Over the course of my professional video production career I have shot, edited, directed, and produced hundreds of projects. Not only that, but I started from the bottom, beginning my career as an intern for editing houses, as a production assistant for commercial productions, and as a videographer for small-scale independent production companies.

As I continued my professional journey, I learned that my many interactions, situations, and gigs had me develop a deep understanding of so many aspects of culture, society, and how people function. Working in live events, commercial production, and the film industry as a whole, developed how I relate to artistry. When I was young I always wanted to be an artist, by pursuing it realistically, I have a far deeper appreciation and understanding of art & the people responsible for creating it.

"I Just Need a Moment to Breathe" tells that story.

It follows Rosalba, a musical artist as she gets a chance call from a friend, asking her in desperation to fill-in for a band that just dropped out of her lineup for a festival she's creating. Rosalba is excited about the opportunity, but the show is in 3 days, and she has a lot to prepare. Not only that, but she still has her job, gigs, and own personal family drama that she can't just reschedule or rearrange. Then, there are the things she can't prepare for and take you by surprise. Her car breaks down. Her parents might be going through a divorce. She's working double shifts and can't find time to rehearse... The movie is building up to this moment where we answer the question: "Can she pull this off?, or will it be a disaster?"

It's tense, funny, and at times, dramatic and chaotic, because that's what life actually looks like.

I'm not trying to romanticize what it means to be an artist. I want to show the full picture...the chaos, the doubt, the moments where quitting feels like the only logical option, and everything in-between.

Rosalba serves as a proxy for the viewer as we take you into her world of studios, neighborhoods, bars, diners, clubs, restaurants, and gigs of all kinds. We weave through Chicago with our protagonist as she embarks on her journey to perform at what might be her last big opportunity for a while...the themes are universal, anyone who has pursued their passions should be able to see themselves as the artists we are portraying and celebrating in this film.

We're really trying to fully capture a moment in time. Create a time capsule that's enjoyable to watch, about local artists in our city told through the people who really embody the unique culture of Chicago.

To me, this is the story of any creative who's had to fight to keep their passion alive while the world keeps moving at full speed around them.

I've been practicing and preparing for this movie for the past 6 years. Every job, every client, every challenge has gotten me one step closer into being the director I wanted to be to tell my own story.

The last short film I directed was, "Bermuda," in 2022. Before I had even started my production company, Chicago Valley. Developed by Free Spirit Media & DePaul University, with a crew of mostly students and volunteers, we were able to make a short that was selected & premiered at 19 film festivals, including opening night of Black Harvest Film Festival at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago. It even went on to air on PBS and Fox. This film is the next step for my journey, except this time it's my personal story.

Through my experience freelancing and with my own production company, I have worked all kinds of live events, commercial productions, and musical performances. You can see some of my work here: www.chicagovalley.com

All of that was to say, I'm taking all that I've learned from my professional, entrepreneurial, and personal endeavors, and combining it with my creative storytelling abilities. By using my community as my team, as well as my cast, I'm trying to showcase the talent of Chicago to celebrate what inspires me the most about them. This is a love letter to my career, community, and Chicago...

What excites me most about this project is how we're telling it. Rosalba isn't performing a character, she's showing you a version of her actual life. The surrounding cast are real musicians navigating the same industry she is. The performance at the end isn't staged, it's a real festival.

Our cast combines communities of artists to come together to lend us their talents. Everyone involved will be playing versions of themselves, tapping into their real lives and real personas, to naturally play off of each other, and bring together their performances.

Working with Cristina Baca of Dome Studios, and Real Innovative Artists, a social artist collective founded by Ayu Eini & Camryn Mather, we'll be combining our resources for a real festival where Rosalba will actually perform in front a live audience.

Dome Studios is a community dance, event and recording studio that's run by Cristina Baca, a dancer, producer, and community organizer who supports local artists by providing a central cultural hub where communities can gather to practice dance, record music, or host events of all kind. Through Dome Productions, she also manages several local artists.

While we are working on preparing for production, DOME will be planning the festival. Two separate projects coming together, unified by a purpose.

Real Innovative Artists is an arts organization that curates events and exhibitions that foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, enrich cultural experiences, and cultivate prosperity in our community of artists. We organize group art exhibitions, video & audio productions, live music events, and pop ups.

Our team is well-versed in live music and video production, community engagement, marketing, artist support, planning & organization, and as a unified team all of our strengths multiply.

As you can see, everything we're doing is something we've already done before. The only difference is that we're combining our resources, communities, strengths, skills, storytelling, and artistry to tell a narrative that celebrates and paints a portrait of Chicago's independent artist scene.

The deeper I get into making this, the more I realize it's also about community in a way I didn't fully anticipate when I started writing it. The people who've come together around this project, nobody had to say yes. They said yes because they believed in it. That energy is already in the film before we've shot a single frame, and I genuinely can't wait for you to feel it.

This is the most personal thing I've ever made.

We've prepared a budget breakdown to show how your donation directly contributes to our success. Every dollar donated goes right into our production to help us bring together all that we need to accomplish our project.

A lot of extra costs that we would incur are being avoided by what resources and skills our team has. For example, for post-production, Lorenzo is a professionally trained editor, and will be editing the film together, saving a lot in expenses. Allowing us to instead allocate budget to specialists like colorists & sound designers.

If you have more questions about the budget or production in general, please reach out to: [email protected]

Where we are currently:

• Script ready
• Core team in place
• $6,000 from DCASE IAP Grant secured
• Casting in progress
• Many locations secured
• Festival line-up and date prepared
• Production plan set for an efficient shoot

We start pre-production in May, with July-Sept being our key shooting periods, with post-production completing by end of 2026, or start of 2027.

Sharing this campaign makes a huge difference. Tell anyone who you think would resonate with our message about this film. The more people who know, the closer we get to making it happen!

Follow our journey on Seed & Spark and on Instagram: @ijustneedamomenttobreathe

By supporting this campaign with your donation, you are literally making this movie happen. 

There is no "I Just Need a Moment to Breathe" without you! 

Please donate what you can to help bring this project into fruition.

SOME OF OUR CAST & COMMUNITY