Meet Lawrence Page | Filmmaker, Entrepreneur and CEO of MILA CNCPTS

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

Hi Lawrence, what matters most to you?
I’ve grown up with not having a lot, and living in a 1 bedroom NYC apartment with a family of four. Me and my family set expectations low but knew if we worked hard enough and were patient enough, we’ll receive what we need in life, and MAYBE, just maybe, we’d receive the things we’d WANT in this life. Learned a lot of values from my parents’ pasts stories of creating a life here in the U.S. My late mother immigrating to the U.S from the Philippines in the early 80’s, and having herself a great career as a nurse while balancing being a mother is something I’ll always admire. My father’s story is also another one that I admire, he had spent 10 years of his life since he was 17 incarcerated in the Philippines’ highest level secured prison. Because of his U.S citizenship (that he had because of a grandfather law, and his grandfather being born in the U.S) with arrangements made, he was able to come the America in the early 80’s. He came here with no education past a high school degree, and came here with a culture shock of first being out of incarceration, and secondly, trying to assimilate into American culture. With both of these brief stories about my parents, I learned that it’s important to be patient, to be kind hearted, to work hard in this life, and to believe in miracles. These are the principles I live by, and apply to all aspects of my life, including in my work.

What should our readers know about your business?
Today, I’m the CEO of MILA CNCPTS. We are a video production company that produces commercial work, music videos, and documentaries. We also have an apparel/merchandise line with our MILA branding that we launched back in the summer of 2019. MILA is an acronym for; Movies, Intelligence, Love and Art. These are four words that bests describes me and my team in our creative journey. It is also the name of my late mother (Mila) Milagros Page who I tragically lost to cancer at the end of 2016. Ever since I was in high school, I knew I wanted to live my life out as a creative. I’d cut school, just to watch YouTube videos on how to become a filmmaker. I’d get in so much trouble for ditching school, and would regularly need to visit my guidance counselor, Lauren (we addressed our teachers in this high school by their first names). I ended up telling her the truth that I’d skip class to learn how to use a camera and get better at making videos and shooting photography. She then enrolled me to a summer photography workshop that changed my life. From there, I gained confidence that I can have a bright future and career in new media. The moment I turned 18, I got to work and did various commercial videos for my friends’ businesses, I filmed and directed friends’ music videos, along with creating short film content with friends on YouTube. Year, after year, the quality of work got better and so my confidence in charging for my work grew. I got into the wedding videography business in 2012 which was the first time I got paid more than $200 to film something. I still run this videography business today in 2021. At the age of 22, at a time when not every company understood the need for a social media manager, I landed that opportunity along with being a content creator for Nina Shoes Corporate in New York City. They are a successful women’s shoe company that has been around for over 50 years. This opportunity then got me bigger career opportunities down the line, working with influencers on YouTube and Instagram with audiences in the millions, along with working with successful media companies like Vox Media, Eater NY, Fader, HighSnobiety, StreetDreams Magazine, and working with brands like McDonald’s, Heinz 57, T-Mobile, The North Face, PF Flyers and more. Seeing the ins and outs of all of these amazing companies and seeing how these successful people operate, I had that itch to build up something of my own to create my own opportunities and success. So born was the idea of MILA and having a video production company/brand named after my mother.

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.
My thing is, if you are brand new to New York City, I definitely do suggest to have some of the “touristy” attractions on your itinerary. There are many touristy attractions that can be scams, so that’s where I can help as a local New Yorker identify these scams for you. So go see Times Square (at night!), go to Central Park (The Mall and Bethesda Terrace), Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink and all of that! Then once you got that touristy experience out of your system, I love taking my out of town friends to Gantry State Park in Long Island City Queens which is a beautiful waterfront park with the Manhattan skyline all up in front of you. You can’t help, but be in your feels with a view like that. Then after that, only a few minutes away, I like taking my friends to the best diner in NYC and my personal favorite diner ever, Court Square Diner. They make you feel like you’re at home! For more of the food tour, I’d take my friends to Elmhurst Queens specifically on Roosevelt Avenue for some authentic Mexican tacos, and we’ll cap off with dinner and dessert in Flushing Queens NY for amazing Chinese dishes and treats! Have an empty stomach for when you visit NYC with me!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I can credit my success to my parents, my late mother Milagros C Page and my father William Page Sr. More credit also goes to my older brother WIlliam Page Jr along with his wife Edlyne Nicolas Page who run a thriving bakery in Chinatown LA located in the Far East Plaza called @Laroolou (handle on Instagram). There are many people in the industry that I’ve worked with and look up to that’s helped me get to where I am today, but I most especially would like to show appreciation to (YouTubers/TV hosts) David and Andrew Fung of the FUNG (BROS). I used to be their videographer and editor for their YouTube channel out in LA and NY. They without hesitation would do what they can to support my own career and hustle in this industry and help me put my name out there, I wouldn’t be where I am today without their guidance and support, so if y’all are reading this, thank you guys for everything. I’d also like to thank my team at MILA CNCPTS. We’re still small, but with this team, I believe we can grow into something that’s bigger than us. I’d like to shoutout, Kathleen Damaian from San Francisco who does outreach work for us and creates content for the brand, LA Loy from Queens NY who conducts our product photoshoots, Melissa Estudillo from Denver Colorado who is another amazing model and content creator for the brand and finally Ro Medina from Virginia who is in charge of the brand’s administrative work and is sometimes my therapist when company responsibilities become overwhelming haha. Without them, the brand wouldn’t be where it is today, and my job is to take care of them, and help them make THEIR dreams come true. That is something I’ve committed to.

Website: https://milacncpts.com/

Instagram: @Lawrence_Page & @MILA.CNCPTS