Best eyes

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

I grew up between two worlds: between my Black and Latina identities, and between working-class neighborhoods and elite academic spaces. From an early age, I wanted straight hair like my mother’s and felt compelled to hide my natural texture before I fully understood why. As I grew older, I recognized how that desire was shaped by larger ideas about beauty, respectability, and belonging. Best Eyes comes from that lived reality.

At thirteen, Olivia is navigating not only how she is expected to look, but where she should belong and who she should become close to. Her friendship with Shay offers freedom and connection, even as Olivia has absorbed the belief that opportunity requires distance from her neighborhood and from part of her own identity.

At its heart, Best Eyes is about beliefs shaped by society that a mother passes on to her daughter out of love and fear, hoping they will offer protection and a better future. Olivia and Rosa have both internalized ideas about beauty, safety, and success, but Olivia’s friendship with Shay begins to challenge that shared understanding, opening the possibility for her to see herself—and where she belongs—differently.

FESTIVALS/AWARDS

Nominated- 57th NAACP Image Award - Outstanding Short Form (Live Action) (2026)

Winner - Jury Award - DGA Student Film Awards (2024)

Winner - AAFCA (African American Film Critics Association) + LEJA (Latino Entertainment Journalist Association) Afro-Latino short film competition (2025)

Official Selection - LALIFF (Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival), World Premiere (2025)

Winner - Best Student Short - Georgia Latino Film Festival (2025)

Official Selection - Micheaux Film Festival (2025)

Official Selection - Urbanworld (2025)

Runner-Up- Best College Short -Denton Black Film Festival (2026)

Official Selection - Afro-Latino Film Festival (2026)

Official Selection- San Diego Latino Film Festival (2026)

Official Selection - Maryland Film Festival (2026)

Official Selection - Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (2026)

Official Selection - Roxbury International Film Festival (2026)

Winner - Best Narrative Short - Compton Film Festival (2026)

Special Presentation - AFI Fest Conservatory Showcase, sponsored by AMC Networks (2025)

Special Presentation - AAFCA + LEJA Afro-Latino short film competition (2025)

​Special Presentation - Kultura Con (2025)

Currently in its festival run.