DOCUMENTARY REEL

My reel is an ever-evolving story. Updated regularly.
My reel is an ever-evolving story. Updated regularly.
Mini Documentary for the 2025 Oregon Arts & Culture Caucus
(Oregon) Art Does That
A few months ago, I attended a concert to see jazz pianist and composer Darrell Grant — Someone I deeply respect and admire both as an artist and as a friend. And before he took the stage and delivered an incredible performance alongside esperanza spalding, I felt compelled to say to him, “Darrell, I hope I don’t have to remind you, but if you ever need your help or if you can ever use my filmmaking skills, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m there.” To my delight, only a few weeks later, my phone rang. After some brainstorming, we sketched out a series of short films featuring his words, my visuals, and populated by a mix of extremely talented Oregon artists. Shown at the 2025 Oregon Arts and Culture Caucus Kick-off event, these videos serve as a love letter to Oregon artists, as a call to action, and a reminder that Art is not just for the artists but it is an essential part of what makes us human and that the act of creating and expressing ourselves is as essential as breathing.
Featured Artists
Open Space
Dreckig
Forest Grove Highschool Mariachi Tradición
Chatter PDX
Jeremy Okai Davis
New Expressive Works
LET FREEDOM RING
Experimental Artist Documentary | Cine Reel
His ability to paint portraits of Saddam Hussein likely saved his life. Oil painter Samir Khurshid reflects on his own tumultuous life growing up surrounded by death and chaos in war-torn Iraq. His densely layered work is heavily influenced by both the cross-cultural chaos of life as a refugee in the U.S. as well as his past, modern religion, ancient mythology, politics, and daily emotional life.
Director: Samuel Eisen-Meyers
Director of Photography: Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal
Producer: Michael Hull
1st AC: Marcie Cadell
Gaffer: Rob Martinez
Grip: Haley McCoy
Technical Director: Allison Blaine
1st AD: Claire Sapone
On Set Production Support / Set Build Assistant: Allison Blaine, Janessa Narcisso
Cine Reel edited by Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal
Part of a long-term documentary project by interdisciplinary artist Carlos Motta— in collaboration with artists Heldáy de la Cruz and Edna Vázquez– We Got Each Other’s Back is a three-part, multi-channel video installation featuring portraits of queer artists and activists in the United States who are or have been openly undocumented, and who are producing work to denounce historic and present-day broken US immigration policies. The project demonstrates how the intersections of sexuality, gender, ethnicity, race, and economic background define the environment of marginalization and discrimination to which immigrants are subjected, while challenging mainstream media narratives of immigration and sexuality by presenting nuanced, real-life stories of living at the margins of the legal system. We Got Each Other’s Back also includes live and online events and public programs that engage the challenges faced by undocumented migrants.
Director / Carlos Motta
Director of Photography / Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal
Camera Operator / Kanon Havens
Sound / Kai Tillman and Sam Hamilton
Gaffer/ Eli Haan
Set Design / Gabi Villaseñor
Transcription and Translation / Camilo Godoy
Producer / Ella Marra-Ketelaar
Edna Vázquez Interview
Two patiperras (Camila Araya and Daniela del Mar), hailing from Chile now based in Portland, Oregon, share their journey to create bilingual art that intertwines social justice with craft.
Producer/Director: Karina Lomelin Ripper
Director of Photography: Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal
Producer: Jessica Daugherty
Featuring: Camila Araya and Daniela Del Mar
Supporting Cast: Yvanna Ramos, Karla Tovar and Isaac Lopez
Assistant Director: Maria Moreno
Location Sound: Kai Tillman
AC: Angélica Ponce
Gaffer: Eli Haan
Key Grip: Cecila Flor
Production Designer: Gabi Villaseñor
Set Dresser: Michelle Gonzales
Art Dept PA: Krista Hershberger
Hair & Makeup Artist: Eve White
Stills/BTS Photography: Kate Beacom
Production Assistant: Noelia Arellano
Additional Camera: Karina Lomelin Ripper
Editor: Luz Carasa
Sound Designer/Mixer: Houston Gastelum
Colorist: Marc Ripper
Title Design: Mercy Lomelin
Studio Manager: Joseph Bowden
Studio: Desert Island Studios
Music: Reyna Tropical
Project was made possible by Prosper Portland and Regional Arts & Culture Council.
Support their work at LetraChuecaPress.com
Jazz pianist/composer Darrell Grant & singer- songwriter Edna Vazquez draw on their diverse backgrounds to address the hopes, hardships, struggles, and dreams of those who have risked everything for better lives for their children. Interwoven with filmmaker Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal’s portraits of Oregon’s immigrant community, 21 Cartas represents the bravery, search for justice, and power of a mother’s love that are common to the immigrant stories that define our country.