Meet Tanner Tovar | Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tanner Tovar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tanner, why did you pursue a creative career?
I pursued an artistic career because ever since I was a child I’ve always had a creative side. It started with drawings of animals and fish, and then moved to watching movies in 2002 when Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. I fell in love with the visual art of movies and tv. I got my first camera in high school where I started landscape photography. Soon it transitioned into doing portraits of people and then I knew it’s what I wanted to do. Over the last 10 years I’ve been pursuing the creative outlet as a photographer/ filmmaker. Something about creating something and people getting emotion out of it, whether it be film or photos, really gives me joy. I’m not in it for fame or money, I’m in it for the art, and the feeling of contributing to the global industry.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Starting out was hard. I had no support, and no know how. I am all self taught, so it took a long time to get to where I am now. I started screenwriting when I was in college, and been doing that more as of late. Little by little My craft got more defined. I spent time in the Pacific Northwest where I met some extraordinary people who were models and photographers. Spending time with them help the creative juices flowing as we did artistic photography projects.

While In Washington, I started my film company, 917 Media House. The name 917 comes from my childhood house address where I fell in love with movies in the first place. Over the last few years we’ve grown into multiple groups across several states. In 2019, we produced our first feature film “Nosebleeders” that went on to be shown in 7 film festivals. The main reason I started 917 Media was to help other creatives get the experience they need, and to have a creative outlet for their art. I would say the one thing we excel at is collaboration, and at the end of the day the art I help create can inspire the next generation.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am an outdoors person, and thankfully my friends are too, so I would definitely bring them on some local trails around Phoenix and Tucson. And maybe go camping in Sedona, or Mt. Lemmon. For food, I would take them around Tempe and Chandler for a wide variety of options.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would have to say my family and friends. At first, my family were a little against it, but over time they came around to it after they saw how happy I was. My friends also helped me a lot when I was starting out. Braving the cold and snow to film in the woods, or being my models when I was learning to shoot people subjects. They are super supportive of the endeavors I do in the film industry.

Instagram: Instagram.com/official_917media

Facebook: Facebook.com/917mediahouse

Youtube: YouTube.com/917mediahouse

Image Credits
Jose Quinones