he insists there are some industry secrets and expertise a YouTube tutorial just can’t teach you. Coming up in the industry, he had to learn the hard way that there’s no such thing as an overnight "Golden Ticket" to Hollywood. Despite the legends of Sundance Film Festival breakouts leading to instant fame, Castrillo found that real success is more about the long game and grind than winning the lottery. He started Uncia Films as a way to make films with friends and it grew from there.
The lights are shining brightly for a late production shoot on “Seven Lost”
Castrillo’s been in the ring with big-name producers before, but these days, he’s vibing with the freedom of the indie film life. While he’s been on the payroll for others, he’s often walked away feeling "meh" about the final cut. "I’ve had projects where I didn't get to edit or have the final say,". Don’t get it twisted, though—he’s a team player. He just knows the difference between a true collab and someone breathing down his neck. "Giving up freedom is different than collaboration,".
His secret to getting things made? The "save up and wing it" method. He stacks enough cash to kick things off because, as he puts it, "money gets you time." After that? It’s a bit of a mystery. "It’s not the smartest way to go, but let’s get the momentum going." Taking the first step is always the hardest, but once you start making progress you can use that to your advantage. For his Muay Thai drama, Worth, he leaned hard on his own gym and training buddies to get the job done when the budget was tight. That’s indie filmmaking in a nutshell: being resourceful as hell. It might not have a blockbuster sheen, but he’s proud of it. "You do the best you can at your level," He’s not chasing Hollywood fame (though he’d take the call!), he’s just doing it for the love of the game and craft. "You make the movie for yourself and your audience."
Uncia FIlms has had a pretty good run so, and counting!
At the end of the day, Castrillo is happiest when the cameras are rolling and actors are in front of him. For him, the script is just the starting line—the real magic happens on set. "I have this World War II idea... I put stuff down, try to make the characters a little different, and then I roll with it.". Uncia FIlms has had limited releases in theaters, festival award wins, been featured on a billboard in Times Square, and on platorms like Tubi and Amazon Prime. Eduardo Castrillo is another symbol of how the bay area spirit just doesn’t die.
