Experiencing Interruptions?

Chase the Light

When life breaks you, that’s when the real fight begins.

After a near-fatal accident, immigrant actor Cesar Perez turns the camera on his own life—reconstructing his journey through memory, family, and therapy in a deeply personal search for healing, purpose, and unbreakable resilience. Chase the Light is a first-person documentary tracing Cesar’s path through trauma, recovery, and self-discovery. Through intimate interviews with family, conversations with his therapist, and raw archival footage, he revisits the defining moments that shaped his life—examining not only what happened, but how it changed him. Directed, shot, and edited by Perez himself, the film becomes more than a retelling—it is an act of confrontation and healing, one of the ways he was able to move forward, processing his past and finding meaning in it. At its core, Chase the Light is a story of resilience, offering hope to anyone searching for light in their darkest moments. A first-person documentary created entirely by its subject.

  • Cesar Perez
    Director
  • Cesar Perez
    Key Cast
    "Cesar"
    Beast of Burden, Blind Trust, 15:17 to Paris
  • Nuria Perez
    Key Cast
    "Nuria"
  • Rolan Perez
    Key Cast
    "Rolan"
  • Carolina Perez
    Key Cast
    "Carolina"
  • Alicia Perez
    Key Cast
    "Alicia"
  • Deborah Vega
    Key Cast
    "Deborah"
  • Blaine Oxford
    Key Cast
    "Blaine"
  • Josh Cammack
    Key Cast
    "Josh"
  • Michael Milton
    Key Cast
    "Michael"
  • Jason Lanier
    Key Cast
    "Jason "
  • Cesar Perez
    Writer
  • Cesar Perez
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 5 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 4, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Cesar Perez

Cesar Perez is a Salvadoran immigrant who spends every day of his second chance at life striving to be the best possible version of himself. A passionate storyteller, he picked up the pieces of his broken past and bound them together into a new whole, full of love, persistence, faith, and determination. He wrote and directed Chase the Light with a newfound yearning to guide others through the darkness.

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Director Statement

This film began as something I needed to survive.

After my accident, I was forced to confront not only what happened to me, but who I was becoming in the aftermath. Turning the camera on myself was not easy. It became a way for me to move forward, to process my past, and to begin finding meaning in everything I had experienced.

In many ways, this documentary became a way to piece my life back together — to make sense of the pain, to reconnect with the people who stood by me, and to begin mending my broken soul.

Chase the Light is not just a documentary — it is a personal reckoning. Every interview, every piece of archival footage is part of an attempt to understand how I made it through — and how others can too.

If this film does anything, I hope it reminds people that even in their darkest moments, healing is possible and there is always a path forward.