Artist's Statement

Very frequently, people are quick to judge someone or something because he/she/it is different, out of the ordinary. Or perhaps they try to legitimize something about themselves by talking others down. I am guilty of this myself, as I believe everyone is to certain degree. This is why my aim is to make films that disrupt the normative functions that exist within each individual. Rather than attacking any particular issue, I hope to touch people personally, giving them a new outlook on their narrowed views. I am most interested in demonstrating the ways that everyone is his own person, with his own eccentricities that should be rewarded rather than put down. My films investigate the way that people connect and disconnect with each other, and how their judgments might prevent them from moving forward in the right direction. I am inclined to making films and other art projects that are based in irony and my favorite method of subconsciously injecting irony into a scene is by way of controversy.

I incorporate controversial elements into my projects so as to more practically excite a viewer and make him/her remember the message. Recently, I directed a scene about junkies from the play La Negra by Luis Miguel Gonzalez Cruz. The scene deals heavily with violence, sex, and drugs, yet the connection between the two characters, the love and the vulnerability of their relationship, remains visible. I use controversy as a tool for heightening the stakes and keeping the audience focused. Ironically, controversy sheds light upon the otherwise hidden human emotions within any scene. For me, disturbing the audience usually allows them to be more attentive and takes them outside of their personal bubbles. I hope to make people feel uncomfortable and uneasy, and then introduce them to a relatable and emotionally charged moment between two or more characters, thus making them feel connected to the thing that had bothered them at first. In this way, I feel I can make audiences feel close to something they could have never imagined relating with before, and so their views broaden. If someone feels as though they could never truly understand a heroin junkie, I hope to open their eyes. Through tactics that make viewers feel discomfort, I take them on a journey and help them discover how they can remain comfortable and accepting in the most outlandish of situations. So that they can be comfortable with their own flaws and the flaws of those around them. So that they can feel comfortable enough to be confident. And confident enough to attempt the impossible.