Luisfernando Garcia-Molgado

Luisfernando Garcia-Molgado is from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California and is currently attending California State University Northridge where he is pursuing a degree in Film Production.

He said: “I applied to the Vance Byrd Mentorship Program because apart from my film teacher motivating me to apply, I felt that it was a perfect opportunity to learn and create connections that would benefit me in the future.”

Luisfernando’s dream career has been to become either a film editor or a camera operator ever since he saw the Jaws movies as a child. He also has dreams of writing and directing his own film in future. Luisfernando has already created a few short films of his own, with one even placing in 2nd place at the regional SkillsUSA competition while he was in high school. “I’ve always dreamed of one day being part of the behind-the-scenes of a movie… A film that me and my family can feel proud of and where it could hopefully make it to festivals and win awards”,  he said.

Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro are the people who really inspire Luisfernando when it comes to being a filmmaker. Spielberg was one of the first directors that Luisfernando ever looked up to, and as mentioned, Jaws was an extremely influential film for him. Luisfernando also really admires del Toro because, having roots in Jalisco Mexico, Luisfernando sees del Toro as a role model for what he can do as a Mexican filmmaker in the future.