The Puerto Rican filmmaker and award-winning journalist has manifested all her dreams into existence. The short film “Boricua” is based on her own journey to the United States. The protagonist intends to maintain her Puerto Rican identity even while others label her a ‘Latina.’ Since Leandra's mentorship, she's been able to envision a clear path into Hollywood. This is all while continuing to tell global stories in countries like Morocco, Portugal, Mexico, and Peru.

Leandra speaks highly of her time in the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program, which gave her her first writer and director credits. “The Walmart [program] allowed me the opportunity to learn how to write my first script,” she said, as well as guiding her through directing her first 30+ people production.

Hernández's short film “Burbujas” premiered last year, celebrating a piece of her family's story. While working on it during the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program, she focused on writing and directing. The mentorship gave her new storytelling skills, and the creator kit she was gifted by the program has been extremely useful for new film projects. “This program has made me into a better writer and director, and I really enjoyed getting to know the fellows,” she said, reflecting on that time. “We left the program with more connections and a new community.”

Today, she is working on an experimental docu-style short about tamales. She has also landed a production coordinationg gig on a feature documentary directed by Terence Nance. “As far as my films, I always have a ton of film ideas that bubble up and live in my notes app to expand later,” Hernández explains. “So inevitably, I’m simultaneously working on two short documentaries and a feature, all in production phases.”

Through the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program, he debuted his short film “Cafecito.” Ponce’s mentorship experience went beyond his expectations. In addition to keeping in touch with friends and professionals he connected with, he really appreciated the level of depth the program had. “[It] makes me feel honored to have been a part of it,” he said.

As a Latino, telling stories through a visual medium is important to him. “Visual storytelling runs in our DNA, and it allows for some of those more complex stories to be told with the flavor they deserve,” said Ponce.

After many birthdays blowing out candles with a wish for a new path, the universe had Stephanie Alcantara's back. The filmmaker from South Gate, California, went from job to job and lived paycheck to paycheck. She was accepted to the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program in late 2022. It melted away the lost feeling she developed. Her short film “Ojo,” about the commonly known egg cleanse to rid yourself of the evil eye, premiered last year. It’s a journey she would daydream about, and it’s no longer out of reach.

“I think the best lesson I learned is there is no right way to start,” said Alcantara. “Life happens, and sometimes one can’t start thei career path right away. That shouldn’t discourage anyone.” When the program ended, Alcantara found a film program at a nearby community college, taking her training a step further. While school takes up most of her time, she’s getting her creativity flowing with her podcast about supernatural phenomena and theories. Using the creator kit gifted to her through the mentorship, she’s been able to write and product her episodes, practicing for future projects.

The advice she absorbed during her mentorship has shifted her mindset when it comes to her blossoming career. “I loved working with our mentors, Mike Tenango, Urwa Zubair, Linda Ajeti and Opal Skoein, who helped me develop and work on my project from inception to post-production,” said Montenegro.

Her life-changing mentorship gave her the advice and equipment to create dazzling projects. Montenegro hopes to collaborate one day with storytellers like Eva Longoria, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Shonda Rhimes, and Greta Gerwig. She also envisions herself writing, directing, and producing authentic Latino TV shows and feature films in the near future. Growing up in the Imperial Valley and having family on both sides of the border gave her a special creative eye.

“I want to be in a position to tell stories that resonate with the type of people in my family and that I grew up with,” said Montenegro.

Raised in the small town of Saginaw, Michigan, Mariah Barrera's love for writing and filmmaking was nurtured by her parents. While her childhood and adolescence took place in harsh circumstances, art was an outlet where she was allowed to be herself. She has received over 30 awards for her work, but everything she does is to inspire and encourage others in her family or community.

“When you come from communities like mine, where our upbringing makes a career in the arts so foreign, the thing that pushes you and motivates you to move foward when the going gets tough is the responsibility to show others that it is possible,” said Barrera.

After premiering “Pelito”—the short film she created in the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program—Barrera has grown her career. She finished and premiered her short documentary, “Still Here,” at the Urbanworld Film Festival and several other festivals across the country.

Dallas-based filmmaker Carmen Colado got her first creative break into Hollywood through her mentorship. She debuted her short film “Ya Queremos Pastel” last year. That ‘yes’ changed the military veteran's life forever, from achieving financial stability to taking her career dreams seriously. She overcame hopelessness and mental health challenges for her next mission: getting her stories on the silver screen.

She calls the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program “the most life-affirming experience” she's ever had. “I'll compare it to winning the lottery, because I had been gambling with my life as a starving artist, betting on myself for a long time with nothing to show for it until I was given the chance to create a film,” Colado continued.

The endless stories in Ernest Govea's imagination growing up led to his interest in filmmaking. The 28-year-old is pursuing his bachelor's degree in film production with an emphasis on directing from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. He realized how much he thrived as a first assistant director while working on student film projects. He was pleasantly shocked to make it to the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program, getting the opportunity to create his short film “Arroz y Frijoles.”

“I got to call ‘action’ and I felt at that moment, I was [a] director,” recalls Govea about the film’s production. “When it was finally my time to shoot, I was so nervous, but my producer Linda, my first AD John, and everyone else around me was there to support my vision.”