Sharing the Silver Screen with Stars

Last June I was blessed to be cast in 'Learning to Fly' an American Film Institute (AFI) short film for its Directing Workshop for Women program.  In the film, I play a young mother to an imaginative little boy who develops a friendship with his odd neighbor that he believes could be a superhero. 

 
This movie was just a sheer joy and pleasure to be a part of.  From the talented director, Juliana Penaranda-Loftus, whom I instantly bonded with during our first meeting at the callback session, then there was Andrew Tenorio, my son in the film - one look at him and you just want to eat him up and already a pro at such a young age.  My fellow castmates who are ridiculously talented, Michael J. Sielaff and Jayden Maddux. And of course the crew...so professional and kind.    

LtoR: Actor - Kikey Castillo, Director - Juliana Penaranda-Loftus, Actor - Michael J. Sielaff, Actor- Jayden Maddux (front) & Actor - Andrew Tenorio (front)

Finally, after almost a year of waiting to see the film, AFI screened the Directing Workshop for Women showcase 2013 at the Directors Guild of America (DGA).  There were 8 extremely talented women directors and 8 mind blowing short films.  I was super impressed with the caliber of films and actors in all the movies and our film stood its ground solidly amidst the bevy of titanium films.  I'd have to say, the ultimate reward for me was sharing the silver screen with some pretty amazing women actresses in Hollywood.


It started with actress Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect, The Mindy Project) who I really liked in Pitch Perfect...side note, I also ran into her in the ladies room at the HBO Golden Globes After Party looks like we run in the same circles LOL, Rumer Willis, graced us in a provocative yet tender film, Brooke Shields made a cameo, Ashley Williams (How I Met Your Mother, Saving Grace) whom you may not know by name yet but works so much, Mireille Enos (World War Z, The Killing) she looked familiar then a week later I see her in the trailer for the movie 'World War Z' playing Brad Pitt’s wife and I was like hey, there’s the women from the AFI short – pretty cool, Shohreh Aghdashloo (X-Men: The Last Stand, 24) I’m a big fan of hers, she’s a powerful actress with a commanding presence in everything she does.

AFI's Directing Workshop for Women Showcase Trailer

 http://afi.com/showcase/dww/default.aspx

It was a flawless evening where I got to see spectacular films and mingle with my fellow cast and crew of ‘Learning to Fly’.  I am so proud of the film we showcased and grateful to have been part of the process from start to finish, and what a finish it was!  As I walked to my car in the pouring rain (it stormed that night and I do enjoy a good storm) I had a smile across my face, it was a smile mixed with a sense of accomplishment, pride and the feeling of “yes, yes, yes,...I LOVE BEING AN ACTOR!”  


Special Thanks to:

• Producer, Chrissy Kerns - an all around wonderful woman and terrific producer
• Casting Director, Lauren Bass - who remembered me from long ago and called me in for the part
• Writer, Traci Carroll - for your beautiful story
• Hidden Village Films
• Jason Loftus
• All the crew - too many wonderful people to mention individually