Get Into Houa's Mind

On Sunday, we all gathered at Bruce Ventro Trail park in St. Paul and shot one of our biggest fight scenes. Our stunt team, 360 Unleashed, helped coordinate the fight scene for us. Our special guest star, Yengtha Her, came to support us as we spent a day outside. Our hero, Txos Lauj, experienced firsthand the rough beating from about 8 mafia men who prevented him from achieving his one goal: Getting out of the tunnel alive. I have to say, it was an incredible experience for me. The team was amazing and everyone worked together harmoniously to get the job done. The camermen were great in all their work and offered great advice when needed. It was fun to watch the fight scene in my head unfold before my eyes. I'll admit, shooting the fight scene was a lot more challenging than I thought. When a kick was done correctly during rehearsal, cameras weren't rolling. But the end results were perfect and I am so proud of my entire cast and crew. It has given me a new outlook on fil...

The truth about a mirror is that it doesn’t show you your youth It only shows the stories you’ve lived with the lines across your face Each line carries with it a hurt or a burden that you’ve endured You learn to become stronger as the time goes by Or you fall into pieces a bit each day and hide it under your skin The truth about a mirror is that it doesn’t hide your pain You relive it each time you glance at yourself It slowly crawls across your face and settles into staring back at you It doesn’t let you go until you’ve decided it’s enough For some this pain is an eternity of hell The truth about a mirror is that it doesn’t lie You may hide yourself in shades of colors or masks But at the end of the day the mask has to come off You will have to look at yourself and be honest Because the person behind that mirror does exist The truth about a mirror is that it proves hate does exist in you Each time you curse or envy someone else it’s there t...

This weekend, we will be working with 360 Unleashed stunt team on the tunnel fight scene. This scene is an epic part of the film because it ties everything together in the film. This will be the scene that tests Kub Ci's durability, his strength, and how far he will go to save the one he loves. I'm not going to lie, this has been a scene that had my heart expanding as I wrote it. It means so much to me because everything in life comes to a point where you must choose, whether to be good or bad, a hero or a villain, and here, in this scene, it will reveal everything to our audience. I'm very honored that 360 Unleashed has been kind enough to offer to help design this fight scene. With limited experience from my end, I don't think it will be as expertly put together if I had done it alone. I have enjoyed this journey so much and I have learned so much. Despite many non supporters, I still know that I will survive this journey and make it forward. I don't mind the no...

Over the weekend, Houa Production held its very first school supply drive. With donations from kind hearted people who believed in education and building a bright future for young children, we were able to give away 5,000 supplies to returning students. The feeling of giving something back to the community is a priceless feeling. I am so grateful that I had the chance to do this. Just seeing the eyes of the children as they each got a bag from our team was a feeling that pulled at my gut. It was a beautiful sight to see. Giving back requires nothing, but good intention to the ones receiving. Thank you so much for your support in creating a bright future for our children.

In October, it will be one year since production began. Since then, we've bled and sweat together to make this project. I sit at home when I am back from set and I wonder to myself how it is that I was able to have such astounding people in my life. The cast and crew has taught me so much as a director and as a person. I'm able to find peace with my writing and I am at a place in my life where I am filled with content and pride. I take a look at the people who work with me and all I see are beautiful, bright, and talented people who will take the cinema world into a place where it will be rise. Working with every one of them has given me a chance to open up my eyes and door to a place where new found joy has begun. When I arrive on set, everyone is always ready and prepared to take on the day. At the end of the day, when shooting has wrapped, no matter how long of hours we've spent together, or how much retake I've asked to do, everyone still applauds and smiles...

Over the weekend, we shot four scenes. We spent Saturday submerged in water on a cloudy day with our youth extra church members. I'm glad we finished on time because it started to rain right after we finished shooting. On Sunday, we spent it in the thick of woods being eaten alive by mosquitoes. The bug spray did not do us any justice. I got four all across my forehead. Yikes! But we were able to eliminate four scenes from our list of things to shoot.

Wow! Can you believe it's August already? Where has the time gone? Obviously, we can't stop it. Summer is marching by fast. My time has been slipping by so fast because I'm so busy. I'm working almost 10 to 12 hours on set each time and it's been crazy at home with five kids. I find myself running on four hours of sleep at night, but I feel energetic? Is this  normal? I'm not sure. I'm still waiting for the crash and burn and it's not happened yet.  This year, we shot our two biggest scenes; the war scene and the emotionally challenging scene. Now we're heading toward softer shore with a less dramatic feel. But I think we're going to feel the tension with these scenes because I have been itching to film it for a while now. I'm so happy that we're moving along and getting things done. The team is incredible and I'm so blessed to have them on this project. 

Over the weekend, we spent 12 hours on set Saturday and Sunday. It was a grueling weekend with flies, blood, and tears. But we made it! We have successfully filmed one of our biggest scene and our most emotionally challenging scene. More to go and I couldn't be happier!