Henderson filmmaker thinks contest win would launch career

As the auditorium lights illuminate the makeshift film set, Fernando Nava directs crew and cast members with charisma and knowledge that affords him a dedicated ear of those listening.

“I know if they didn’t like the work, they would not be helping me,” Nava says of the friends and associates helping him work on his project, “Remembrance.”

Nava, 26, is a cinemtographer by passion and videographer by profession. The Henderson filmmaker is from Mexico City and moved to the U.S. with his family in 2002.

A College of Southern Nevada film graduate, Nava has worked on big-budget movie sets in small capacities. He has entered the ARRI Inspiration Challenge film contest, in hopes of winning an ARRI ALEXA 4K Mini camera, which sells around $45,000.

“It’s the best camera in the world right now, the one they’re giving out,” Nava said. “If I can get that camera, I can definitely start getting more work.”

His passion is evident in all phases of the production process for the 2½-minute film, as well as in Nava’s other endeavours, including photography. He uses provocative images to bring awareness to social issues such as racism and the sexualization of women.

“Something clicked that I should send a message across with photography,” said Nava, who began taking photos as a student at Coronado High School. “That’s actually what I’ve been trying to integrate in my pictures now. You tell a story with a picture.”

Nava sought help from colleagues and called in favors to create his short film with little funding.

“I wasn’t going to do (the film),” said Nava, who has earned a living largely as a wedding videographer. “It was either use that money to push my videography business or do my passion work. That’s what that money was there for.

“It’s the project that I’ve put everything into.”

Nava’s father lost his job during the Great Recession, while his mother was pregnant with Nava’s younger brother. This period of hardship led the family to start a videography business that used their connections in the Hispanic community.

Nava, then about 14, and his father began filming quinceañeras, the traditional Mexican celebration of a girl’s 15 birthday, to keep the family afloat. The business blossomed, and it pushed Nava toward a career in film.

Jose Anthony Altamirano, an actor in the film, said he saw the talent Nava has and knew he wanted to help him in the early stages of his career.

“When you do these low-budget projects (with) no funding, it’s really hard to get people to commit,” he said. “The equipment isn’t everything. But … if you have the right equipment, it transforms you into a soldier. I feel like that’s what (Nava) needs. (A camera) gives you credibility.”

The film is loosely based on Nava’s life and passions. It follows a filmmaker’s travels, a wedding, a project that wins the main character — played by friend and actor Jason James — a film award before the character appears in a film museum . Whether the film portrays a dream or a recap of the filmmaker’s life is up for interpretation, Nava said.

Longtime friend Rebecca Allende, a sound engineer, helped layer music and the film’s narration. Allende placed dramatic violin overtures and other tracks on the film, one of the final stages in the process.

“When you have smaller projects like these, it’s better when you do it with friends and people you trust,” she said. “I think that everyone should have the opportunity to do a passion project. … With him, he’s in his first steps, he’s young. I pay it forward. If he needs something, and I have it, why not?”

Nava drove to New Orleans and Los Angeles in a two-week span to film in different locations.

“We’ve been working on this for three months just setting locations. It was a bit of a struggle,” said Yoni Zoldan, a friend of Nava’s who he works with frequently . “A big part of the industry is these people are your friends first, colleagues second. It’s a family. You work together, you get through everything together and you build your careers together.”

Soon, he expects to submit “Remembrance” and will await the contest results, expected to be announced in December.

“As a freelancer, you have to do everything,” Nava said. “You don’t have medical benefits, pension, you don’t have anything. So you have you do everything and see where that leads.

“As soon as I get that camera, I know my future is secure.”

Contact Diego Mendoza-Moyers at dmendozamoyers@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0496. Follow @dmendozamoyers on Twitter.