Emerging from Covid hibernation within the city, Gainesville comes out on the other side with brighter ideas and new opportunities for community collaborations. In what may be called a creative renaissance, the 7 Ashes Production team is here to take part in and report on this surge of ingenuity.
7 Ashes Productions shares the stories and experiences of small businesses, individuals and organizations in Gainesville through the lens of their cameras. The production team of five individuals found each other through a shared passion of cinematography.
Founding members Clif Roberts and Mateo Puig met back in 2015, when they had the opportunity to enter Gainesville’s Cinemadrome Film Festival. There, the team recreated the classic film “Evil Dead 2” and took home the award for Best Props and Effects. While the team split ways after filming, Roberts and Puig stayed in touch. The 7 Ashes Productions seed had been planted.
While the chemistry working together was evident, the two knew that they had to further fine-tune their skills in order to turn this passion into a career. Since 2015, Puig and Roberts each met the three integral members who would soon make up the rest of the production team. Andra Ishmael, Julio Pointdujour and Scott Arnold are each creative storytellers in their own right.
Over a couple of beers on the porch in the summer of 2021, Roberts proposed the idea of getting the proverbial band back together, and this time, doing it for real. With a solid team and years of polishing up their individual skills, 7 Ashes Production was finally ready to blossom.
Cut to a crisp December afternoon, 2021. Three members of the team, Roberts, Puig and Ishmael post up in sun-bleached bucket chairs, sipping coffee and cutting up in the psychedelic shell of an old-school bus parked in the backyard of Curia on the Drag. They share their story and current projects while Madonna, the Penitent Catholic years, plays over the speaker in the background.
“We began making art in the form of short films, but our newest initiative is all about community — reaching out, telling the stories of local artists and businesses, working with other production companies in a collaborative effort to highlight the talent and spirit of our area,” Roberts said.
The crew is now working on a project called “Take One,” which focuses around getting to know the individuals behind some of Gainesville’s small businesses — New Scooters 4 Less and Lone Wolf Barbershop, to name a couple.
How do they come up with new story ideas and fresh inspiration? They answer with a laugh.
“Just put us in a room together,” Puig said.
Off they go, diving back into the depths of the think tank, even mid-interview. The innovation is palpable, and so is the entertainment as they discuss, between laughter, an idea called “Good Cop Bad Cop,” where they interview a guest in the form of a comedically tense interrogation. Ideas are thrown across the room, er, bus, while some are tossed out and others dog-eared to return to later. It sounds like “Good Cop Bad Cop” might be an idea worth revisiting.
In addition to storytelling and filmmaking, the crew has a larger goal in mind.
“We want to create a business that will invite and offer the resources that the industry needs to come to towns like Gainesville,” Roberts said. “We want to be a fully equipped and fully-functional turnkey solution for the entertainment industry.”
This, in turn, will open up opportunities to other local creatives and students who are looking to collaborate.
Each team member works a full-time 9-5, while balancing relationships, additional schooling and general sanity, so 7 Ashes comes alive in the evenings after work and on weekends. It is evident that each team member truly loves the time spent together working on projects.
“For me, it’s telling stories, and the fact I get to combine all of my skills into one common project,” Ishmael said. “It gives me an excuse to continue to learn.”
As Gainesville evolves beyond the college town that once defined the city, 7 Ashes is here to prove that there is so much more beyond football. Each member agrees that the question should not be, “So why Gainesville?” but instead, “Why not Gainesville?” Puig also mentioned the growth that is taking place within the entertainment and creative arts community here in Gainesville.
“Gainesville is really fun to shoot, too. There are tons of people innovating, which adds richness to the community,” Puig said. “There is a boom coming, and it’s going to bring tons of new opportunity. It’s a good time to be part of this creative growth.”
Check out 7 Ashes Productions here.
By Madison Rae