Hope Tragic Sky

A reluctant streetwalker with dreams of matrimony sends herself flowers to make her neglectful boyfriend jealous.

  • Michael Garza-Gongora
    Writer, Director, Editor, Composer, Producer
  • Lauren Schoepfer
    Key Cast
    "Dolly"
  • Christopher Tedrow
    Key Cast
    "Buddy"
  • Rafael Gastaldi
    Director of Photography
  • Andre Cabra
    Sound Mixer and Boom Pole Operator
  • Chaari Dheerasinghe
    Set Photographer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Short, Drama, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    1,415 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - New York Film Academy
  • Oregon Short Film Festival
    The Dalles, Oregon
    United States
    February 27, 2021
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Marina del Rey Film Festival
    Marina del Rey, California
    United States
    June 20, 2022
    West Coast Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography

Michael Garza-Gongora is an award-winning filmmaker from San Antonio, Texas. In 2013, Garza-Gongora was awarded a talent-based scholarship from New York Film Academy after review of a short film he’d written and directed the same year, Buster (2013). Garza-Gongora eventually moved to Los Angeles, California in 2015 to study filmmaking at New York Film Academy (LA campus), and in 2018, earned himself a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree through their filmmaking program. In 2019, Garza-Gongora completed his thesis film, Hope Tragic Sky (2019), but would flee LA in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He’d return to Texas. In 2020, Garza-Gongora received awards and honors from film festivals in the United States for his short film, Hope Tragic Sky (’19); however, the ongoing pandemic postponed said festivals, indefinitely. These live, in-person screenings never came to fruition for Garza-Gongora, but In 2021, he’d attend the premiere of Hope Tragic Sky (’19) in The Dalles, Oregon as an “Official Selection” at the Oregon Short Film Festival. He’d also attend the screening of Hope Tragic Sky (’19) in 2022 as an “Official Selection” at the Marina del Rey Film Festival in Marina del Rey, California. Garza-Gongora was able to find work on HBO Max Original, Love and Death (2023) and CW’s Walker (2021-), he currently resides in Texas as an aspiring comedy writer for television.

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Director Statement

Hope Tragic Sky (2019) is about finding the light in the darkness after a heavy loss and surrendering to love by wrapping yourself up in her warmth. In other words, this film is about letting go of what isn’t there and taking hold of what is before it’s gone, too.