That's my brother!

[cheering] I mean, if you're Hispanic, you know, like, your parents want you to go to college.

That's, like, the biggest thing in, like, the Hispanic community.

If you're not going to school, then you really haven't made it in some type of way.

Did you think that I would eventually do a documentary on you, or no.

I didn't think so.

Personally, I feel like I've had a boring life.

I've lived the standard life, I guess.

You know how so many people do like documentaries about something that's happened?

I didn't feel like doing a documentary about me would be entertaining, but here we are.

My household was very, like, strict.

You know, for example, be in the house by six.

Don't go too far.

My mom needs to see me.

She needs to know who I'm going with.

But I guess that's kind of because of how she grew up.

She grew up in the Dominican Republic, and over there, my grandma was exact same with her.

So I feel like that's why she's acting like that towards me.

Growing up, I always like watching movies with my mom.

Like every other night we'd have, like, a movie night, in a way.

Ever since then, I kind of like the aspect of telling a story and like, I guess entertaining people.

So that's why I've always loved film.

And just the fact that you could, like, capture whatever, whatever you want, and thousands of people will watch it and like, you kind of like created that.

42 00:02:00,553 --> 00:02:02,722 44 00:02:05,992 --> 00:02:08,761 It's not until recently, like, I really, like, talked with my dad.

I guess just because, like, as a kid, he would always be working.

He, like, got the McDonald's.

Like, that's how he got a job when he first got into America.

And then he worked for a cleaning company.

He was like best friends with the owner, but the owner was, like, kind of like ripping him off and like, overworking him.

So he started his own business.

And now to this day, he has his own cleaning company.

Honestly, he doesn't really talk about his past.

So I've never really, like, actually sat down and talked with my dad.

My dad is from Guatemala.

My mom is Dominican.

I was born here.

So I am American, but I'm a big mix of different cultures.

When I was young, my parents wanted me to fit in the white community, and that was challenging for me.

My parents wanted to dress me white, wanted me to act white, wanted me to talk white.

In middle school, they would always want me to wear Vineyard Vines or something like that.

Kind of dress me up, like as a little white kid even though I had short, nappy hair.

I'm never going to be that, you know?

And my mom would always claim to be like American.

I'm American.

I mean, I guess, trying to be white, even though, like, barely spoke a lick of English.

So I've always thought it was funny that Hispanics in general just want to be what they're not.

♪ upbeat music ♪ [chatter] ♪♪ [chatter] ♪♪ [chatter] ♪♪ So I mean, it's kind of hard.

I feel like we're viewed as we're lesser than.

People would always make jokes like, you're Hispanic, you're either building something, you're like a gardener.

I feel like Hispanics just in general, like we laugh at fear and some type of a way, like we make jokes out of it.

I know like a bunch of kids would be like, "Oh, ICE, ICE, ICE!"

And like, pretend to run, I guess.

And it's kind of funny because at the same time they're like scared that they're going to get deported.

They try to cover it with humor.

[indistinct yelling] And I truly don't care when it's another Hispanic saying it because we all go through the same struggle.

But maybe that's why my parents sent me to college, to make sure I didn't go through the same struggle that they did.

I would say my family, they do motivate me just because my mom really wants me to be like, successful.

Same thing with my dad.

[dad cheering] Come on, Brandon!

Faster, faster!

They don't care what I'm doing, as long as I'm good at what I'm doing and if I'm making money.

So I've always had their support because otherwise I wouldn't be here.

I feel like my goal is make a movie, you know, premiere at a movie theater and like, take my mom and show her, like, what I made.

I wouldn't tell her I made it.

And, you know, be like, what do you think of it?

I see myself as this accomplished filmmaker.

That kind that's going to make my mom proud.

But if I'm being honest, I haven't done anything I'm proud of yet.

The last film I made in class, it was the worst work I've ever done.

And that scares me, to be honest, because how am I even going to get there?

How do I become that person I keep imagining when I can't even watch my own work without cringing?

I don't want to waste all the time and energy my parents put me into getting here just to fail.

But I am learning something; to stay true to myself, to acknowledge and accept my reality, to do the work no matter how little.

As long as I do it with honesty and vulnerability, like this film.

I don't know many things, but I do know this.

I embrace my Hispanic identity and I use it to fuel my journey, no matter where it takes me or who I become.