As a dreamer, the arising writer Elizabeth Soto-Lara never stopped believing in the power of the magic that lies within ourselves when we deeply want a dream to become reality. Her unique ability to empathize to the core with others has taken her to travel while fulfilling her dreams. The Mexican filmmaker has collaborated in projects around the globe and her work has been recognized in the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile and India.
A year ago, Elizabeth was in charge of transforming the American short film An Essential Gift into a feature length script called Un Regalo Esencial. The film that had its principal photography on April 2018 was successfully released in Costa Rica last October 18th, 2018. The motion picture made history as the first Costa Rican movie exhibited in IMAX with full attendance for over a month.
As a writer this was her very first feature film and the beginning to see her unreachable dream a little bit closer. Soto-Lara also traveled to Costa Rica to serve on set as 1st Assistant Director.
“It was surreal to see how the words I put on paper months back in Los Angeles, were being brought to life by an army of passionate artists. I fell in love with the culture and kindness of the Costa Ricans and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to write the screenplay for a movie and fly to a new country to see the entire development. Just have been part of such a beautiful process was my essential gift. This experience left an indelible mark in my soul that I will cherish forever,” Elizabeth told us.
Un Regalo Esencial is a story about the inherited lessons our grandparents give us that possess an immaterial value and live within us throughout our life. The film weaves two timelines 1980 and 2025 that converge when Josue (the new generation) accepts the “essential gift” from the Alejandro, the wise, generation to apply it in his love life. The movie is now part of the 2019 Official Selection of the Lift-Off Global Network in London and it will be distributed in the US soon.
Elizabeth’s body of work it’s characterized by the value of family as the backbone of her stories. She strives to spread the message of self-love as the biggest weapon we have as humans to defeat the obstacles we face in life.
“Love is and will always be our strongest tool to reach our goals and we have to start by loving ourselves. Perseverance, in the other hand, is the secret ingredient of dreams fulfilled. No matter how many times life tear you down, be ready to stand back up and fight twice as harder. In order to do that, you need to love and trust yourself to keep insisting until the door breaks open,” she said.
Among her filmography stand out Restored, Alba, Got Cancer, Anurup/Mirror Image, and Un Regalo Esencial, films that have been screened in the several cities in the US, Chile, Italy, Mexico, India, Lisbon and soon in London, collecting multiple awards and recognition in their festival circuits.
The Mexican writer is determined to keep working her way to the top and she’s now writing her second feature film as screenwriter, Open Up Your Heart, a motion picture co-produced between the USA, Saudi Arabia and India. The film is planned to be doing principal photography on the fall of 2020 in India.