I now call myself a film producer. But I don’t take the role lightly. With only one project to my credit, I’m far from eligibility to the Producers Guild of America. And I’m not sure I’ll ever have enough projects completed to secure status as a PGA producer.
Understandably, on large-scale projects—feature films—producers carry the weight of failures or the buoyancy of successes. Indeed, all fingers point in their direction in the final analysis. With a perceived flop, questions arise: Why develop a project doomed to fail? Who will invest in the next project? What’s the producer’s overall business acumen or ability to forecast a success? On the other hand, when a movie wins the Oscar for “Best Film,” the producer(s), selected staff, and cast members crowd the stage. And, rightly so, the producer gives the acceptance speech.
Simple fact: films don’t get made without producers. Call yourself a legitimate producer if you’ve done the following: (1) shepherded a project from concept to completion by raising the money or making the investment; (2) secured a director, cast, film crew, editor and (3) completed a film project for distribution and/or submission to film festivals.
My produced short documentary, Unseen American Deam, started with the true story about a blind couple raising their own sighted twins. I knew about the married couple, Gary and Kris, from my twin, Maria, who responded to their parish bulletin request for car rides to mass. A year or so later, Maria had mentioned that Kris was pregnant. I thought, how are they going to raise a family? The twins, Sean and Kelly, were born in 2005. Two years later, I pursued developing a documentary by first scheduling a meeting with the family. I recall ringing their door bell in 2007. Gary answered and said with his Bronx accent, “Hi, we have a policy around here. You wake ‘em, you take ‘em.” I felt an immediate bond with a man who made me laugh from the get go! Gary’s story: Over a five-year period, from ages 14 to 19, he became blind after being misdiagnosed and put on medication that made every bone in his body brittle and susceptible to fractures. Kris’s story: A natural athlete, Kris was born blind. She joined the USA swim team in the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. She downhill skis, participates in bike marathons, and owns her own massage therapy business.
My brother-in-law, Noel, shared my enthusiasm for a documentary. We hired videographers to capture the family’s daily routines with toddlers, Sean and Kelly. The result? Priceless images and footage! In 2009, Noel died of a rare form of cancer. He’d already given me all the footage from a videographer he hired. A few weeks after Noel’s death, I met up with a screenwriter colleague in Los Angeles for a class reunion. Intrigued by the story, he asked if he could shop the project around for reality TV. I had nothing to lose, right? I was kind of over the documentary idea when Noel died, but I didn’t want the project to languish. We ended up signing options with three different producers at different times, the last of which had a hit reality tv show on air. Nothing happened. We couldn’t get through the network gatekeepers who tagged the story as either “Too soft or too sad” for reality TV audience. So, I regrouped and found a young videographer via his business card at a short film festival. Over a three-year period, we filmed the family, the kids now between 5 and 7 years old. Eventually, the videographer’s personal life held more commitments, now married and expecting his first child. He didn’t have the time or wherewithal to edit all the footage into a viable documentary project. He had his own video business and got a teaching position. Over the next few years, with high hopes, I garnered potential editors who “loved the story” but never really committed to making things happen. And I didn’t have the funds to pay anyone. I looked into grants and applied for a handful with very half-hearted efforts.
The worst part? I let down the family with all of these promises of a finished project. Years went by. The pandemic happened, and the documentary seemed more elusive. But I held on to a thread of hope. I couldn’t give up; even though I knew it would not be the documentary that I imagined with young kids or the reality TV entitled “Love is Blind” that didn’t get interest beyond the engaged and formerly committed producers.
In 2024, I sought assistance from a social media platform with creatives seeking to network with entrepreneurs and small business owners. My Saint Martin Productions LLC was started back in 2012 to create my documentary, first entitle Unseen American Dream and then Source of Light. And then an answer to my prayers. I met via zoom with a filmmaker, David Mejias, who shared my enthusiasm for the story. I felt for the first time in years that the project would come to fruition. David, a seasoned filmmaker and videographer had won festival awards for his short films. We reverted to the original title Unseen American Dream and came up with the theme of encouraging and inspiring viewers to live out their own dreams!
Now, 18 years from its inception, Unseen American Dream, is a reality and submitted to nine film festivals. As the story innovator and investor, I wrote the script, so to speak, which gives guidance to the updated interviews. I hired David, the filmmaker and editor, to review the old footage and select what works best as B roll. We spent a day filming new interviews now that Sean and Kelly completed their first year of college. Yes, it’s different and better than my initial concept so many years ago!
I’m so grateful for the opportunity to produce a story that informs and inspires. It was always meant to be told. I needed to persevere and just keep going beyond all the roadblocks, detours, and false starts.
If I produce anything beyond Unseen American Dream, I’d be very happy. The key for me is to find stories I’m passionate about. It’s hard to beat this one. But I’m sure the next one is out there waiting to be mined, and I hope I have the tenacity to see it through to completion. Producing is not for the faint of heart. But, for me, the payoff is captured on the banner of my website at https://saintmartinproductions.com : Stories for a Better World. The struggles and sacrifices are worth it!