I’ve always believed that one belongs to the place in which one feels love for the very first time. Without a doubt, Manny Bonilla, has found his place in life behind the camera. As if his life were the embodiment of a ladder; rung after rung, goal after goal, he has climbed to become one of the few television directors to ever work for both Latin American and North American audiences.
Born in Douglas, Arizona, Manny has spent the majority of his life in Los Angeles. At the age of five, he held his first real toy; which many years later would become his closest companion: a small camcorder. 43 years later, he still hasn’t let go. Whether it’s filming or directing, Manny has strived to find the essence of his work to transmit to his audience, more so than a single take or a blueprint, he finds and creates emotion through his lens. If an image is worth a thousand words, Manny has written several bestsellers.
Despite his son’s innocent childhood mischief, Manny’s father instilled a fervent passion for life within Manny. Manny, has felt, and is continuing to feel, every single minute of every hour spent working in and out of the studio; that same passion that he was raised with. More than creating a story, he is the vicarious participant.
If you dare to dream, you will achieve. Manny knows this and because, the fruits of his perseverance, his hard work and his dream of conveying a message that the world shall never be able to forget, have led him to direct world renowned events such as: Person of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards, the Millennial Awards and The Voice Mexico, among others.
If there is more than one way to do something, Manny always goes his own way. What I mean is, despite all the adversity he has encountered—situations where he has had to decide between his family and his work or even an accident in his twenties—he has always been capable of channelling each pitfall in his life into his directing work and into the goals he so often likes to set himself. I think it would not be crazy to see that each time Manny tackles a new project, he does so with the enthusiasm and excitement of a child playing with a kite for the first time.
Speaking about the future with someone who only knows to live in the present is a bit complicated. After a life of realized dreams, the next question is inevitably: now what? A question that only the truly brave can answer clearly. Manny sees himself directing; maybe cinema, maybe a series, maybe at some point in the not-too-distant future someone will put a script in his hand and say: Action. Who knows?
For now, one thing is certain: Manny wants to continue learning and to create a working environment around himself; where, like a river flowing through a canyon, he can share his knowledge and skills with those who have started from nothing without them having to think, even for a moment, whether they had something to lose. A Peter Sagan of the camera or a Forrest Gump of directing: that’s Manny; a man, who out of nowhere, has lifted himself and put on his suit for the gala.
Is this it?
No. Of course not. If one thing’s for certain, it’s this: everything is possible.
By: Miguel Gane and Ruben Robles