Major: Media X
Minor: Writing
Activities: Director for the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for ASuop;
Resident Assistant; Powell Scholar; and Humanities Scholar
Hometown: San Jose, California
Favorite place on campus: The Lair
Favorite place off campus: Regal Stockton City Center and IMAX movie theater, Stockton
As an aspiring filmmaker, Jose Flores-Jimenez ’25 came to Pacific because Media X offered him opportunities to develop his technical and story-telling skills while collaborating with a diverse group of students. An internship at the Cannes Film Festival furthered his interest in advocating for diversity, equality and inclusion.
Why did you decide to study Media X at Pacific?
When I looked up Pacific online, I found out about Media X program, which was something brand new and aligned with my aspirations towards becoming a filmmaker. It got my attention because not only would I have courses on film and film production, but it was also intended to offer interdisciplinary work in different digital arts and creative forms, including animation, graphic design and modeling.
What did you hope to get from your university experience?
What I was looking for was a diverse student cohort that would encourage me to continue with film. I wanted fellow students who would be supportive of each other in different creative ways. I was looking for a difference in perspective. What made Media X so interesting to me was the idea that these were going to be different disciplines and different ideas of what art can be.
Obviously, I’ve come here to continue my own personal storytelling through films. But I also get to be involved in other people's projects. I’m just trying to develop myself with every course I take as a storyteller, so that I can look at the world a bit differently and find different angles that would be interesting to explore.
What is your favorite class?
So far, it is definitely Dr. Courtney Lehmann’s Shakespeare class which I took at the end of my first year. Dr. Lehmann teaches Shakespeare in a way that makes you ponder gender dynamics, gender performance structures and systems, and everything has an application to today. And so, beyond just helping me understand the plays, I feel like I’ve learned a new way of looking at the world, how people perform and engage with the world around them.
How did you secure an internship at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival?
Through the American Pavilion, Pacific was able to sponsor internships for a group of students going to Cannes. We had two options: work inside of the pavilion, which is an area of general hospitality as well as panels and video work that you can get involved in, or you could intern with an outside company.
I decided to intern with an Australian distribution company called Odin's Eye Entertainment because I was able to learn about the distribution process. I got to see firsthand people pitching their projects to studios and people trying to buy the rights to a film, so they can show it in different countries. It was very interesting because it gave me a new perspective on not just the creation of a film, but also what happens to a film after it's been done, and it needs to be sold.
What is your favorite experience from that trip?
A memory that I’m cherishing more and more as time goes by is taking a recommendation to see the film called “Aftersun.” I was lucky to land a ticket for the screening, and I went in with no expectations. It was the most emotional I’ve ever been in a movie theater, and I walked out thinking that I’d just watched a masterpiece.
The most dreamlike experience I had in Cannes was running into Wim Wenders, one of my favorite filmmakers. I credit him for changing my perspective on what filmmaking could be. In a lot of ways, I consider him a personal hero of mine artistically. I was able to talk to him about the state of the film industry and his favorite films that he got to work on. It was so amazing that somebody like him was open to talking to a young person, an unknown artist such as myself.
What have you learned during your internship?
There are two lessons that I took away from Cannes. I was reminded of how beautiful the theatrical experience is and how amazing it is to share this relatively recent history of filmmaking. But it also reminded me of how there are a lot of ways in which this industry could improve. It was encouraging to know that I had taken that first big step into a major filmmaking space because it made me feel like there's a good chance that I can change the industry for the better down the line.
Has that experience affected your path forward?
From the very beginning when I came into Pacific, I tried to engage in DEI work with the student government. I’ve been having a lot of conversations about Pacific as an institution and other larger institutions in the country because there are all these things that we've inherited from the past and we still need to overcome.
The Cannes experience made me realize that the international film industry is beautiful, but at the same time, it comes from a line of history that needs to be talked about, acknowledged and then overcome. I guess, I’m thinking a lot more about how we can come about discussing issues and how we can come about changing them and coming together as people.
