In 2023, Hugo Ortiz Clemens’ short film “Brenda” won first place at the Texas Union Film Festival. This year, he showcased his undergraduate thesis film “Do Not Disturb” at Austin Film Festival in the Best Lil’ Shorts in Texas program. The film follows two C-List actors as they  attempt to film a sex tape to kickstart their Hollywood careers. The Daily Texan sat down with Ortiz Clemens (radio-television-film ‘23) to discuss the progression of his filmmaking career and his ambitious short film. 

The Daily Texan:  You created “Do Not Disturb” as your undergraduate thesis film. Did you ever imagine it would reach this big of an audience? 

Hugo Ortiz Clemens: The thesis part was the excuse — I was gonna make it, and it was awesome to make it within the resources the university offered for being a thesis film. I knew I wanted to make it because it (would) be my last film as an undergrad here, so I wanted to take advantage of as many resources as I could. 

DT: Why did you submit to AFF specifically and what is your relationship like with Austin as a filmmaker? 

HOC:  I felt that sending my films there would be a great opportunity to not only be showcased in a festival that has national recognition, but also that’s basically in my backyard. That was always interesting for me, and the fact that the films I’ve made were all shot in Austin (with) all Austin based people. It also feels (like) a celebration … Other festivals that I might have gotten into (are) hard for people to go, but (AFF) was in Austin. It was easier for the cast, crew and people involved in the community of Austin in general to show up to the film and celebrate the awesome work and achievement. 

DT: What have you taken from your time within the radio-television-film program and employed in your post-grad filmmaking career?

HOC: Community and relationships. I’ve met a lot of people (at) UT that were film related or film adjacent. … Those relationships with the students, the cohorts, but also with the professors, have proven to be the most valuable. Filmmaking is a lot about relationships. It’s a hugely collaborative medium. You have to know people and you have to have friends and people that you can work with … It was great to find those people through the years that you like working with.

DT: What do you hope audiences take away from your short film?  

HOC: There’s not a lot of meritocracy (in the film industry) and there’s a lot of stuff that plays into it. But at the same time, we still want to be a part of it in a weird way. .… You don’t have to agree with how everything works and how everything is to still want to be a part of it, because it’s gray — it’s never black and white. There’s some good things and there’s some very bad things about it. But in the end, it’s all about knowing your limits — where you would go and where you don’t want to go as an artist (and) to be able to put your work out there.