Beginning in January 2026, I began production on my final honors project at Hunter College titled “HOMECOMING”.
As I prepared to leave Hunter College, this documentary aimed to explore my father’s relationship with his identity and culture as a product of the Puerto Rican diaspora — highlighting the endless sacrifices of generations past, who gave up so much for me to be able to tell this story of cultural memory, homecoming, and the evolving legacy of Puerto Rican identity amid the diaspora.
This segment from “HOMECOMING” showcases the chaos involved for a family baby shower.
On December 7, 2025, for our final Film Production II project of the semester, I had the great fortune of closing things out alongside my team with our fourth short film, “Rosa vs. Wanita“. Ending the semester with this collaboration was incredibly fulfilling, and getting to be a part of Anna Park’s classroom for a final time was an absolute treasure.
Serving as Director of Photography, I set out to create a piece that transcended the dialogue in our script. Each visual installation and camera movement aimed to evoke emotion in our audience, placing them directly in the shoes of Rosa and her situation amid the devastating news faced in our piece.
On December 18, 2025, my team was selected to have our final film “Rosa vs. Wanita“ screened at the Hunter Student Cinema Fall Showcase, hosted by Hunter’s Film and Media Department!
Getting to check out some of my peers’ work from the Fall 2025 semester's production classes was incredible. From documentaries to narratives, animated shorts to experimental visions, this showcase features some of the most creative and compelling works happening at Hunter College and was a great opportunity to be part of the Hunter filmmaking community.
Thank you to the Hunter Film and Media Department, not only for selecting our piece to be a part of your Hunter Student Cinema Fall Showcase, but for an incredible semester! This showcase was a beautiful way to close out the Fall 2025 semester, through the department’s continuous efforts of celebrating and uplifting students' work and supporting their voices through fresh, new, and inventive ways. It was truly a pleasure working with my team this semester, whose creativity and authenticity elevate every project they touch. I can't wait to see where their artistry takes them next!
Here is our last short film of the semester titled “Rosa vs. Wanita”.
Director, Writer, Editor: Ana Hummes Ota
DP: Jayden Hernandez
Sound Mixer/Boom Operator: Ellyott Lubijacky
On December 14, 2025, building off our first project from Screen Directing I, Luis Mercado, Hanuel Lee, and I teamed up for the final piece of our Screen Directing course, “WHITNESS”. Being a part of Andrew Lund’s Fall 2025 course, Screen Directing I, was an absolute treasure.
Getting to be a part of this course taught me so much about paying attention to detail and the various ways, as storytellers, we can enhance our visual elements in alternate ways than previously known. Additionally, getting to collaborate with my fellow classmates on this final project was an incredible experience, and I look forward to our future projects in the future!
Here is our final short film of the semester from December 14, 2025 titled “WHITNESS”.
Co-Director/Writer: Hanuel Lee
Co-Director/Actor: Jayden Hernandez
DP/Editor: Luis Mercado
As part of my Fall 2025 semester, I had the great fortune of taking Screen Directing I with Professor Andrew Lund – offering film students experiential learning opportunities through extensive collaboration between Film & Media Studies and Theater Departments!
This course saw the collaboration of students from both screen directing and screen acting. This partnership relied on class exercises that covered script analysis, blocking, and performance, in addition to course projects that further built upon the fundamentals of cinematic storytelling. Getting to work with Andrew Lund was a huge delight — as he calls for students to take risks and explore multiple possibilities when it comes to telling a story through visual art.
During this course, I got to continue my partnership with the exceptional Luis Mercado! Luis and I have worked together on various projects previously — and this class was no exception regarding just how talented Luis is!
Here is our first short film of the semester from October 16, 2025, titled “TARDE”.
Through my Film Production course this past spring, I had the chance to partner with two amazing classmates I first met in Screenwriting I during Fall 2024: Defne Oz and Teddy Milstead.
Defne and Teddy were nothing short of exceptional. Working with them and presenting several of our projects this semester has been an absolute pleasure. I’m truly excited about the possibility of collaborating again with these brilliant artists in the future!
Here’s our second short film of the semester, “You Never Know”.
Directed/Written: Teddy Milstead
DP and Editor: Defne Oz
Production Assistant: Jayden Hernandez
