After a family tragedy, two brothers come together to grieve. Only for one of them to lose himself in prayer.

Awakening is a story about familial strength, the power of affirmations, and the bonds that tie us together – and the bonds that go beyond our life.

Set in East Los Angeles, our story starts with two brothers Rafael and Rex Praying intensely on a hillside. They are dealing with the loss of their younger sister Madaline. After a long hike and intensive meditative prayer, Rex reaches a breaking point and confronts Rafael about the strange ritual they seem to be having multiple times a week. Rafael continues forward, ignoring his brother – continuing on with his obsessive prayers.

After some time reminiscing about family trips, Rafael calls Rex one night sounding more delusional than ever. Rafael says he read an old letter from Madaline where she describes a flower field she saw in her dreams. Rafael believes he found this field. He tries to convince Rex to go, convinced that they may be able to bring her back to life. To appease his brother, a saddened and pessimistic Rex reluctantly agrees to go with him to seek out this field.

As the story comes to a close, Rex and Rafael reach the flower field with a candle. Rafael lights it and they pray one last time in hopes of trying to resurrect their fallen sister. “Awakening” leaves us with the question of what prayer and affirmation can really accomplish for us. As well as what family bonds mean in a time of grief.

We believe one of the only true ways to find strength in times of sorrow is to rely on the bonds of family. We are from a big family and as brothers, we have always relied on each other for support. What Awakening is here to explore is the limits of these bonds – how they shape us, how they take us to new and unexplored places and how they may even take us beyond death.

In an increasingly cynical world, we strive to make authentic and sincere films that tap into the heart of what it means to be human. It is a story about finding a quiet place in a loud world. And it's about the everyday beauty of brotherhood.

Our mission is also to showcase our home of East Los Angeles in way that is not often portrayed in media. We view it as a place of family and beauty – something we want to show to the world.

Vincent Morales

Vincent Morales is an actor, writer, director, musician, and lover of all things film, media, and entertainment. Vince discovered his passion for filmmaking as a teen, when he was given a Sony Handycam from his dad. He would create small home movies for fun, and the video class projects that he worked on in high school sparked his interest in the creative collaboration—his favorite aspect of the filmmaking process.

During his studies at Cypress College, Vince fell in love with acting, the acting community, and the exciting challenge of bringing new characters to life. Vince went on to complete his B.A. in Film and TV Production at California State University, Fullerton. Where he continued to write, direct, and start acting in more serious projects. Vince strives to create and tell stories that encourage and inspire others to always better themselves, and see life from different perspectives.  He is excited to be part of the compelling family story in the upcoming short Awakenings, and work with the rest of the cast and crew.

Natalie Luna

Natalie Luna is a multi-talented performer and a Southern California native. Her passion for singing, dancing, and playing the alto saxophone started from a very young age, laying a foundation for a career in the arts. Natalie honed her craft in Los Angeles at the American Music and Dramatic Academy, earning a BFA in Musical Theater in 2018. During her time at the academy, she performed in major productions such as Sunday in the Park with George and Beauty and the Beast.

Since graduating, Natalie has immersed herself in the LA arts scene, exploring a range of creative opportunities including experimental theater, background work, music videos, and musical performances. She is currently a vocalist in the Punk/Funk band Andre Miguel & The Moment, which has performed at prominent LA venues and is now focused on recording their debut album.

The Look of the Film

Nostalgic-Naturalistic-Spiritual

We are looking to showcase the vibe of the Eastern side of Los Angeles – the place where our family is from and an often under represented place. In much of the media we see East LA is a rough place, filled with crime or hardship. But it is our home and we want to showcase it as a place of beauty, spirituality, and stability. Miracles occur here and we want to show you how they come to life.

Your support for Awakening means the world to us! It helps us lock down the equipment we need for the project, good pay for the cast & crew, and it allows us to hire a solid post-production team.

As seasoned filmmakers we pride ourselves on the bottom line when it comes to our movies. Our previous films have all been completely self-funded, and we are always able to take our budget to a strong place, artistically. This means that any amount that you give will go towards an essential aspect of the filmmaking process. From pre-production project scoping to post-production color, mixing, and mastering.

As a supporter of this project, we look forward to getting to you know and providing you with updates on the entirety of our process through our social media channels and our website.

We look forward to seeing you all at our next film festival!