Brooklyn Filmmaking Family Make Splash in California Film Festivals for Hispanic Heritage Month

LOS ANGELES - Oct. 2, 2018 - PRLog -- A family of female filmmakers based in Brooklyn have started making the rounds in California on the film festival circuit just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month with their short film, "Letting Go."

Nominated for Best Drama at the Official Latino Film & Arts Festival, "Letting Go" explores the grief of a daughter whose mother battled cancer over the span of a lifetime. And the story is based on their personal experiences.

Actor, writer and director Lisann Valentin, partnered with her sister Jillian Valentin, and their mother, Elisa Millayes, to create The Millayes Company, a production company whose goal is to tell female-focused stories. They create short films, music videos, sketch comedy series and children's books, but this short film in particular hits closer to home than most of their content: Lisann Valentin wrote and directed "Letting Go" after they lost their grandmother.

"We come from a large family of women who really have been pillars of strength and I was inspired by their love for each other during this time of grief," says the writer/director.

Her sister and co-producer Jillian Valentin agrees, saying, "the dynamics between mothers and daughters over time reverses and intertwines; but it's the love they share that gave them – and us – the strength needed to let go."

This family is particularly proud to premiere and screen their labor of love during Hispanic Heritage Month because, "culturally, grief is not a popular topic and everyone just gets on the best way they can, if they can.  But since it's a very personal tale, we hope to start a conversation," says the director.

After the film festival run, the trio aims to bring the film directly to indie film lovers who might benefit from the message behind "Letting Go."  In the interim, California residents in Los Angeles and Coachella can attend the public screenings this fall before it returns to New York City. See below for details.

WHEN & WHERE

Premiere: Glendale International Film Festival, Laemmle Glendale, 4:30pm on October 6, 2018.

Screening in "Block A2"

https://www.laemmle.com/films/44561

Screening: Official Latino Film & Arts Festival, Coachella Library, 3:00pm on October 14, 2018.

Screening in "Block 11"

http://officiallatino.com/letting-go/