Pre-Production

1Mission is a non-profit that helps to build homes for people in Mexico and Central America. In our initial discovery meeting we asked the question “What do you want people to walk away with after watching the film?” Their answer was beautiful. They said they wanted people to see humanity and equality across borders. Even though circumstance and opportunities may be different, we are all people living on the same planet.

With that in mind, we came up with the idea to mirror two lives. A girl living in Phoenix, and a girl living in Puerto Penasco. Each girl writing letters to each other sharing about their lives. Their lives really aren’t so different after all.

1Mission found a family that had quite the story. In fact, we wish we were able to film about their story in full because it was so powerful. We planned to go out on one of their build trips and spend time with the family filming them.

1Mission then found a family in Phoenix who were eager to share the same message 1Mission was sharing.

Production

We headed for the border to meet the family. Once we got there they welcomed us with arms wide open.

When filming started we had to keep in mind that we were mirroring scenes to really help drive home the similarities and heart.

So we decided to film in Mexico first to nail down the scenes so that we could be more flexible if needed in Phoenix.

One of our favorite moments was getting to film the voice over from the little girl in Mexico. She was amazing and really brought her genuine personality.

Post-Production

Piecing it this together, we knew it had to feel genuine. We had to show that human element otherwise it would fall flat. Part of that came into the sound design and music.

The music itself is pretty low in the beginning with a repetitive piano line. There is a build and then it hits hard with some strings to help pull the viewer into the emotion.

The sound was important. Hearing the sound of the pencil writing, hearing the laughter from the girls, the sound of the shovels and rakes, it all helps to bring the audience into the film.