Rodrigo Badoino

I was born in Lima, Peru in 1995. I had a decent up bringing - the normal sibling rivalry stuff with my older sister, nice friends and a very big funny and loving family. Peru is a very beautiful place - but it can also be very dangerous. Certain dangerous situations and events led my family to actively pursue a different kind of life. They wanted me and my sister to be raised somewhere safer and with more opportunity. This started a chain of events that really shaped me as a person and taught me a lot about family and the human spirit. On November 2001 we arrived in Florida. Well. My mum, my sister and I were. My dad had to stay an extra 6 months - work stuff. I have fond memories of America. I met new family, aunts, uncles, cousins, sixth cousin's. The works. A new second weird and loving family. I was also lucky to build a strong relationship with my mum in that time. Our 2 week visa was stretched to 2 years. We had a window of opportunity and it was closing on us quick. My parents were also working themselves into the ground to get the move happening. I was very fortunate that my dad had all his immediate family in Perth, they'd been slowly migrating to Australia since the Mid 90's. They helped us a lot and because of them we were able to get a resident visa when we arrived - but... the journey only got harder as my parents marriage wasn't legal in Australia, which meant my mum couldn't come with us straight away. She was also pregnant with my sister... We all agreed on the name - it was cute. Daniella. She was only a month old when my dad, my older sister and I left. I arrived in Perth in 2003 - it was hard. I didn't know the language and to be honest I didn't like it here. I failed to understand at the time - why my parents had done this. I was 8 so I didn't really have much of a chance but now I can see their intentions were pure. I can only imagine how hard it would've been for my parents, my dad was 43 and my mother was 38. A new beginning. Round 3. My dad's family were nice. We squeezed 6 of us into a 3 bedroom home in Bayswater. My dad is a hero. He worked like no man has worked before and as soon as we could become citizens - we did. Us being citizens meant my mother and sister could finally come. In those two years I began to handcraft little gifts for my mum. I really cared about what I made for her. The first mothers day here was tearful but creating for her started something in me. A care for the creative work I did as I knew it would have an influence on at least that one person when I did manage to share it with them. I was lucky that I was young, I adapted quickly and embraced the culture around me. I was 10 when I saw my mother again and after only hearing her voice over the phone for 819 days my heart was full. She nurtured my creative energy - encouraging me to play instruments, act and perform. My father taught me a lot about work ethic through sport. What can I say...? They were good. 18 came around and I wanted to be... an actor! I auditioned for WAAPA and didn't get in... my dad suggested I go to TAFE and study something in film to get that knowledge up. Good call. I went to TAFE and as faith would have it I fell in love with story and of course... directing. I didn't do that well in school, so writing was out of the picture for me. After a year at TAFE, I went on to direct a heap of music videos in Perth culminating over 200,000 views for local bands at the time. I was in the scene and it was a great way to practice. I was a one man team at the time and the urge to collaborate was strong. At 20 I felt I was ready... and that... I was gonna make the big move... to LA... hahaha.... My mother talked me out of it, she knew I wasn't ready so instead - she encouraged me to me pursue my dreams in a more reasonable city. Sydney. I moved in 2016 - I was 21. I went to IFSS, now known as AFTT. I went there with the goal of finding a DP to collaborate with. All my favourite Directors back then had a DP partnership and I was eager to find one and I did. My final short film got into the Cannes Film Festival the following year. I'm lucky that I met so many incredible and talented filmmakers who I could collaborate with. I graduated with proficiency in the tools of the edit - the when to cut is still in development. I also decided I wanted to give this writing thing a go. I was able to write and direct more short films after school. They're both currently in post and getting the final touches. They're different from one another. A Horror and Romantic Drama. I've directed two television pilots - we're in the process of pitching them now. A thriller and a nifty comedy called Ambos for Hire. From 2018 to 2020 I've written four feature films. The first one is very close to me as it really helped me in the journey of finding my voice. 'The Week' is my quarantine script. It was spat out in a euphoric 3 weeks followed by a gruelling 7 months of re-writes - which are still on going. as of March 2021. It has backing from Sparrow Studios and is in at the financing stage. I have been mentored by Luke Ford for 18 months. It's an interesting relationship and perspective learning from an established actor. I've learnt a lot about the role of an actor and my role in their process. Marry my experiences and his passed down knowledge and you get... Me. I've made mistakes - as we all do but - I really pride myself in how I take them head on. I try and grow from them as much as possible. I know I'll never stop learning and that's a very good thing. As of January 2021 I'm working as a Director and Senior Editor for Sydney Video Producers in Dural. I'm in charge of their edits and am also directing their next slated TV advertisements. I'm in the process of opening a production company to release my work under. My partner in crime in this venture is Michael Grocholsky - we named it Leche. It means milk in Spanish. I continue to write - developing that muscle is important to me. My ambitions are to entertain and connect with broad audiences. I strive to create, develop and form original ideas within a genre that is suitable for the story. A recurring theme in all my features is family. I wonder why sometimes...