Film Student Cecilia Lorenzo reaches audiences with humanizing stories

Santa Ana College’s annual DM255 Film Festival is an event that showcases the work of students from a year-long class that mimics the environment of working on a professional film set. Cecilia Lorenzos’ film stood out with its serious concept, striking cinematography and editing. The Hearts Mirage follows a marketing manager dealing with the loss of her husband while she test drives new AI technology. Using AI, she replicates her husband, from his mannerisms and tactics to his personality. The film dives into the heartache of grieving, cleverly using characters to explore the ethical boundaries of AI technology.

From advocating for student policies to setting up film sets, Cecilia Lorenzo might be found in various places throughout the week. The Santa Ana College student trustee passionately balances her role of refreshing the student body with her creativity and finding ways to blend her love of literature and passion for film into all her work. Originally wanting to be an author, she would spend her childhood consuming all kinds of stories until she developed a growing interest in the behind-the-scenes work that goes into her favorite films, ultimately falling in love with screenwriting.

“I found out that there was a way for me to combine literature and my love for film,” said Lorenzo. “So, it wasn’t really a surprise to others when I wanted to be a screenwriter.”

Santa Ana College Theater Co-Director Chris Cannon and Part-Time Digital Media Professor John Hall, who collaborate for the D255 Advanced Filmmaking Course, present the nine student-made films to an audience of around 60 people. Photo by Alex Helguero / el Don

Lorenzo dreams of representing people of color with realistic, humanizing stories. Her films are meant to touch hearts to open the conversation on complex social issues.

The more she explored film, the more she began to dive into multiple aspects of pre-production. When she took DM255, she felt incredibly seen by the class because of how it allows students to explore the different film crew positions and highlight the pre-production that’s required for making films. In a year and a half of the class, she’s been a director, screenwriter and even set designer for over eleven films. Having taken the class three times already, she’s back for her fourth.

“Every single time I take this class I feel like I always learn something new,” she said.

The class urges students to work on a range of short films made in the spring semester, ranging from genres like horror to romance and more. Although she’s primarily focused on screenwriting, the class sparked her fascination with cinematography.

“It was interesting to see how the cinematographer shaped the mood and emotion of the story with just lighting,” she said. “You don’t really grasp the importance of lighting until you see a cinematographer do it.”

The experience she’s garnered from the class has led her to one of her recent works, Our Intuition, to be shown at the Great Film Club for the Collab filmmakers Challenge, an event in which filmmakers have two weeks to create an entire film and end up screening it with other creatives in attendance. The film, in which she was a set designer, was a semi-finalist for the challenge.

“By exposing myself to these classes, I learned to not be afraid to be vulnerable,” said Lorenzo. “People in some way have grown through similar things that tie everybody together so by being able to talk about these things, I] can help people and let them know they’re not alone.”

An immigrant from Mexico and a mother, Lorenzo has always brought a unique perspective to her work. The professors themselves have praised Cecilia’s work ethic, gushing about her potential.

“There’s a beast in her,” said John Hall, the DM255 instructor who was a camera assistant and cinematographer with over twenty years of experience. “She is on the right path to have the level of grit and tenacity needed to succeed in this type of work.”

From the connections she’s made in class, Lorenzo has been able to further branch out and become a freelance photographer. At the moment, she’s currently working on building her storytelling skills, focusing on strengthening her craft and networking with others as an event photographer.