Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Vazquez.
Luis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My mom helped my visual literacy jump to the critical lens from a young age. She would show me films that dealt with mature topics and difficult characters with complex moral issues. We would analyze and critique them, and I was encouraged to argue with her about the different strengths and weaknesses in the writing. In our debates, she wanted me to critically think about the characters’ emotions and motivations, and how they lived up to real life. These debates about writing encouraged me to read textbooks about writing on my own time and to devout time to my literature courses growing up.
In my teens, I became heavily involved in theatre productions in church, school, and throughout our community. Even though I loved acting, I kept asking directors more questions about the writing, the narrative, and how to guide the audience down certain paths efficiently, and most of them would encourage me to pursue directing and writing. In 2011, my cousin, David and I began a small business, Hispanic Theatre Guild. We produced and directed one-act plays. David really helped on the marketing end, spreading the word out and getting people to come out and see us. Our first show sold about 100 tickets and for two young guys doing it on our own; that was awesome. In 2014, we transitioned to Sojourn Productions and started producing and directing short films.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The struggle along the way is one that I’ve heard many first-generation Americans talk about: making our parents proud. Most immigrant parents want their kids to grow up to be a lawyer, engineer, or doctor. With my family, it was my uncles, my grandma, and my mom saying that being an actor, director, or writer needed to be a hobby, not a profession. This struggle: of their push-back, and the need for their approval is a double-edged sword. Living in a way that will make them proud has made other parts of life take priority. But putting a career before film-making has provided a stable day-job, and that stability helped create real opportunities that seem impossible.
Please tell us about Sojourn Productions.
Since 2014, Sojourn Productions produces and directs short films. Our short film “Breathe” won best short of the month for the September 2019 Oasis Short Film Festival, and also screened at four other film festivals. “Brothers” earned the 2018 March Oasis Short Film Festival Honorable Mention. “Hunted” screened at the 2019 Festival de Cine Latino Americano. Our latest short film, “Elixir of Life,” won the 2019 Dallas Filmmakers Alliance screenplay pitch contest.
In addition to directing and producing, we work with other companies if they need different positions filled during pre-production and production. We publish film reviews and essays on our website and shorter essays on our Facebook page. We volunteer on pre-production and production for a variety of creative projects. We’ve volunteered with local companies working on video content, and helped revise screenplays for local screenwriters, and helped local rappers with their music video concepts, stage presence, performance, and lyrics.
During “Elixir of Life” we became SAG-AFTRA signatories and hired a SAG-AFTRA actor from Austin. Learning about all the actor labor union rules and dealing with the logistics of those responsibilities was extreme; however, the extra blood, sweat, and tears made us proud of our short film.
We are looking to produce or help realize creative and significant content that has a lasting positive impact on the collective culture. Stories that speak to the human condition, have a contemporary voice, and realistic motivation.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
That’s a great question. I would’ve started collaborating, directing and producing short films sooner. Right now, I’m grateful for how everything has worked out. There are so many blessings, chance encounters, and things that just lined up perfectly, so thinking about starting over invites so many risks.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sojourn.productions/
- Phone: 903-252-2214
- Email: jobs@sojourn.productions
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sojourn.productions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoPro903/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sopro903
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0450335
Image Credit:
KC Kelly, Sarah Marina Hall, Duncan Family
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