FROM A FILMMAKER’S  POINT OF VIEW

On Saturday, April 9th, I had the honor and privilege of screening my film, “Boricua Soy Yo”, at UCF Celebrates the Arts in Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando in front of a sold-out crowd.

Words cannot truly describe how happy I am about the screening and how after almost two years of filming and editing, it all came together for the first public viewing of my film.

I would be a liar if I said the screening went precisely as planned. Truthfully, I was a nervous wreck for most of the day leading up to the screening, and when we arrived at Dr. Phillips Center, I could not stop pacing in anticipation of my film being shown to an audience within a packed theater.

Once I introduced the film, and as the lights dimmed, I spent much of the screening in the back of the theater, watching people watch my documentary. I couldn’t take it, so I went to the lobby bar, and after a double of Crown (Royal) on ice to calm my nerves, I went back into the theater and took it all in.

As I sat there watching with the sold-out audience, accomplishment fell over me. The more I heard people’s reactions to what was onscreen, my nerves turned into confidence and excitement, and by the end of the film, when people clapped, I knew I had done it. A year’s worth of filming and editing finally paid off. 

Being an independent filmmaker who works on a micro-budget (mainly self-financed) can be lonely. “Boricua Soy Yo” was a trip that took me almost two years to complete, from the time the concept came to me through the screening on April 9th, and although the film is done, there are still things I would like to tweak and more interviews I would like to conduct.

On Sunday, April 10th, I woke up feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. All the stress from the last few months, from getting the film to a close enough completed state to show it, to making sure the folks at UCF Celebrates the Arts had everything set, to checking ticket sales to make sure my film wasn’t going to be a bust, had been lifted.

Now the business side of filmmaking takes over, as so far, I have submitted the film to PBS and have submitted it to the film festival circuit, where I hope the film will get a chance to be seen by more audiences.

I want to thank the UCF Puerto Rico Research Hub and the University of Central Florida for accepting my film to be presented at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

It was a truly humbling experience and one I’ll cherish forever.