Emerging from a long hiatus away from the project I spent 8 years on, I am ready to once again march ahead by mentioning the status of The Price of ProteKt.
Two years ago I took on a big challenge. The emotional toll it took on me, was crippling. And, I was still left with facing reality of finding the funds for editing and to pursue the end of documenting the journey. The haunting question, "how am I going to get this story finished?" keeps looming. What was worse, however, was the debilitating trauma I was left with after I arrived as a solo traveler in 3rd world Latin American countries. I disrupted the status quo among my friends which knew me as a professional costume designer or social media blogger. But, by devoting myself to taking on the story of Latina American women survival, it led me to feel misunderstood by my fellow film colleagues as to my intentions for my choices. They asked if I had done this for news outlet, or if I was hired to discuss costumes. Upon returning to the safety of my own country, nobody seemed to understand what danger I actually put myself through in order to get this story shot.
While I moved across the country so I could be closer to the industry that feeds my soul - show biz, traveling by backpack in Central America was actually so life threatening that I should have done a debriefing. I never did. It was a profound experience which left me curious and inspired to share with the world, yet I was mentally exhausted. The situations in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua I harrowed through were politically deeper than I had expected. Sadly, I never cleared my head of the drama that impacted my decisions then that both helped me survive, as well as to those choices I took upon arriving here safely in the US. Uprooting myself across the country several times since then, I am now taking control and continuing to pursue the end of making this film and the subsequent stories to follow. I chose to leave my beloved NYC for hometown of Hollywood.
In the past year, I devoted myself to other people's stories while I focused on making a substantial living. As an artist, sometimes we loose ourselves in story we want to share, but sometimes our discomfort of being a natural born artist overshadows our decisions to make a difference. And, in my case, it fuzzied my instinct. I ultimately moved stories along social media for other brands by delivering and impacting their businesses, and bottom line, while naturally helping nurture their success. However, now, and upon positive reflection, it is important to keep my story - The Price ProteKt documentary, going towards finish and onto big screens.
The goals haven't changed, but the reason to continue this project has a deeper significance. The cause now seems to be to help inspire, champion and deliver a story worth telling as a relevant experience among many Latino immigrants here in the US. Yes, it is close to my heart, but it also allows for most of us Americans either black, white or Asian to connect with our roots, while freeing us Latinas to be understood as a community on a deeper level. Some of us see my culture as "the help," yet most of by brethren may have been doctors, or politicians, had lived well in their past countries and now are forced to wash dishes and clean our bathrooms. They are the hired help happy for employment while subjected to encounter discrimination in everyday life as a result of their brown skin and type of profession. It is fitting to share this story now more than ever because it tells our story. The cause is to share this among all immigrants of every nation that comes to the US. The cause also is to help to bridge knowledge for our fellow brothers and sisters from other nations that hope to live their dreams of democracy, have a sense of pride. The cause maybe for ourselves to feel accepted and welcomed to live by our own beliefs, and keeping our traditions from our roots alive here peacefully without anger or danger.
We Americans are living in complicated times, and it is more my mission to provide a gesture of hope to many undocumented and documented Latinos to protect their rights as human beings around the world. It is my hope that any of my blogs, my articles posted on Foxnews, and films I have both worked on, and produced inspire hope to many women of color. It is my hope that these women want to preserve their values and to protect their families from indignities, yet stay proud to live safely.
As we begin again the search to fund the project, I will work tirelessly to find partners, brands and distribution entities to bring The Price Of ProteKt onto screens for the world to see. I am in the middle of the editing process and searching for partners to work with me on both reshoots for more coverage and finishing the editing process. I am open for conversations and would love to hear from professionals that would like to hear about any opportunities availabe.
