We recently had the chance to connect with Skye Armenta and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Skye, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
I am chasing my dream of making feature films for a living and a life. My partner in film and in life, Nick Gatsby and I have a shared dream. We are chasing the dream of making creative and uniquely “Gatsmenta” films that find its audiences to inspire, impact and entertain and have that be our full-time paying jobs. If I stopped chasing this dream, I’d fade into simple existence. Not really dead but not really alive either. Dreams are an expensive thing to throw away. I believe all dreams are divinely placed in people for a reason. For someone to have the capacity to dream of being a doctor or a pilot or a full-time filmmaker, it means that somewhere in them, is the potential to achieve it. It’s not a matter of if. It is a matter of when.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Skye Armenta and I am an indie filmmaker in Colorado Springs. Partnered with filmmaker Nick Gatsby, we formed Gatsmenta Films in 2020 and together we make experimental and surrealist feature films and the occasional short film. We both produce, write, direct, and shoot our films and are dedicated to giving audiences an experience, not just a movie. While we have taken on most of the production roles out of necessity over the years, I love the journey of preproduction, production, and postproduction and having a trusted companion through it all makes me feel very grateful as I know that is very rarely the case. We have just completed the final edit of our latest feature film, “Close-Up: An Odd-yssey” and are so excited to release it to audiences! We are currently holding a fundraiser to take care of music rights for the film to enable release and have been blown away by the support we’ve received from family, fellow filmmakers, friends, and friends we haven’t met yet. Music makes a film like this sing and we want you to experience it in all of its glory. It’s not a matter of if you will experience Close-Up, it is a matter of when. We are so proud of this film, of our progression, and hope audiences see it as the cult classic we think it could be.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was charismatic and bubbly. I never met a stranger. I wanted to connect with and befriend everyone I met. I wanted to hold hands and run. But then- I also did not want anyone to tell me what to do. I resented the lack of freedom that comes with childhood and adolescence. I was also mischievous and would stay out after the street lights came on and giggle behind the bushes while my mom yelled out my name on the front porch. Not in a scared way but more like “this girl…” Experiences can alter behavior but not necessarily desire. Do I still desire authentic connection on a deep visceral level? Absolutely, but as an adult I am much more selective of those I allow in my circle. The mischievousness slimmed out when I developed my first gray eyebrow hair and the aversion to authority has never let up. Although, I am just fine with the balance I have struck.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I would give myself a hug. I’d wrap both my arms around myself and close my eyes and listen to my breath and feel my heart beat. I still do this. I did this yesterday. It sounds lame but it isn’t. You’ve heard it here.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
We are all connected. Kindness over niceness. Integrity over popularity. Creativity is never lost, it’s uncovered again and again. Rules are made to be broken. Don’t be a dick.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That I loved deeply and championed creativity and truth. That Nick and I spent our lives making films we believed in. That we refused to be bullied into cliche and neglect our creative vision. I hope people think we breathed life back into surrealism and experimental filmmaking. I hope people remember we fought for our dream. We fought our past mistakes, we fought childhood traumas, we fought self-doubt and all the odds stacked against us and still we never gave up. When the world didn’t care, we did. We cared about our vision. We cared about each other. That’s what I hope they’d say when I’m gone. That I was a lover and because of this, I was a fighter.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @gatsmenta
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/skye-armenta
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/gatsmentafilms
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@gatsmentafilms
