This article is part of a column called Philly Profiles, which features in-depth profiles of local moving-image artists and cultural workers, including their body of work, inspirations, and upcoming projects. The column is written by cinéSPEAK Philly Cultural Critics Fellows.
This interview was conducted in Spanish and translated into English.
“Stories, when told with truth and passion, can change the way we see the world,” reads filmmaker Héctor Tapia’s artist statement. A Philadelphia-based media professional with over 15 years of experience, Tapia was born and raised in Mexico. His career as a cinematographer, spanning award-winning shorts such as Loss and Mi Querida Escandón and the feature documentary Bad Things Happen In Philadelphia, has centered on social impact and highlighting human connection.
Tapia’s filmmaking journey began in Mexico City, where he worked as an editor for a TV channel under a large media conglomerate. “In Mexico, my work was very commercial,” says Tapia. “But being part of a production company, working on reality shows [and] concerts, and the pressure of being on air gave me a very solid foundation. It was grounding.”
While working in TV was exciting and allowed Tapia to cut his teeth on various roles and phases of production, filmmaking kept calling his attention. “I had a great mentor who had a background in filmmaking,” recalls Tapia. “I would see the things he’d work on, and it blew my mind, so I always wanted to go that way.” But before becoming a filmmaker, Tapia had to understand the quiet language of light.
“Lighting, or the behavior of light, was not something I had learned as [I should have],” explains Tapia. “I knew the basics but was always missing that finer part.” Getting to know how light interacts and realizing he felt at home behind the camera was “eye-opening.” “I felt I’ve done it backwards my whole life,” laughs Tapia. “Instead of thinking of a nice background, I could finally compose by taking lighting into account first.”
This artistic growth was later reflected in the short films The Light Hunter and Mi Querida Escandón. Released in 2020 and 2022 respectively after he relocated to the United States, both works show Tapia’s ability to convey tender moments and emotionally complex subjects through delicate illumination. After working on these films–shooting, editing, and refining his eye–Tapia connected with the team behind Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia.
Released in 2023 to critical acclaim, Bad Things Happen In Philadelphia centers around the effects of gun violence on young men, women, and mothers living in the city, but is also an uplifting story of community organizing and resilience. “The violence we experience here in the United States, and Philly, is brutal,” says Tapia. “So working with Kyra [Knox, the film’s director,] was part of raising awareness.”
Combining their skills and moved by the film’s subject, Tapia and Knox were able to produce a hit. “The film took off–nobody expected it,” recalls Tapia. Bad Things Happen In Philadelphia won multiple awards in 2024, including the Local Audience Choice Award at the Philadelphia Film Festival, seven Shorty Impact Awards, and eight Telly Awards. Tapia credits part of the film’s success to him and Knox bonding over their shared experience as people of color in the film industry.
“[Knox] is Black, and I’m Latino, so we had to fight from the bottom up,” says Tapia. “The budgets they gave us were never the same as those they gave to white directors.” This bond allowed Tapia and Knox to thrive in their roles. “Her vision was super powerful, and she gave me total creative freedom,” says Tapia.
Although satisfying, the film’s positive reception wasn’t everything for Tapia. “What I ended up loving most was seeing real change,” he says. “The greatest reward was that the film gave people a boost.” Seeing the local community flourish further confirmed Tapia’s interest in making documentaries about social justice topics. “I was very lucky to be able to be part of those kinds of stories, which generate impact and generate positive change,” reflects Tapia.
His next film, while having larger social justice implications, was much more personal. Until Bad Things Happen In Philadelphia, Tapia had worked on telling other people’s histories–on portraying characters outside his immediate orbit. Dear Sofía, now in post-production, is a documentary project that emerged from a deeply personal journey of connecting with his autistic daughter.
“When Sofía was diagnosed at age three, it was really hard for me to connect with her,” explains Tapia. “ I’m also neurodivergent. I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, so there was a barrier.” By his own admission, Tapia at first had a difficult time navigating Sofía’s diagnosis. “I say this with shame, but I was a bit in denial. I was scared,” he says. “Finally, something reached me. I thought ‘Well, if not with words, maybe through the camera.’”
When Sofía was four years old, with her permission, Tapia started capturing their time spent together. “I started recording, and I [wasn’t planning] to make a documentary,” says Tapia. “I just wanted to film and observe, but then reviewing the material over and over, it hit me.” Sofía’s mom, Latinx filmmaker Melanie Silva, was on board with the project. “Like all good creatives, we had our differences. But when I edited the trailer, she joined,” Tapia says. Adding her voice to the footage, Silva brings a profoundly moving touch to Dear Sofía, a vital layer that speaks to motherhood, vulnerability, and love.
Working on the documentary brought healing to Tapia. “The fact of seeing Sofía in the material I recorded allowed me to see more things about her,” says Tapia. “It allowed me to see her more deeply. It’s hard to explain, but I feel like I started to get to know her better.” A devoted father, Tapia put his fears (and the camera) aside and connected with his daughter. “I started therapy, and now it’s completely different. But at that moment, the camera was the only bridge, and I thank God that part existed, because maybe it would have taken me much longer to be able to establish the bond I have with her today,” reflects Tapia.
Dear Sofía, slated to premiere in 2026, is Tapia and Silva’s love letter to their daughter. Crediting the film as his best work to date, Tapia is working on a round of funding for color correction and audio design.
Speaking about his artistic inspiration and approach, Tapia mentions the city of Philadelphia. “I love it. It gave me visual freshness. It was totally appealing,” explains Tapia. “Having spent most of my life in Mexico, Philadelphia came to me to sort of reawaken a search.”
Being an immigrant dad has also influenced Tapia’s relationship to the city. “My daughter is growing up in a totally different society and country than the one I grew up in,” says Tapia. “So wanting to understand more about this culture, what’s happening to me, and what my children are going to face gave me that push, both creatively and personally.”
As our conversation came to an end, Tapia left cinéSPEAK with a final thought: “I feel like projects have a soul, and they look for life. Life always finds a way, right? And [Dear Sofía] found its way of being born.”
*Featured Image: Image of Héctor Tapia with his first camera. Courtesy of the artist.
Maria “Nenet” Barrios is an Argentine-born and Philadelphia-based writer and music journalist. Specializing in storytelling that spans decades of Latin music, her work has been featured in publications including The Washington Post, Bandcamp Daily, and Grammy.com. Nenet is a 2025 cinéSPEAK Philly Cultural Critics Fellow.
