Meet Stephanie Liu & Monica Villavicencio | Co-founders of Xerophile Studios

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Liu & Monica Villavicencio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie Liu & Monica Villavicencio, how do you define success?
Success for us is being able to grow creatively and professionally on a regular basis. This means getting better at the craft of filmmaking and creating work that is meaningful and impactful and ultimately broadens the circle for whose stories get to be told.

In year 3 of our business, we’ve found that success also means creating the time and space to work on personal projects that bring us joy. This isn’t always easy. We’re currently in production on a short documentary about menopause and three women who question everything they’ve been told about aging (https://www.madebyxerophile.com/work/menopause). The process has been incredibly rewarding but, like all film projects, intensely time-consuming. The trade-off between personal work and client work was particularly tough in the beginning, when we were hustling to cover our business and personal expenses while weathering the ups and downs of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic! After two unpredictable years, however, we’ve thankfully reached a point where we can take a few days here and a weekend there to work on our passion project. We’ve also been lucky to receive funding from the Southern Documentary Fund, who’ve supported our doc from the start. All of these wins have been a major cause for celebration.

Looking ahead, our newest definition of success is making sure there are as many women in front of the camera as there are behind it. We take pride in being women-of-color filmmakers and want to ensure that our on-set crews reflect the communities we live in. If you’re a female filmmaker who’s reading this, please reach out! We’d love to connect. (https://www.madebyxerophile.com/contact)

What should our readers know about your business?
Creating this business was a process of rediscovering what we already knew about ourselves. At the time, we were working in tech in San Francisco, but we knew we wanted something different. A life that was more flexible and creative. So we oriented ourselves towards pursuits that brought us joy and meaning in the past – writing, filmmaking, and storytelling.

Our first year in business was a revelation. To be doing what we’d always wanted didn’t feel like fireworks going off or the pinnacle of a hero(ine)’s journey. It felt like relief. After years of resistance, we were finally following poet Mary Oliver’s advice to “let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

We’re genuinely in awe of everything we’ve accomplished in the past two years and all the ways we’ve grown. We’re excited to see where year 3 takes us!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We both live in Decatur, which has no shortage of gems. A perfect day would include coffee and pastries at Buena Gente Cuban Bakery, browsing the stacks at Eagle Eye Books, taking a walk through the Decatur Cemetery, and dinner and drinks at the Deer & the Dove.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are too many people to count! Our families and partners for starters. Laura Asherman of Forage Films, who introduced us to what would become our first community when we arrived in Atlanta. A special shoutout to that community of creatives – Taneka Badie, Erin Washington, Gibron Shepperd, Najah Ali and Davion Alston, who made us feel at home as creative entrepreneurs in ATL. And local graphic designer Cleo De Laney, who made our logo, which we love. We’ve been lucky to meet some incredible people here.

Website: https://www.madebyxerophile.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madebyxerophile/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xerophile

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madebyxerophile/

Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/xerophile

Image Credits
Image with blue background: Arvin Temkar