Biography
With roots in documentary and independent production, John Montoya's considerable filmography merges artful story-craft with informative purpose, availing film's unique ability to capture imagination through picture and sound.
His interest in filmmaking sparked in childhood, where he nurtured a sense of inquisitive and joyful communication watching smart comedies and cunning mystery stories - all the while plotting his own with family and friends in the Lancaster, California community that his family moved to when he was ten.
After earning a Bachelor's of Science in Criminology, John attended film school at City College of San Francisco. There he collaborated with Charlotte K. Beyers of the Palo Alto-based company, Peregrine Productions, on several works including "Our Own Road" (2000), a documentary highlighting the experience of differently-abled persons that taught him to "recognize how attitudes bless those around us," While working on the film in Culiacan, Mexico, he fell in love not only with producing, but with the woman who would become his wife and mother to his four children, artist Adriana Lujano. John and his family currently live amongst the Joshua Trees north of Los Angeles, where he teaches learning-disabled students at an L.A. County high school.
John continued making innovative films, notably the documentaries "BookWars" (2000), produced through his San Francisco company, S.A.I.D. Communications, "Born 2B Gangsta" (2006), and "StandUP!" (2007), his first collaboration with Adriana as Art Director. Other edu-tainment projects, created with producer Taku Nishimae, include the interactive vlog exhibit, "Human Reflections" (2015), and "21st Century Kids" (2002), a student-led, globally produced docu-series that screened simultaneously at USC, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and in online forums. These innovative deliveries cemented John's aspirations to create accessible media for education and entertainment.
Viewing filmmaking as a shared experience, John consciously strives to forge pathways for collective expression and mutual understanding, giving honor to others' imaginations. His production company, Telling Visions Unlimited, seeks to provoke infinite possibility by appealing to a wide audience and delighting artists of any age. His enthusiasm for the audience is unconditional, and in 2018 he established Backlot Hollywood, a groundbreaking production house that democratizes the filmmaking process from inception to post-production, broadening movie-watchers' traditional role as consumers, and opting to involve them at every level of creation. Backlot Hollywood's unique method of utilizing social media as a mechanism to select, green light, and springboard fully crowd-sourced projects produced a successful first effort, the short film, "Uncovered" (2020), with several more projects in the works.
John's dedication to education and filmmaking allows him to create engaging, reflective films for cinephiles and casual movie-watchers alike. His imagination is expansive, yet his goals concise. "I want to inspire others to dream and make films [with] no limits on telling visions."
