By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Del Rio native Lorenzo Leyva is setting out to make a short film about Chicago musicians, with production beginning this summer.
“I Just Need a Moment to Breathe” is a narrative short film focusing on its main character, Rosalba Valdez, a Chicago musician who gets a last-minute call to perform at a local festival, leading her to decide what is best for her while juggling her goals and personal life.
The film will be directed by Leyva. It entered pre-production in May and is expected to complete post-production by the end of the year.
Leyva spoke with The 830 Times about the film and his journey into filmmaking. He said he lived in Del Rio until he was 22 years old before moving to Chicago in 2015 to study film at Columbia College Chicago.
Leyva said much of his inspiration to become a filmmaker came from his uncle, who was an art teacher in Del Rio. Leyva now owns a video production company called Chicago Valley, which focuses on filming events such as weddings and conventions.
Leyva said one of his goals is to tell stories about his hometown. He said he hopes “I Just Need a Moment to Breathe” will help create a snowball effect that allows him to pursue more storytelling projects.
Leyva said the film’s lead actress, along with several other cast members, will appear under their legal names. He said he wanted to hire real
musicians to play themselves in the film and wanted the story to focus on community and community building.
The final act of the film will take place during a music festival organized by Real Innovative Artists, a Chicago-based art group of which Leyva has been a member for more than a year.
“What I have been trying to do is craft opportunities for my people (in Chicago), not just for my fellow artists that I’ve worked with, but also for my people and my culture. Pretty much everyone in the cast, at least the main cast, is Latino,” Leyva said. “I really wanted to show a story of an artist; the pursuit of art is what the plot centers around.”
Leyva said he was awarded a $6,000 Individual Artist Program grant from the City of Chicago. The short film will continue fundraising efforts through Speed & Spark, a crowdfunding website. Leyva said the goal is to raise $25,000 to fully fund the film. With the grant included, he said the team has already secured more than $15,000.
“I want people to understand that we are getting close (to our goal), and this has been an uphill battle. The fact that we are finding a lot of success and that a lot of people believe in us and resonate with our message means a lot,” Leyva said.
Leyva said there is still a possibility for people to donate through Speed & Spark after the campaign officially ends. Supporters of the project can visit the film’s crowdfunding page to contribute to the film’s production.
