Really enjoyed this talk with my good friend, go check out his Instagram! @cellar_door_cie
What’s your name, where are you from, and what do you do?
My name is Dominic Cabrera. I grew up in San Jose, and after high school, I moved down to San Diego for five years. In a way, I feel like I’m from both San Jose and San Diego. But also, when I was young, my mom would take me and my brother up to Oakland a lot, so Oakland feels like home too—and I just recently moved there.
Currently, I do a lot of filmmaking and am really trying to find a community to do that with, which I feel goes hand in hand. It’s impossible to talk about the filmmaking I do without mentioning the people who help bring that creativity to life. Before coming to Santa Cruz, I was super into music, and I want to get back into it once I’m a more established filmmaker. There are a lot of things I want to do, and filmmaking gives me the freedom and liberty to pursue those other passions.
How do you define what art is, and what makes someone an artist?
For me, experiencing art is about accessing feelings within myself and being able to express them clearly. That process—that act of expression—is art. It becomes even more substantial when it carries a message, whether it’s political, apolitical, personal—whatever.
That might sound vague, but I think it has to be. For example, my good friend Isaac is a computer engineer, and he talks about his work as if it’s art. It might be hard for him to pinpoint where the emotional aspect lies, but I think it’s still interpretive in that way.
So I’d say an artist is someone who’s driven by emotion to communicate meaning or a message through a medium. Ultimately, I think it’s hard to define what makes someone an artist. I don’t really think about it that much. I’m of the mindset that if I have the tools, then I’m going to make something. Whether someone considers that “art” or sees me as an “artist” is really up to them.
Tell me a little bit about Ten19 Productions.
Ten19 Productions is a collaborative filmmaking effort that my friend Keegan Thomas and I started. We just clicked on the kinds of stories we wanted to tell. We felt like the stories being told on campus didn’t feel real—they weren’t addressing the challenges facing society. He’s been through a lot with his family, and so have I. Those are the voices we want to represent, and we believe they need to be represented.
For me, I want to represent construction workers, sanitation workers, graffiti artists in big cities, educators—people with modest but noble jobs. That’s just an example of the kind of stories we’re drawn to. We connected deeply over that shared motivation and our determination to build careers around it.
We’re also investing in our own equipment so we can shoot whenever we want. That’s a big part of our ethos—just making stuff together. It all officially started in December 2024. Keegan lived at the address 1019, and that’s how the name came about. It’s still a placeholder name, though, because there’s another Ten19 Productions out in Florida. We don’t know if or when we’ll change it, but we’re not stressed about it.
Our main goal is to be our best artistic and filmmaking selves within a community. Just yesterday, we wrapped a shoot, and afterward, we all gathered in a circle and talked for an hour about what it meant to us. It was beautiful—so motivating to hear how much it meant to everyone involved.
I know you were double majoring in computer science and film. How do you balance those two very different studies?
It’s been a complete work in progress. Honestly, it’s been really difficult. I was taking film classes during fall quarter because I thought I was going to major in film. But I didn’t feel like we were learning what we needed to. I didn’t want to write more essays that felt like I was back in community college English classes. So I decided not to major in film and took a leave of absence during winter quarter to focus exclusively on videography—to really hustle.
This past year has been all about exploring and figuring things out. Because I was so dedicated to film, it definitely got in the way of my other studies. I’m currently in a bit of a limbo. I’m still in good academic standing, but I know the school is probably getting concerned. There’s definitely room for improvement when it comes to balancing everything.
What are some near-future goals you have, with production or otherwise?
I’d love to find a little spot in Oakland just for myself—nothing too big, just a space to create independently. I really value that independence. I also want to travel, especially to Europe—just explore a bit more.
Most importantly, I want to be able to walk into any space, talk to someone, and learn about their story. Since I started filmmaking, I’ve been surrounded by so many different artists and people, and you really have to stay curious. I want the courage to approach people who seem interesting, engage with them comfortably, and make them feel at ease too.
On a bigger note, I think our society has a really messed-up relationship with time. I just want to spend time with people and learn what they do—kind of like what you’re doing, man. (Let’s go, blogger shoutout!)
Who are some artists that inspire you—filmmaker or not?
I’m really inspired by artists who have overcome great odds to get where they are. Rappers come to mind first—people like Nipsey Hussle and Kendrick Lamar. Also, a lot of jazz musicians. I used to play jazz—or at least tried to—and when you study it, you learn about the greats from the ’50s and ’60s. People like Charlie Byrd, Thelonious Monk, and Ornette Coleman.
A lot of those musicians had to teach themselves or learned from community mentors. These were often underfunded or marginalized communities. Many of them died poor, but they still managed to master something so complex. That’s such a beautiful trade. And of course, it’s important to note that many of them were Black and Latino artists who overcame incredible challenges to do what they did.
Where do you want to be in 10 years?
In 10 years, I want to be living comfortably, sure—but real success for me would be building a group of people I can call family. People bonded through our stories and art. I want to be part of a community where we support and uplift each other. I just want to see everyone thriving.
I also want to support my own family—be the breadwinner after everything they’ve been through. That’s a big part of my motivation.
Lastly, anything you want to plug—current or future projects?
If you check out my Instagram, you’ll find links to the two collaborative communities I’m a part of and the work we’re doing. I still feel like we’re just getting started, but the work speaks for itself.
We just wrapped shooting on one of our projects and are heading into post-production. We’ve got a lot of friends helping out with that. We still need to build things like a website and a Vimeo page—but that’ll all come with time.
Pretty Things That Shine 
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