George Bonilla

Independent filmmaker George Bonilla is as passionate a person as you would ever hope to meet. He literally puts his heart and soul into every project he takes on. Bonilla is generally credited with growing the booming independent film community in the Lexington, Kentucky area. Bonilla grew up in Hazard, Kentucky and attended Eastern Kentucky University. After traveling the globe for twenty years, he ended up back in Kentucky settling in Richmond. He turned his back on a successful career in television to devote his time to see to fruition the films he wanted to make. He sought creative control on his projects, and started over from scratch to gain that control. He formed ZP Productions, which later morphed into ZP International. He produced and directed his first feature film, Zombie Planet (2004), with an amateur crew in Lexington. By Hollywood standards, it was a risky move to embark on a project of the magnitude of Zombie Planet (2004)with a staff of unknowns, but it paid off. In the process, Bonilla was able to train his crew and turn out a quality product. The film was released world-wide in 2004. Many of Lexington, Kentucky's top filmmakers, including Stacey T. Gillespie, 'Jerry Williams', Billy W. Blackwell, Cherokee Hall, and Casey Miracle got their start working under Bonilla. Meeting George Bonilla socially, you will find a pleasant, enthusiastic person, quick with a smile or a joke. On the set, Bonilla is a perfectionist, stopping at nothing to get the perfect shot in the can. He has a definite vision of what he wants captured on film, and he has an uncanny ability to extract the best out of his crew and actors.