The Story
(aprovechando que estás aquí…)
On the night of her mother’s farewell party, a pragmatic daughter makes one final attempt to stop her from leaving the country for a life-altering decision that could change their family forever. 'While I Have You' is a comedic drama short film that confronts love, autonomy, and the cost of letting go.
Filming September 2026
Total Estimated Budget: $15,000
* ALL funds go toward our cast/crew and production costs
For a detailed breakdown of the budget, please contact us
or visit our Kickstarter Campaign at kck.st/48vSW7d
Our Team
DIRECTOR • Camille is a filmmaker from San Juan, Puerto Rico, currently based in Texas. She holds an MFA in Film & Media Production from the University of Texas at Austin and is an active director and producer, with four films currently in development.
Her award-winning film, Nos Vemos Después, screened at multiple festivals, including the Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival and the International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival.
Her work has been recognized and screened internationally across film festivals in the U.S. and Europe, such as CineSol Film Festival, Berlin Indie Film Festival, Paris Awards Film Festival, and Panorama International Indie Film Festival.Camille’s work: www.cmzfilms.com/
Duran Arturo Lucio
Cain Rodriguez
DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE • Cain Rodriguez is a multidisciplinary artist and technician born and raised in Dallas, Texas. His focus is new work development and moving image post-production.
Over the past five years he has worked professionally in the movie and television industry as a vendor-side visual effects editor on projects as varied as A24's recent "Marty Supreme" and Disney Marvel's "Thunderbolts." In between higher-profile gigs, he also provides broader filmmaking services for microbudget indies and arts non-profits.
He is currently working on a short documentary about the non-profit dance organization Agora Artists, slated for release next year.WRITER • Duran Lucio is a Gay Mexican-American writer, director, and actor, born in New Mexico and raised in Texas.
He trained at the University of North Texas and the Atlantic Acting School Conservatory in New York.
His original work has been presented in Dallas and New York, including a recent premiere of his project, Forever and a Day, at the Days of the Dead Festival with Frigid NYC.Duran’s CanvaRebel feature: canvasrebel.com/meet-duran-lucio
Creator’s Statement
While I Have You brings underrepresented Latino (Puerto Rican) family dynamics to the screen with specificity, humor, and honesty.
The story is inspired by lived experience with early cognitive decline and the ways it reshapes the people we love—slowly, unpredictably, and often much too soon. It’s about witnessing someone you know intimately begin to change, and the emotional weight that carries for a family.
At its core, the film explores the messy ways we grapple with that change, and how we try to honor the vibrant, creative people we love as they begin to slip away.
-BARBIE BERNIER