Director of Photography, Assistant Director, Post Production Coordinator
From the moment this script was written I knew it would have an impact on people. Our actors were a delight to work with and many friends came to location to help out with the project. We had to start at the crack of dawn in order to avoid the heat of midday, though we often filmed until 5PM or later. We hit a few road blocks, as any production does. We all got lost on the way to location on the first day, we had to take a lot of breaks once it hit 90+ degrees, and I twisted both my ankles before two big shoot days. Fortunately, my close friends helped us out with shooting for those days so I could rest, but I still ran around the rocky terrain despite my injuries.
During pre-production, the Director MariaElena Gil and I flew to San Diego to drop water bottles at the border with the Border Angels. We wanted to to better understand the conditions that thousands of people have gone through. We found blankets, shoes, slashed water jugs and hundreds of bullet shells. The experience gave us even more empathy for those who never made it out of that treacherous desert.
With this project, we hope to help people better understand the stories you never hear about immigration. We hope to make people empathize with these people, because they are just people with a dream of a better life.