Thanks so much for inviting me to share my story! Back to your question the most recent risk I took was producing, writing, acting and directing a self founded film project while being pregnant. At the beginning I was very nervous to reach out and ask for help… But once I conquered that fear a sea of opportunities came knocking at the door.

With great pleasure.

Since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be in the performing arts. I started working with my parents in their marionette’s theater at 4 years old and I remember loving it! Many times the strings of our marionettes would get tangled together and we would have to improvise. These beautiful accidents gave me self confidence and problem solving abilities. As an adult I applied these skills into my work. When I was on set working as an actress I felt grounded, exited to perform and ready to play with my scene partners.

A few years ago when I started producing and directing my own projects through my company Dos Almas Films, I applied the same tools to my work. Integrity, respect and providing a safe and fun work environment is what I’m all about. I strongly believe in collaboration and to succeed at it you have to treat everyone as an equal and value their ideas and what they bring to the table.

Enjoying the process is everything I strive for. Having fun on set, bonding and connecting with my peers is key. As an actress I realized that you have a very limited control over your product. You can prepare for a role, study your lines, rehearse with your mates and then you have to let go of everything and enjoy the process, because usually the end results are never exactly what you expected and you should be ok with that. You will learn from your mistakes and you will get better but always remember is the journey what it really matters ;)

I’ve always struggled with asking for help. When I encounter a problem I rather solve it myself instead of reaching out. Some of it is because of my pride and some of because of the fear of being seeing as weak or helpless. And no matter how many times I find myself in this situation I always have to unlearn this lesson, put my ego on the side and learn that there is nothing wrong with making myself vulnerable by stepping out of my comfort zone.

In my last film project Abrazo I needed to gather an entire crew and I reached out to super talented and professional people I had worked with in the past. I financed the entire project with my savings thus I was embarrassed to ask them to work in my film because of the indie budget I had available. So instead I asked if they could recommend me someone else that was up for the job. They all asked me for the script and after they read it (and knew what the project was about) they all offered to work with me! I was happily surprised and somehow in disbelief and I guess the lesson here is to believe in yourself and don’t be embarrassed to reach out because you never know who might be willing to help and join you in your endeavors.