A Case Study for Creative X Entertainment's DGA Award winner and Emmy Nominated short film; Welcome Back.
The Mission
Welcome Back [watch trailer here] tells the story of a mother and her daughter, who after being deported back to their native country, Venezuela, must find a way to escape to safety. This project was fueled by Creative X Entertainment’s ties to the ongoing Venezuelan crisis and our general frustration with the political turmoil at the time.
With our co-founder Tiffany's family roots in Venezuela, this story not only felt natural but close to home for several reasons.
Our internal objective was to tell an authentic, captivating story on a limited budget. To maintain the story’s authenticity, we knew we would have to shoot internationally and do so on a timeline constraint.
This opened the door to an abundance of obstacles and challenges, inspiring us to think outside of the box.
The Approach
In order to tell this story, we knew this would be no small feat. To name a few, the story demanded a uniquely-talented child actor (emotionally matured, bilingual, experienced, etc.), multiple locations, an abundance of extras, detailed production and set designs, and most importantly...would require us to film abroad.
Due to safety concerns in Venezuela, our team decided to shoot in Ecuador, knowing it would be the perfect backdrop to tell this story authentically.
Our overall production would allow for a near 6 months of preparation but would require contracting over 100 different cast and crew members of various talents to get the job done. Our first production task was to find and connect with a local Ecuadorian production team.
So our team flew over for a scouting trip to Quito, Ecuador, and quickly assembled our core producing team in a matter of days, which was the beginning of a great international collaboration.
The Outcome
The outcome was a success! Not only were we able to wrap principal photography according to schedule, but we were able to solve and overcome every obstacle the project manifested along the way!
Considering that we produced this film beyond our familiar boundaries, we could not have been happier with our creative solutions.
Not only did we build long-lasting relationships for film production services in Ecuador, but we created valuable bonds with the locals in the community, whom we cherish and collaborate with still to this day.
The incredible performance and tremendous work of the actors, camera team, sound, production crew, and marketing team have allowed Welcome Back to garner international recognition, even catching the eyes of the Television Academy and the Director's Guild of America.
This collaboration proved to be a success, one that was driven by our mission to bring such an important story to light.
We are proud to share that our film is streaming now on HBOMax!
Check out Welcome Back on HBO Max HERE
Having Welcome Back on HBO Max meant the world to our cast and crew. Watch the reactions below as we announced the good news to the team.
Check out our full-length featurette of Welcome Back, HERE