F. John Outcalt Award for Outstanding Filmmaking Nominee Hezekiah De La Rosa
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Meet the filmmaker
Tell us about yourself
My name is Hezekiah. I am 18 years old and I love to draw, film, make music, dress fashionable, and act. I've always been into the arts. I am from the Bronx and I have always wanted to travel which is why I decided to go to college in San Francisco.What’s you film about?My film is about how art made me who I am today. The film shows how art has shifted me as a person throughout the years to become more confident and find myself within my own art pieces. The moral of the film is that you can do anything in the world if you stick to what you love. The sky is the limit.What was your experience creating this film?My experience creating this film was a roller coaster . I had my highest points and my best shots and then there were days where I felt like I didn't have the talent to put my raw clips together as one. I had so many shots that I wanted to use but I had to be careful due to a limit of time. My mentor Stuart Kelly was a big help in putting the documentary together. All of the times where I thought I should just quit because my film wasn't good enough, he stopped and he gave me the confidence and motivation I needed.How does it feel to be nominated for the F John Outcalt Award?Being nominated for the F John Outcalt Award makes me feel so wonderful and lucky! I could not believe it when I had checked my email and saw the nomination for my film. I did not think my film would make it to the screening and the fact that it's being nominated makes me feel unstoppable in a sense where anyone can really accomplish anything if they just stick to it!What has Reel Works meant to you?Reel Works has meant an encouraging family to me. I was just a young eager film maker who wanted to be heard and Reel Works took me in and made that possible. I am so grateful that I can say I have my own documentary that got screened in HBO theatre on 42nd street and that it is now being nominated for the F John Outcalt Award! Reel Works made all of this possible and this is just the beginning.
Meet the mentor
What do you do, when you are not a mentor at Reel Works? 
My name is Stuart Kelly. When I'm not at Reel Works I Produce, Direct, Write and work on anything that has to do with Film, whether it's for Television or for the Big Screen. I'm currently part of the Assistant Director's Staff for Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It" Television Series for Netflix which will be released in 2017.What was it like to mentor to Hezekiah?It was a gratifying experience to mentor Hezekiah. I was able to be a part of Hezekiah's revelation of himself to the world. I was able to see first hand of how his creative mind works and to show him different techniques that will help him reveal his creativity.What are you taking away from working with Hezekiah? or, what did you learn from him?I took away from the experience an ability to reveal more of my personal experience even if it's an emotional battle.What would you tell people who are considering watching this film?I would tell people to use it as a blueprint to show others the inner thoughts that drive a person to become who they are and what they can be and that the possibilities are endless in what you can achieve.