Chandler Pacheco, a filmmaker from Houston, TX. As an Afro-Latina woman a lot of what I make comes from wanting to see stories about identity, memory and where we come from.

When my grandfather passed, I found myself going back through old photos, old memories, things he used to say to me. That digging is what led me here. I make films because I believe the smallest moments carry the most weight, and because some stories are too important to leave untold.

Still Water follows June, a young woman who returns to the lake where her grandfather taught her to fish as a little girl. She sets up, casts her line, and waits. Nothing comes. Frustrated, she's ready to give up, until a memory pulls her back to the same lake, the same patience, the same lessons she almost forgot she had.

This story is inspired by a real memory I have with my grandfather. The patience he had. The way he showed up. The way he made me feel like I could handle anything. That's not something you can package up and hand over. It's something you have to live through, pass on, and hope it sticks.

(Black, 50s/60s, He/Him)

From fishing trips at the lake to gutting fish in the backyard, Willie has spent a lifetime turning ordinary moments into quiet lessons. His faith runs deep but never loud, and he has a way of pushing you forward without ever raising his voice. He is the kind of grandfather who makes you braver just by being steady.

(Black/Afro-Latina, 18-30, She/Her)

From childhood fishing trips with her grandfather to sitting alone at that same lake years later, June has spent her life learning lessons she is only now starting to understand. His passing left her isolated, moving through the motions of a life that feels quieter without him in it. She is a woman who shows up anyway, wearing his hat, casting his line, and hoping that is enough.

(Black/Afro-Latina, 8-12, She/Her)

Long before she understood what she was learning, Junie was already being shaped by early mornings, fishing rods, and a grandfather who never made her feel small for being scared. She is a little girl who just wants to keep up with him, soaking in every moment without knowing she is storing them for a lifetime.

Grief doesn't wrap up clean. There's no moment where it all clicks and you walk away lighter. Still Water is quiet and slow and sometimes uncomfortable in the way that real loss is. It sits with June the way grief actually sits with people, not loudly, not dramatically, just present. Always present. But it also has love. The kind that doesn't need explaining. The kind a grandfather puts into teaching a little girl to be still and patient and to keep trying even when nothing is biting. June didn't come to the lake to heal. She came because she didn't know where else to go. And maybe that's enough.

Still Water doesn't have answers for you. It won't tell you how to grieve or how long it should take or what it should look like. It just wants to sit with you for a little while, the way the people we lose used to. And remind you that some things the patience, the traditions, the love, don't go anywhere.

Your contribution goes directly toward bringing this story to life, covering everything from equipment and location costs, to the small details that make a memory feel real. This is a film about the people who shaped us, and with your support, we can make sure it reaches the audiences who need it most.

We need roughly $4,000 to cover the cost of our film!

    $600 to feed our wonderful cast and crew while filming. 

   $300 for props and wardrobe to help create a more engaging and meaningful world. 

   $1,800 for crew and cast stipends.

  $800 for the necessary equipment such as cameras and lighting gear.

 $300 for post-production needs such as graphics, FX, and scores.

$200 for covering the cost of submitting to film festivals.

Supporting Still Water means allowing us to share this profound and meaningful story that explores the struggle and beauty of persevering love for the ones we've lost and want to remember.

Still Water is currently in pre-production, backed by a passionate team of emerging filmmakers committed to telling this story the right way. We are on track to wrap post-production by December 2026.

This film is also part of something bigger. Chandler was selected as one of five filmmakers in the inaugural 2026 cohort of the Black Cinema Club HTX Film Academy, a filmmaker development program designed to take promising Houston-connected filmmakers from idea to finished short film. The program provides grant funding, mentorship, milestone-based accountability, and a guaranteed path to screening.

As part of the cohort, Still Water will premiere at the BCCHTX Film Festival in 2027.

We are not just making a film. We are building toward something, and your contribution is part of that foundation.

Traditions die when we stop telling the stories behind them. Most of what we learn from the people we love isn't taught on purpose. It just becomes part of us. To me, that's worth honoring.

This isn't just a film to me. It's a tribute, to my grandfather and to anyone who's ever had someone like him. Every bit of support goes toward bringing this story to life the way our loved ones deserve, paying our cast and crew fairly, covering production costs, and eventually getting this story in front of festival audiences so it can reach the people who need it most.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for believing that stories like this one are worth telling.

Because if not now, then when?