HOW I FIRST PICKED UP A CAMERA AND BEGAN TO FIND MY PEOPLE
I grew up straddling the U.S.-Mexico border. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Tijuana, I am familiar with inhabiting the in-between, and privy to the startling and often beautiful stories that populate these spaces. I have a U.S. birth certificate, but I do not identify completely as an American. In my heart, I am a Tijuanense. And apparently it’s quite normal for people from Tijuana to not be from Tijuana.
We left the U.S. for Mexico when I was 7 years old. It was an abrupt move, and the experience brought all sorts of complications that were challenging to cope with. But there was one thing that helped me make sense of all of the uncontrollable chaos in the world, and that thing was film.
I wasn’t a fluent Spanish speaker back then, so books, movies and TV were my escape. With my passion for filmmaking slowly growing, I studied literature. Reading copiously was second nature, but the idea of pursuing film was daunting. I had no idea that films were something a person could study, much less make. And so I entertained ideas of writing scripts someday and lost myself in the films of Sofia Coppola and Alejandro González Iñárritu.
I was working in marketing for fashion and lifestyle brands when I discovered photography. I hired photographers and booked models for shoots, and once the curtain was lifted, I found myself enthralled by the world of production. I also found that shooting photos wasn’t all that complicated — anyone can pick up a camera. When I learned that Stanley Kubrick had started as a photographer, I was floored. I quit my job and started shooting and assisting. I didn’t know how I would make the jump from stills to motion pictures, but I hoped that if I headed in that general direction I’d find a way.
I found my people at a rental house in New York City called Scheimpflug. Surrounded by film nerds like myself — people who could quote films, name credits at the drop of a hat, and recognize any film soundtrack — I knew that I was on the right path. I eventually started crewing on sets as a camera assistant.
And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I was in San
Diego at the time and joined a small writing group online. During these sessions, I started working on the script that would eventually become “Like Honey,” which is debuting this year at the San Diego Latino Film Festival.
The San Diego Latino Film Festival is one of the first and oldest film festivals by and for Latinos in the United States. Throughout my time in San Diego, I realized that the festival was doing more than just screening films — it was fostering a powerful movement of arts, culture and dialogue about Latinos in the U.S. The festival had premiered the works of some of Mexico’s most lauded and accomplished filmmakers, like Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2000 “Amores Perros” (one of my favorite films) and Alfonso Cuarón’s 2001 “Y Tu Mamá También.” With all of this in mind, I knew I had to apply.
I am beyond thrilled to be included in the festival’s 30th year anniversary showcase, and to have my film premiere in the United States as part of the Frontera Filmmakers program, which highlights stories about the U.S.-Mexico border. As a first-time filmmaker, I could not dream of more.
My film “Like Honey” is set in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, and is about a young woman who finds herself drawn in by a cult. I wrote this story because I wondered what might compel someone to join one. Aren’t we all just searching for purpose, meaning and more?
I hope that I was able to paint an empathetic view as to why someone might be vulnerable enough to accept the reality of what a cult might look like, and to demonstrate that we all have a sense of intuition and personal agency to decide what’s best for ourselves.
Ultimately, I’d like to show that there is more to Mexico than drug trafficking and violence. I’d like to bring a humanistic eye to stories that probe into the nature of what it is to be a person in today’s world. I’d argue that though life can sometimes take dark and unexpected turns, there is always a light to be found.
I’d like to bring a humanistic eye to stories that probe into the nature of what it is to be a person today.