Beneath the Orange Tree

Finding myself filled with so much gratitude to be able to try my hand in writing & directing this short film in stride with Nick Chavez, one of my best friends, a part of his ‘Be My Year’ film project. He’s spearheading a quest to make 12 short films this year. In collaboration with fellow creatives, every month this year folks, from beginning to end - so please make sure to hop on this talented man’s band wagon - it’s gonna get wild!

With this piece we wanted to communicate the visceral richness of memory & the sweetness that can unleash, along with dozens more thoughts, naturally. Like family, place, what we can glean from tapping into ourselves and resonating with a memory & just general beauty for beauty’s sake, dammit! It ended up completely moving everyone involved in a way we never anticipated. 

I’ve never had so many goosebumps. Nor can I count the giddy conversations from beginning to end about our expectations, to now at it’s close about how humbled we are to have been given a great responsibility of this inspiration that’s been breathed to life. It has been overwhelming to hear the moments people have as they view it; that it allows them to connect to their own intimate memories and to revel in times past. Amongst many other little gifts from this endeavor, I have experienced God’s omnipresence in a way I’ve yet to learn and it’s scintillating. This has been such a treasured experience that brought me so much joy & has my own wheels turning again.

To see my own process be challenged from still to moving frames has blown my brain wide open and is totally wrecking how I’m thinking about new projects & how to continue my constant fascination with visual memory. Which is way exciting! I also mayyy be completely hooked on this medium, as a result, haha. So, have a look!

Do yourself a favor and bookmark, follow or just make a mental note to keep yourself up to date with Nick’s year’s progress on his blog! The man is going places, folks.

& big, big ups to our team of talented creative professionals that truly unified it all: Nathaniel, Riley, Grace & actors Erin, David, Jaca/Chavez/Rouqemore family).

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