Colombia!

Born and raised in Guatemala, I was reunited with my mother in 2007, and shortly after I came to America with her. My American life—the language, traditions, and relationships—immediately become a continuous challenge.

The biggest struggle has been establishing a personal relationship with my mother. In America, as I became open minded and creative, our relationship began to deteriorate. For instance, mother disagreed with my interest in filmmaking and refused to support it. To her, filmmaking was not a decent career option and was unworthy of her hard work to raise and bring me to America—the idea of her only son having a green card and not becoming a doctor, a lawyer, or a wealthy businessman was inconceivable. To me, filmmaking was my main source of motivation, and a language without barriers. My persistence in filmmaking only aggravated my mother more. In fact, during freshman year of college, she spent over a month not speaking to me for taking a production class. At some point, I agreed to major in Economics because I was tired of fighting and disappointing my mother over my desire in film. I made it clear, however, that after receiving the Economics degree—a back up plan—I’d follow my true passion.

My mother now supports my filmmaking dream.

As I try to begin my filmmaking career, experiences like this are crucial to gain valuable experience and build my creative portfolio. I'll also get to visit and present a beautiful Colombia. Thus, I’d love to come with you!