let life happen

I've never been a fan of the word "no." I firmly believe in controlling your destiny, charging full steam ahead to achieve your goals—knowing what you want and relentlessly working toward it. But life has taught me that you won’t always get what you want when you want it. More often than not, you’ll get what you need. Sometimes, it’s the losses, not the wins, that propel us toward our greatest achievements. What feels like moving backward is often the first step forward.

"When it gets tough, it’s human nature to cling to what’s familiar, even if it’s no longer in our best interest."

In 2019, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias ranked as the 7th leading cause of death globally, with lung cancer at 6th. These statistics were more than numbers for me; they were my reality.

Based on actual events, Let Life Happen tells the story of a young man who is the sole caregiver for his parents—one battling Alzheimer’s and the other lung cancer. He is forced to make the heart-wrenching decision to place his father in a nursing home. That time in my life was excruciating, but it taught me a profound truth: to move forward, I had to accept and let go, even when it felt like moving backward. Through that painful journey, I discovered a sense of peace and realized that, in the end, it would all be okay.

If I had to relive it all, I would. I gained more from that experience than I could have imagined. One unforgettable moment came when I put my father to bed. He insisted on saying his nightly prayers, sitting upright on the edge of the bed like an altar boy in church. When I returned 15 minutes later, he was still praying—not with words but through the physical motions, his lips moving soundlessly, emitting a low hum, like the collective drone of a congregation in prayer. It always ended with the sign of the cross. I was stunned by what he could still remember, and I felt profoundly honored to witness that glimpse of his faith. It’s a memory I will carry forever.

Creating my film has been an incredible journey. I originally wrote the piece twenty years ago as a monologue for a one-man show I was writing entitled SHADOWBOXING, but it never seemed to fit. So it sat in my hard drive all this time until I looked at the idea of making a movie. With an ultra-low budget, it was filmed on my new iPhone 13. Backed by a beautiful and courageous cast that put their trust in me, I started without knowing where I would end up. It pushed me beyond my limits and opened my eyes to the art of filmmaking. After screenings, people have approached or written to me to share how much the story resonated with them and how deeply they related to it.

I am grateful to my cast for their patience and trust in my vision. I also thank SAG for their invaluable guidance and support.