Cinematic storytelling that resonates
A family film company made up of Kevin and Leslie Alejandro, along with Leslie’s sister Dani De Jesus, are out to tell stories. Stories that resonate with their viewers.
In its first year of official operation, Alejandro Films has been producing short films.
The roster includes several shorts, one of which will premiere at the Lake Travis Film Festival on Saturday. The Alejandros, who live in Santa Monica, Calif., will screen five of their short films followed by a Q&A as part of a two-hour panel.
“The festival was kind enough to honor the work we’ve done in the last few years,” Leslie Alejandro said. “They gave us our own block to show our short films that fit with their repertoire. Everything that will be screened there is who we are and the beginning of us as a production company as well.”
Alejandro’s premiere of “She’s Having My Baby” tells a story about surrogacy in a 10-minute documentary short and will be screened during the two-hour showcase.
Kevin Alejandro’s “Lucifer” co-star Rachael Harris was the inspiration for the film. Harris used a surrogate for both of her children. The film captures the perspectives of both the surrogate and the family in need of a surrogate. The bottom line is “there isn’t just one way to have a family,” Leslie Alejandro said.
The Alejandros are also showing “Bedtime Story,” “The Talk,” “Smile,” and “A Cohort of Guests.”
“If you have a story you want to tell, pull a camera out and tell a story,” Kevin Alejandro said. “People will listen if you give them the opportunity to.”
The husband- wife duo will also share with guests the story of their journey to filmmaking.
Kevin, a San Antonio native, is an aspiring actor who has landed roles in “Lucifer” and “True Blood.” Leslie was an aspiring musician and amateur photographer. Both wanted to explore filmmaking and went back to school to study the industry at the age of 40. They started their company with a JVC handheld camcorder, a single DSLR camera and a small budget.
Kevin Alejandro said his motivation to further study filmmaking was to sell a portion of his own story that he thought resonated within his personal community of fans and people.
“I have a very Latin story that I want to tell, but everything people have seen thus far has been inspired by creative jokes or stories I wanted to tell,” Kevin said.
Leslie Alejandro said she always wanted to do something more with filmmaking and storytelling. She started taking directing classes at 44 and encourages anyone with a desire to create something.
“As long as you work hard and do the work, I think anything can happen,” Alejandro said.
Making their way through the film festival circuit, the Alejandros are working to gain clout with other filmmakers and investors. The couple’s next goal: get into full feature documentaries and narratives and launch a podcast.
“The festival route is to let people know that we are here in a real way and we hope people will jump on our train and listen to the stories we tell,” Kevin said.
The Alejandro’s two-hour showcase is one of several happening Saturday. Student films, a la carte, director’s cut and strong man series of shorts will also show throughout the day. A photo retrospective at the Bee Cave Arts Foundation in the Hill Country Galleria will also be on display.
(Source: Statesman)
Written by Luz Moreno-Lozano