Hi!

I’m Isabel Custer, the Latina Writer/Director of the movie “Success en tu Life” about:

A struggling Cuban actress who must choose—between her dream of directing a multi-cultural Shakespeare play and the opportunity of a lifetime—or fail at everything!

Sound fun? 

It is! It’s a comedy! A Comedy the whole family can enjoy!

Synopsis

ACT I – Out of work actress Caro begs her best friend Piki to give her old job back at his family’s dry cleaners. An old rival appears who, having reached the limelight, makes Caro frantic to succeed. Piki spurs Caro into realizing her theater dreams, with the aid of an eccentric former Broadway showgirl, Letty.

ACT II – Discreetly going into terrible debt, Caro begins rehearsal for a remix of Shakespeare called As You Like It – Like That! Her old rival offers her a reading in the big budget series Cuba: 1492. Caro overextends herself. Rehearsals collapse. Her son fails at school. Piki discovers Caro’s flirting with the series producer and walks out. At the wrap party, Caro disgraces herself and has an accident.

ACT III – Caro has a vision of her next creation. She puts on her play which fails financially but with renewed vision and strength, she dares to ask estranged family members to join her in building her Shakespeare in Paradise Festival. Piki admits his love for her. She accepts. In the end, Caro stands in the wings, while a veteran stage actor recites the Epilogue of The Tempest – set in Cuba.

Why it will succeed:

Success en tu Life appeals as a feel-good movie that depicts the Hispanic-American community in a positive light, with a heartwarming lesson of achievement and being true to oneself. We are living in a time where audiences hunger to hear unique, multicultural voices, especially stories about women by women, stories that echo their own syncretic views.

Did you ever dream big & fail? Or stop dreaming for fear of failure? Do you love being from Miami? Or just growing up in Spanglish? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this movie is for you! About you! By people just like you! Be part of this dream: a Latina women director’s 1st feature!

This movie is about the choices we make and how they determine our lives. It’s about ambition and fear, which affects all artists, but also pokes fun at notions of success. As a Latina filmmaker, I’m fascinated by the crossing of cultures and the rift between dreams and reality.

What We Need & What You Get:

• We need at least $50,000 to get this film “in the can”, that is, to shoot the movie and pay people a wage that will be enough to keep them on board for the 19-day shoot.
• If you contribute, you can get anything from a cafecito cup with your name on it (delivered as a jpg) or, for the heftiest contribution, an Executive Producer credit and a director’s chair with your name on it!
• If we do not reach our goal, we’re ready to launch a new campaign for gap financing!

Why It Matters:

Success en tu Life examines our notions of success and provides a showcase for under-represented voices, namely the Latino community, while teaching the importance of failure in order to pursue dreams and achieve goals. And it’s a First Feature! *gasp!* And it tells women & girls out there that they can make their dreams come true! Yes! 

We have done this before:

• In 2014, we ran a successful campaign, reaching 104% of our goal!, for my short film “Night of the Living Data” that was shot in LA with Amy Phillips and Nick Puga, also cast as “Piki” the sidekick and co-star to the lead in Success en tu Life. Loyalty, Buonasera! Loyalty! 

Risks & Challenges

The major risk that we face is not having our voices heard at all. There are two main obstacles to making a first film as a Latina writer-director:

Be open and stand out by providing insight into the risks and obstacles you may face on the way to achieving your goal.

• The catch-22 of being a first time writer-director is that no one wants to hear your story because no one has heard of you. 
• Gender Gap: According to Variety: “Women represented 16% of directors working on the 100 highest-grossing films in 2020” which is a high water mark for women directors.

And yet: 

• Films led by women grossed 15.8% more on average than films led by men.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you just can’t contribute because of the global pandemic and well, a massive economic downturn, that doesn’t mean you can’t help!

• PLEASE spread the word out and help us make some noise about the campaign.
• Use the Indiegogo share tools on your social media!!!