as the date for BAVC publishing ‘Gustavo’s World’ draws closer & closer, i feel nauseous and queasy for multiple reasons. there are so many things i wish i could have changed, cut out, included— and then i started to realize my need for perfection is based on how personal this story is to me. this is about my brother, my blood, and my family. the idea of people witnessing it makes me want to polish up all the years of scars and trauma for a movie-like finish. it is then i realize that i’ve really put my heart out into this film, “good” or “not good”, this is something so personal to me, and i created it in hopes for some catharsis of all the pain i’ve endured surrounding everything. but, the need to share my brother’s story, to tell people how beautiful he is, overpowers that. this is the project amongst a bunch i’ve worked on this semester that i think i’m the most proud of. it’s not perfect, it’s not filmic, but it relieved so much pain. and i think that’s an art in itself. healing from your own work. this is the lookbook i submitted for ‘Gustavo’s World’, and i inserted a video clip of my beautiful boy at the end. i hope when it comes out, you all welcome it with open arms, and see how beautiful he is the way i do.
Gustavo, this is for you.
Happy Lesbian Visibility Week! 🩷🤍🧡
Brava Presents is proud to announce our very first edition of ‘Scissor Cinema: A Double Feature’. Please join us in celebrating the beginning of Pride Month on June 5th and come back June 6th where Brava will screen two iconic Sapphic films.
June 5th: The Watermelon Woman by Cheryl Dunye
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June 6th: Saving Face by Alice Wu
This screening is in collaboration with Less Than Half Pictures, our in-house Production Team, where 2/4 of the founders are lesbian filmmakers!
Please join us for two nights of fun, themed drinks, laughter, and community. ⭐️ See you there! 🎟️
click the link in our bio or visit brava.org/events!
#lesbian #lesbianvisibilityweek #wlw #sapphic #sanfrancisco
ROXIE THEATER SCREENING!
Sheeeeeeesh! We have our very own Bay Area Short Film showcase, screening right here in San Francisco at the iconic Roxie Theater! Featuring 7 different short films!
Join us for our program - Traces of Memory: a short film showcase that explores the threads of grief, identity, memory, and exploration of self and the environments we live in. Affirming that while all are born and/or based Bay Area artists, we are limitless in the locations/places we tell our stories.
Tickets are $10, Don’t sleep on em, cause once it’s sold out, it’s done. One night only 🙂↕️
I am super grateful to be able to hold space with these lovely filmmakers. I’m really excited to share not only Late Bloom with everyone, but for the community to embrace 6 films from the homies as well. If you’ve been wanting to see any of these films, this is your opportunity to be in community with us all :)
🎟️ Link in our bios and/or you can find us on the Roxie’s website.
Swipe through the slides to learn more about the films. Give the local filmmakers a follow !
May 17th 2026
Roxie Theater
Doors: 12:00pm
Program: 12:30 - 2:30pm
Big big love to Mika, Kiana and Lottie for helping me actualize this dream of putting on an event for all of us to enjoy cinema together. I would not have done this on my own, so forever grateful for them all helping bring this to life.
Thank you to everyone to showed up to the very first Brava’s Short Film Block! (we sold out!) it was an honor to share the space with everyone and it was a wonderful night filled with love, laughter, and community! 🎬🩵
Huge thank you to all the directors who participated in the line-up and in the q&a! you are all talented filmmakers!
we’re returning for our second edition in june! please stay tuned for more updates :-) 🧡
to bay area filmmakers!
¡Atención, familia, comunidad y fans de Indómitas! El miércoles 25 de febrero les traemos Indómitas: Un podcast virtual con nuestra invitada Lottie Pacheco-Lobatos ♥️
Lottie Pacheco es hija de inmigrantes mexicanos, y sabe que la memoria también es un territorio y que narrar es una forma de pertenecer. Tal vez eso la llevó a San Francisco State University, donde en 2022 obtuvo su licenciatura en Cine enfocada en Guionismo y Dirección, afinando una mirada que no busca protagonismo, sino verdad.
Hoy, como gerente de producción en Brava!, transforma el escenario en un espacio de encuentro: un lugar donde las voces históricamente relegadas respiran con dignidad. Desde su trabajo, impulsa y protege las historias de personas QTBIPOC y de mujeres, entendiendo el arte no solo como espectáculo, sino como acto de justicia colectiva.
Su trayectoria no es únicamente profesional —es profundamente personal. Y hay algo aún más íntimo: En Indómitas ella ha escuchado las historias de otras mujeres, reconociendose a veces a través de ellas. Hoy, ese círculo se completa; ahora es su turno de sentarse frente al micrófono.
Este podcast te invita a conocer de cerca a Lottie: la mujer que sabe la importancia de contar, producir y cuidar las historias de la comunidad y el derecho de existir en voz alta, con reflectores sobre ellas, elles y ellos.
Únanse a nosotros virtualmente!
Visiten Brava.org/events para más información.
Reserve your spot in bio or visit brava.org/events! 💚🎙️
i am very very very proud to be latine. i am very proud to be mexican. i am proud to be from zacatecas. i am very fortunate to be able to integrate my latinidad into my art and my films. i am so honored to have my film screened amongst so many amazing & talented latine filmmakers.
thank you to Vincent, thank you to everyone who came out, thank you to the other filmmakers, thank you to the Latinx ERG, thank you to the SF Film Commission, thank you to my abuelitos, thank you to my family, thank you to my partner.
you can now catch ‘Nosotros’ screening at the Video Arts Museum all of October at San Francisco International Airport.
Happy Latine Heritage Month. Aquí estamos.
All my love,
Lottie
xochitl from @ladiesandgentsshortfilm (2024)
have to say bye bye for now to xochitl & am missing them dearly already! it was such a pleasure & honor to return to acting in a space made so safe for me to do so :,) - it really does take a village. thank you to Kiana for making a story so vulnerable and true to a lot of people, thank you for seeing me. thank you to Above The Line for keeping everything on schedule and keeping us fed & to the crew for making the film look and sound good :,). thank you Rowan & Caitlyn for creating Xochitl’s world (& thank you Luis for creating Xochitl’s biggest nightmares haha) thank you Weenie, Jupiter, and Citlaly for helping in creating Xochitl altogether, they quite literally wouldn’t be them without you three. & lastly thank you to my scene partners; Chloe, Lili, Diane, and Aaliyah for inspiring me and keeping me laughing through the long hours.
All my love, I’m so excited to come back and film the experimental parts x
Lottie
ps I managed to beg my way to show you guys a still you’re welcome
introducing XOCHITL from @ladiesandgentsshortfilm
very very excited to come back to the acting realm with such a beautiful + unrestrained narrative, took a break from it for a while purposefully because oftentimes my safety was compromised and overlooked but lordy has this film made me feel the exact opposite so i won’t waste space being substantial about the negatives and focus on how seen i feel. in a world where i worry that many have started to binary the non-binary, cast a certain look to it, and make it exclusionary; ladies + gentlemen, you will see that to be non-binary is just to be free. see you in august <3
shot on hasselblad with the craziest setup by the dearest and greatest: @johnnymperez
bts shot by @ingrideidsh
styled by @floreeezz
ac/gaff by @kenfrv
emotionally supported by @belle_devins14
and of course… directed and seen always by @kiana.nguyen
