I Wish You Were Here
11 years later a man returns home without realizing that he and his dad needed to say goodbye.
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Dario ValenzuelaDirector
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Dario ValenzuelaWriter
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Rudy-Dario ValenzuelaKey Cast
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Carmen MendizabalKey Cast
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Dario ValenzuelaKey Cast
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Jeeaneth GironKey Cast
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:10 minutes 57 seconds
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Completion Date:November 22, 2019
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Production Budget:2,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Guatemala
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Country of Filming:Guatemala
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Blackmagic RAW
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Aspect Ratio:2.39:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
Dario was born in Newark, New Jersey then moved to Guatemala, City in 1994. In January of 2012, he left Guatemala and moved to Houston, Texas. Shortly after dropping out of San Jacinto College in 2016 he was pursuing to be an Audio Engineer. Along the way, Dario discovered filmmaking. He began focusing on documentaries, music videos, and travel vlog-style films. In 2017, he co-founded CreateSalt, a film production company. A year later he started his own production company, DarvaLife. "What is Cindi's Hope?" is his best known work which boosted his career as a filmmaker. He also attended the National Conservatory of Guatemala City (Germán Alcántara).
I was inspired to make this film “I Wish You Were Here” after a couple of rough nights, some would call them nightmares but I think they were more like “visions”. I was only 14 years old when I watched my uncle die in front of me. My “older brother” figure I had was, poof, gone. I mourned throughout the years but I wasn’t aware of how deep my grief was until I became older and more mature. For instance the dreams of me seeing him and being able to say goodbye felt like I had to put them on film. “I Wish You Were Here” turned out a little different than the script due to scheduling issues with the film crew I was going to work with in Guatemala, which forced me to shoot the entire film by myself and not be in it entirely. This is where the character “Rudy” my real life father was created. I was fortunate to raise funds for this film by working for small businesses making strategic marketing videos. While watching this film, I wanted the viewer to experience to be what is like to go back to the place where you lost a loved one. To this day creating this film helped me deal with my burdens, tell my story and honor who my uncle was to me, and in some way say goodbye.