“This short film focuses on portraying the reflection of our society. The Sigh of Your Memory, is the beginning of a change.”
- Derrick Ostolaza, Director
“This story proves that sometimes resentment can be the motor that drives a life.”
- Maria Ostolaza, Award-winning Author
A female with economic difficulties, tries to keep afloat her complicated relationship with her mother. Despite her frustrations and desires, she makes an unexpected decision, revealing a painful past.
I was raised in a low income barrio in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. As a kid, I saw many explicit things out on my neighborhood’s streets. I saw poverty, drugs, fighting, and robbing. I experienced a lot of pain and grief at an early age. My grandparents died during my childhood. I couldn’t walk until the age of 5, due to the underdevelopment of my leg tendons, which made it hard for me to participate in daily activities. I almost lost my life at age 12, due to severe dehydration. I spent weeks in intensive care. It might sound counterintuitive, but I’m thankful for these challenges and experiences. Today, I live hundreds of miles from my former home and all of those challenges and experiences, but I keep them close. The memories are vivid and visceral. They led me to discover—and relentlessly pursue—my passion for telling powerful stories through engaging imagery. In every film I make and every photograph I take, I seek to create work that evokes an emotional reaction and leaves a lasting impression—as those experiences did to me. I aim to tell visual stories that affect and inspire. With this film, I aim to do just that--leave a lasting impression. The Sigh of Your Memory, is the beginning of a change.
Successful poet, writer, journalist, art critic and educator. Born on November 20, 1964 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Studied History, Pre-Law, Hispanic Studies, and Culinary Arts. Her work has been recognized in prestigious magazines, newspapers, poetry festivals and literary congresses. She has served as a press correspondent for the magazine Municipalidad y Cultura, in Spain. She was the grand prize winner of Short Story Contest in the annual Alrededores Magazine, competition in Argentina. She has been recognized in the First Anthology of Puerto Rican Narrators during the 20th and 21th century published by the University of Pennsylvania. Some of her publications include: Puñal de Besos, Vientre Expuesto, Perros de Carretera, Una Noche sin Testigos, Lágrimas de Luna, Cuentos de Botiquín, and The Business of Writing: Latin American Anthology of Ethics in Cultural Management, in Spain.
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