We are moving stories

“I am half Venezuelan, and for years I wanted to tell the story of the current situation going on there. Having my family there has been very hard for me, and I felt unbelievably helpless. I ultimately decided I needed to do something, and I would do it through the medium I knew best—film. The idea was ultimately inspired by my relationship with my mother, and how she always made sacrifices for me.”

“The film is inspired by child on child violence. We had researched many cases involving children and it disturbed us so much that we were inspired to make this thriller. We also felt the need to show the world the beauty of Baja California, Mexico. My husband and co-writer/dp is from Tijuana and my parents are from Mexicali, both in Northern Baja, and it was really important to us to showcase the beauty juxtaposed to the darkness of the tale. ”

“I want to share the space with other film artists who must work in marginalized sections of the industry to tell and share our stories. This space creates a home base that I want to share with others.”

“It was a really collaborative process on this one. A lot of conversations, listening to families who are in similar situations and just trying to make it as honest as we possibly could. It also continued to get more simple, more focused and quieter as time went on.”

“Personally, this film explores the ethical question I’ve had circling in my mind for quite some time now – What do you do when a member of your family requests assisted suicide, but they need you to do it for them? Religious themes and conflicting faiths within the family have always interested me, as it’s something I’ve dealt with my whole life. This is absolutely a global theme in the sense of having empathy for one another. Stepping into their shoes for a moment. Looking at the world through their eyes. Listening.”

“I’m extremely proud of my culture and embrace it, and I want to get that message across so others can feel the same way no matter what country their family comes from. We should all be proud to be American, but also try to retain the language and traditions from our individual cultures. Due to the fact that Latinos are often portrayed in a stereotypical manner in film and TV, I was compelled to tell a strong character-driven story. I also wanted to incorporate strong female leads, while inspiring young Latinos to get into the film-making industry.”

“You should watch this film because no film has ever been made about this topic before. Many people do not know anything about the American Repatriation of thousands of Mexicans, or that it happened unconstitutionally to many families. Beyond that, it is an American-Mexican-Canadian co-production that was shot on the Tijuana-San Diego border and features United States Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera. It is a creative documentary that features unseen photos, videos and poetry from world-renowned Chicano poets.”

“The main reason why we made this web series is because we are aware that in the Hispanic TV production in the US there is just a few sitcoms in Spanish, and most of them are not necessarily representative of the whole Hispanic community. “Chicos de Alquiler” has characters from different countries in Latin America, like Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and we can see their similarities and differences as Hispanics. In the Latino TV production there is an inclination to homogenize the Latino characters and it’s even usual to make the actors use a “neutral Latino accent”, and in Chicos de Alquiler we want to highlight our different accents and our rich culture as Latinos from different countries. ”

“For one, I would love for the film to reach U.S. Latino audiences who are willing to support not only a U.S. Latino filmmaker but independent films. On a larger scale, I hope that the film will continue its cross over to general audiences around the country to generate an awareness & discussion on the themes & characters portrayed. As an even bigger impact, I would hope that as a filmmaker of diversity, that this film opens the door even further for more voices to be heard & showcased.”

“Blast Beat was born out of our desire to put on the screen the type of cool and edgy multi-cultural cinema we want to see as American Latinos. We wanted to put up mirrors that would depict more truthfully the Latino experience in the United States.”

“John’s film is pretty interesting and the actors are amazing too! He has his own voice and I am sure others would agree to this when they see the film.”

“In our current political climate I am pursued by the idea that all art should be political but Sin Pecado is not that. Sin Pecado is broadly about being human. While, the film aims to show the interplay of cultures, languages and traditions, the story is about the family dynamics that unfold during the mourning of a close family member. More specifically, it is about three Mexican-American siblings who at the start of the film are living in their own fractured realities, separate from each other and at the end of the film have come to share the broken state of their lives, recognize where they stand and in that recognition have gotten closer than they have ever been.”

“We felt that currently there is an ugly political discourse on immigration and specifically Hispanic immigration. We wanted to shine a light on the positive, human stories of Hispanic immigrants and understand what America means to those who came here and those who have established a life here.”

“All That We Carry is an intimate glimpse into the life of Maricela, an indigenous Maya M’am migrant from Guatemalan, who lives in Oakland, California with her two-month old daughter Abigail. Following her daily routine, the film slowly reveals small pieces of Maricela’s past and all that she carries with her, physically and emotionally, externally and internally. ”

“In Times Square, NY, we can see these people dressed in costume characters such as Mickey Mouse, Batman and Hello Kitty. They work in exchange of money, sort of like donations, taking pictures with tourists. At first I was drawn, purely, by the aesthetic nature of these costumes within Times Squares’ backdrop. I just thought it was a surrealistic image.

Eventually, I discovered that most of those people are actually immigrants, especially Mexicans. Being an immigrant myself, from Brazil, I felt I could relate it. The cherry on the top was that I could deal with this important theme, Immigration, using a Pop Culture approach; and I chose Hello Kitty because it would be interesting to use her blank face as a metaphor for faceless immigrants who are working in the shadows of American society.

It is also surreal that a Latino immigrant works in a Japanese costume in Times Square. I had to make a film about that!”

“If you’re like me, your favorite movies are the ones that you can’t wait to discuss. We set out with the goal to create a film that not only pulls at your heart strings, but also leaves you wanting to talk about what happens, and why.”

“You don’t have to know anything about migrants or the situation along the border to enjoy this film. It throws you into that world but it deals with the emotional journey of a young boy that I believe resonates whether or not you’re interested in the broader political context. It’s a great story about a unique character.”

“Just because it is a different story, he is not the usual victim. Hugo is not the common kid that we are used to seeing in the movies, and the way that we try to show him... I think it’s a good but bitter experience.”

“There is an animosity everywhere towards immigrants that the world hasn’t seen in quite a while. I wanted this film to be a reminder that while we all have different backgrounds, there are things that are inherently human that everyone can relate to. ”

“I have spent years of my life living and working in both Mexico and Nicaragua. The themes and content are both very close to me. I have volunteered in the desert, and travelled extensively to northern Mexico. On a universal level, people are dying on a daily basis in the desert, while being subjected to inhumane treatment from both the cartels, as well as the border patrol. I feel strongly this is wrong. I have seen firsthand what is happening to migrants in the desert, and those experiences have left a deep impression on me.”

“When I was 13 I moved to Florida from Guatemala City where I had the chance to meet a group of undocumented women who shared their story with me. I was impacted by their stories and amazed how even though all of them came here from different countries their stories were very similar. They were all running away from violence, especially domestic abuse. As a filmmaker I felt the responsibility to bring the story to life and to a bigger audience to give another perspective about the way illegal immigration is viewed in the United States and show people that there’s another side to the story and a huge group of women who needs their stories to be heard.”