The world of film allows the opportunity for a voice to share their views and perspective. Luke Cooper, a young Filmmaker from Ecuador, currently pursuing his studies in Film and TV in the United States dreams of giving a voice to others through his work. Luke, who had a very unique and particular childhood growing up in a ranch in Ecuador, always grew up with the idea that everyone is equal. His home being a mixture of South Africa and Ecuadorian cultures was a very unique experience compared to the children growing up around him, but Luke always remembers everyone sitting at the same table and sharing a strong sense of community.
Growing up, Luke was always somewhat of a rebel. Something he is not a fan of are formalities, Luke believes that formalities come in between the way of showing who you really are. In school, he participated in the newspaper, clubs like Model United Nations, and many more that allowed him to explore his creative outlets, as well as becoming an active member of his community. But, Luke being the adventurous soul he is, always looked for ways to involve his friends in his escapades. While still in high school Luke came up with the idea of creating a short film. So, with zero experience Luke gathered all of his friends (which by the way none had ever worked in anything film related) and decided to co-write, produce, direct and edit his first short film: ‘Distorición.’ Throughout this entire process, Luke taught his friends who were never particularly interested in the world of film, how to use cameras, how to set up lights, and the process behind creating a film. Together they gathered people from classroom to classroom in their school in order to be part of the cast and crew and together they embarked on this journey. Distorición, follows the anxiety of everything that can go wrong on a first date. A feeling Luke and his friends had all experienced before. From this experience Luke learned that what he wishes the most is to create artistic environments where the final product is truly based around the process and the people that made it.
Luke’s passion lies in documentary filmmaking, he believes that through documentaries you are able to show the harsh truths of reality and yet, transmit hope to your audience. On April 16, 2016 Ecuador experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale. The most affected areas were near the town of Muisne, in the Esmeraldas province, located along the northern coast of Ecuador. Luke was only fourteen years old when this happened and after seeing the devastation the people in his country were facing he decided to embark on a mission and make a documentary telling the story of the people that were most affected. Luke came in contact with an organization that was aiding the reconstruction of houses using bamboo and other materials. They came together and decided to make a documentary in order to raise more support for the organization and share these important stories. So, with full support of his parents at only 14 years old, Luke along with two other friends traveled on a bus to the northern coast of Ecuador with the mission of documenting the reconstruction of these towns. After weeks of interviewing people, walking through broken down homes, Luke made his first documentary. The documentary went on to be shown at Venice Biennale, an incredible achievement. But, what Luke recalls the most from this experience is the unlikely friendships he formed through this experience and the conscience of the world he gained through it all.
In his work Luke dreams of creating eye opening pieces that show people the reality of the world in which we live in. But, he wants to make it clear that the world is not ending and at the end of the day hope always remains. “Even the smallest change can go a long way, we can all find our own way of helping” (Luke Cooper) Cooper chooses to help the world through his art, he translates the voice and perspectives of those with unique and meaningful experiences. Luke wishes for the process itself of creating art to help people, to give them that extra push into working together to spread a message.
“Art is an opportunity to change the world. Art helps people understand.” - Luke Cooper.
Fallacie Apparel x Luke Cooper partnership aims to fund Luke's life through college and help him make the most of his education. We also want to drive awareness about artists in the making. We want to establish the power in our slogan "A Home For The World's Most Creative Artists".
- Article by Isabel Chacon