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Blurring the line between fiction and reality, Serious People follows a music video director who, overwhelmed by fatherhood and creative burnout, hires a doppelganger to take over his work. What starts as a clever solution spirals into a surreal exploration of identity, ambition, and the pressures of the creative grind.
VENTS sat down with co-writers and directors Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson to talk about the film’s personal roots, its sly social commentary, and the strange, replaceable nature of modern creative life. Pasqual has co-directed music videos for big artists like Bad Bunny, Travis Scott, Madonna, and The Weeknd, among others.
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Pasqual Gutierrez & Ben Mullinkosson
PRODUCED BY: Ryan Hahn, Laurel Thomson, Teddy Lee
STARRING: Pasqual Gutierrez, Christine Yuan, RJ Sanchez, Miguel Huerta
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Sundance Film Festival 2025
OPENING IN THEATERS: November 14
VOD RELEASE: December 16 on all major platforms
VENTS: So first off, Pasqual, Serious People is rooted in a personal dilemma—balancing creative ambition and fatherhood. How much of the story came directly from your own experience, and where did you exaggerate or fictionalize it to make a larger point?
Pasqual Gutierrez: It 100% came from my personal experience. Here’s my daughter right here behind us—so it’s all real.
Oh, she wanted to be part of the interview! Yeah, look, it was 100% what was going on in my life. I actually had shingles—look, there’s a tiny bit of the scar left. I was having an existential crisis about this.
I’m a music video director. My partner, Christine, is also a director. The home we’re in for the film is my real house, that’s my real office. Raul is my real creative partner in our directing duo Clica.
At the time, we were facing a lot of challenges—both about our partnership and about fatherhood. I wanted to take time off to be present for my daughter’s birth, and it drastically affected the work we were able to do. We lost big jobs and big opportunities because I wasn’t available.
All of that culminated in a very nightmarish, hyper-vivid dream I had where I cast a doppelganger from Craigslist—which became the premise of the film. The next morning I called Ben and said, “Let’s make this a movie.”
VENTS: That really captures the contradiction of the system we live in—you’re expected to work hard all the time and also have kids, but you can’t always be there for your kids if you’re out working hard.
There’s definitely some social commentary built into that.
Pasqual:
Oh, 100%. That was very conscious.
Serious People and Replaceability
VENTS:
The idea of hiring a doppelganger to replace yourself is wild but also deeply symbolic. What does Miguel represent to each of you—as a filmmaker, a person, and as commentary on the industry?
Ben:
I think Miguel represents the future. He can do it. He’s actually a really sweet guy.
Even yesterday at the premiere, he said, “Yeah, I’m actually really nice.” And sometimes when I watch the film, I’m like, “Oof.”
Miguel really could be a director. And there’s this feeling—maybe not a threat, but a sense of replaceability. Miguel could replace any of us at any time. He’s hardworking.
We pushed the boundary and made him a little more evil than he’d probably be in real life. I’m curious what it would look like if we made a pure documentary version—where Miguel actually directs a real video or commercial. I don’t think he’d sabotage it; I think he’d do great.
Miguel has a lot of potential. And that’s the thing—there’s real replaceability in this industry.
When we started, we actually thought this would be a documentary. But because of the baby’s timeline, we only had six months to craft these scenes, so we had to structure it narratively. It evolved into this meta film.
Sundance called it fiction, but we submitted to both fiction and documentary categories—we didn’t know what it was. It’s just a film. The category doesn’t matter; the story does.
VENTS:
Ben, since you come from a documentary background, and this is a scripted feature—did you two clash at all while making it?
Ben:
There was one scene. It wasn’t really between us, but it was tough.
This is Pasqual’s life, and we were filming in his actual house. The whole crew was there late at night. Christine was tired, and we kept pushing the scene. The real-life implications started affecting things.
That was maybe the hardest part—your relationships, everyone involved. Because it is real, but we’re asking them to play along with this narrative. And Christine’s really pregnant. So the hardest part was documenting real life while pushing it this way.
Pasqual:
Yeah, that was definitely the biggest challenge. But I think that’s also what excited us about the film—bringing two perspectives together.
It has a clear narrative arc, written and planned, but it’s also shot with a documentary eye. The combination of those two things is what makes Serious People unique. And we kept it an open, creative space throughout development.
Serious People and “The Clout Economy”
VENTS:
Do you have any thoughts on the so-called “clout economy”? Not “clown economy,” but clout economy…
Pasqual:
Yes—yes, or clown economy—it’s the same thing, man.
In real life, I’ve been in the music video industry for years. I’ve seen a lot. And it’s not the artists—they’re usually amazing to work with—it’s the systems around them.
The timelines, the pressure, the expectation that you can never say no to any opportunity. Because if you do, someone else replaces you immediately—and they’ll even copy your style. That’s a big part of this film’s commentary.
A lot of directors in LA’s clout-heavy scene feel that same existential dread—this fear of being replaced. It brings out the worst in people. Power comes fast, and some get drunk on it.
I’ve seen it happen. And yeah, this film comments on that.
The Music Video World
VENTS:
Music videos can lead to huge opportunities. Some people dismiss them, but plenty of major filmmakers started that way.
Pasqual:
Absolutely. David Fincher did, Spike Jonze did… what’s his name—Transformers guy—
VENTS:
Michael Bay?
Pasqual:
Yes! Michael Bay started there. Many have. The Daniels too—they were a directing duo for years before winning their Oscar. So yeah, it translates. I’m happy to have crossed over.
VENTS:
What does Serious mean in the title Serious People? Does it mean being a serious artist, a serious parent, or just a serious human?
Pasqual:
It’s deeply ironic. The idea is that the things we take so “seriously”—especially as directors—aren’t actually that serious.
Even though it feels like your whole life depends on it, it’s not the end of the world. When you pit your career against parenthood, your whole life changes. It’s about raising your child.
When you look back, you realize it’s gonna be okay—it’s not that big of a deal. My character embodies that—he’s scared to say no, neurotic about missing opportunities, blindly confident it’ll all work out.
It’s a comment on all of that. Like, dude, it’s really not that serious. You could’ve just said, “I can’t do the video.” But instead, he goes all over the place to avoid it.
VENTS:
Was the disastrous music video shoot drawn from real experience, or made up just to make the movie funny?
Pasqual:
It was made up.
But the reality behind it was real—Raul and I were having trouble booking jobs when Christine was pregnant. Things were coming in, and I had to say no because of the pregnancy. That was all real, and it was deeply frustrating.
It felt unfair that my creative partner couldn’t work because I was becoming a father. That tension is what inspired the story.
All I’ll say is—Miguel’s character has been subtly training for that moment his whole life.
The Biggest Takeaway from Serious People
VENTS:
And what’s the biggest message you want people to take from the film?
Ben:
There are a few. The obvious one is replaceability—it’s a commentary on that in Los Angeles.
But it’s also about how beautiful, interesting, and strange life here can be. I don’t live in LA anymore, but looking at Pasqual’s life and our friends’, there’s something amazing about it.
We shot in his real house, in Silver Lake. You don’t often see films from the perspective of directors in the music video or commercial space. That’s our world, and I think showing that is something special.
It’s also a beautiful story about Pasqual and Christine in this moment of their lives. Showing that to the world—that’s the takeaway.
VENTS:
Anything else you’d like to add?
Pasqual:
I’d just tell people—if you watch the film, go make one yourself.
That’s what I want people to feel. That’s what we did. My favorite part is seeing young filmmakers who are nervous but inspired, with ideas they think they can’t make happen.
You can do it. We did. It started as a home video, really—a home project. It was just for us.
And the fact that we’re here now, having this conversation, with distribution—it’s wild. Every day we’re just happy to be here.
So I hope that reaches someone out there: go make something. We need new stuff in the world.
