When the Project: Involve Fellows were asked to share something special their Mentors passed along, an abundance of inspiring anecdotes and invaluable advice soon followed. These thought-provoking tidbits illustrate just how lucky the fellows are to have this kind of support, and in sharing these stories they rightfully spread the wealth.

Fellow Michael Dempster on getting told by mentor Jennifer Phang...
At one point I was on the phone with Jennifer and we were discussing the upcoming shoot. I was complaining to her about how stressed out I was, how I felt there wasn't enough time, how everything was so chaotic, and blah blah blah blah blah. She said something to the effect of "Michael, people are giving you money to go make a movie. They're paying for you to play around with a camera. Now shut up and get to work."

Fellow Laura Somers on mentor Greg Harrison's perfect pitch...
He showed me this incredibly detailed animated storyboard of a film's opening scene (complete with music and actors performing the dialogue) that he had created for a pitch. The pitch was absolutely riveting and entertaining. I definitely walked away from that meeting seeing how important it is to go 150% beyond what you think is expected of you in order to inspire confidence in your investors, producers, and teammates of your abilities and vision.

Fellow Salvador Paniagua on mentor Joe Menendez's casting advice...
I really liked his thoughts on acting. [He said], "If you cast well then 80 to 90 percent of your work is done... And by cast your movie well, I mean not only cast an actor with chops and natural talent (this is a given), but an actor that A.) Sees the part like you do and B.) Is somebody [who] you can see yourself spending hours on end with on a set."

Fellow Josephine Green on mentor Rebecca Sonnenshine's writing insights...
Here's my favorite [advice] from her: "I think it's very important to just write as much as you can in the beginning, and don't worry about making everything perfect. Write to get it out of the way. Write so you can write something else. There's no way around it, only through it."

Fellow Mariscela Beatríz Méndez on the inspiring story of her mentor Michael Goi, A.S.C...
The most memorable story my mentor told me was that when he came to L.A., he could not find work of any kind for six months. He said that he would go everyday to a nearby AM PM gas station and purchase three hot dogs for 99 cents and that was his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was finally offered a gig as a grip in Las Vegas and took the job. A producer noticed that he was always taking photographs on set and asked him to double as the still set photographer to which he replied yes. The producer liked his sense of composition and asked if he knew how to operate a camera (he already had numerous credits as a feature length DP) and again he said yes and the producer offered him the B Camera operator position. The rest is history; he is now the president of The American Society of Cinematographers.

Fellow Esteban Argüello on mentor Rodrigo Garcia's silences...
He said, "I don't coach performances out of my actors, they come prepared and ready to deliver, but the one area I do manipulate is the silences. Knowing how to use the silence and getting the most out of it is key because those are often the most dramatic moments."

Fellow David Rodriguez Estrada on mentor Chris Mason Johnson's pep talk...
He told me to never doubt myself, because if I do everybody else will... if you're not happy with what you're doing or if you think you can't do it you should be doing something else.

Fellow Mako Kamitsuna on the wise words of mentor Jeffrey Ford, A.C.E...
Jeff was so generous and gave me [lots] of advice...the one that stuck with me the most is: "Your top priority as an editor is to try and deliver a film that is first and foremost true to [the] director's vision [and] second... protects the actor's performance."

Fellow Helen Sam on mentor Chris Stinson's support of short films...
"Don't let anyone tell you making short films are a waste of time, only to be used as calling cards to get noticed. Do them for experience, personal growth, and have fun."

As Project:Involve's manager, Francisco Velasquez serves as something of a creative yenta, matchmaking young filmmakers with mentors he feels can best guide and support their careers. Velasquez began his work with Film Independent in 2005 but his passion for film dates back to his childhood when his parents, both avid film goers, would take him to see American and Mexican movies at the theater and drive-in. In later years, Velasquez would attend both Occidental College (yes, at the same time as President Barack Obama and no, he has no juicy anecdotes), and UCLA film school; by then his life-long commitment to the world of film was settled. The recruitment and selection of mentors is one of the most important facets of Film Independent's work and the science behind it is rooted in understanding not only individuals' objectives but, as Velasquez explains, their personalities.

EP: What makes a good mentor?

FV: A good mentor is someone who listens... they listen and then they give advice based on what they're hearing... part of my job is taking all these fellows and [saying]... "OK, the best way I can help you is if you can focus and tell me, what exactly is it that you want...Are you writing a script that you eventually want to direct? Or are you actually in production with a script?...then I can say, "Oh, OK you're working on this, you know what? This writer will be better for you because they've done this kind of work before."

EP: Are the mentors you assign specific to one, particular project, for example these shorts, or do some of these relationships extend beyond that?

FV: It's not project specific, it's more person specific. Although we do ask the mentors to meet with the fellows six times over the period of the program, most of the time they end up being friends for life, I mean, that ends up happening I would say 70% of the time. It's funny because I run into the fellows and they go, "Oh yeah, I still talk to my mentor. I actually just sent them a question the other day"... they take on a life of their own once I pair them up... there are instances where the fellows get hired by their mentors... I'm specifically thinking of this mentor who is an editor for CSI [Augie Robles] and he hired his fellow [Luis Bravo] as an assistant and now he's an assistant editor at CSI. So the progression's a natural progression... we want it to be organic.

EP: So the mentors are potentially making a commitment that extends far beyond six meetings?

FV: It's really up to them. I mean obviously, ideally, we want them to be their advisors or mentors for a lifetime but that's not necessarily what has to happen because it is a commitment, it is time and time is valuable. But what we really do ask for is those six meetings, what happens afterwards is, if [they] click... then it's welcome and we encourage it but it doesn't have to be.

EP: I understand mentors return and take on more than one young film maker?

FV: Several mentors keep coming back, like Catherine Hardwicke is always calling me and saying, "Send me another one! I really like your fellows."

EP: How important do you think the mentoring is in terms of ushering in and encouraging this next generation of filmmakers?

FV: I think it's definitely an essential aspect... with any creative kind of work whether you're a painter or a sculptor or a writer you always need someone to say, "That's OK. Just keep on going, don't let the circumstances keep you down, don't give up." Guillermo Del Toro once said at one of our conferences here at Film Independent, "If you give up tomorrow it's too early. If you give up ten years from now it's too early. If you give up before you give your last breath of air it's too early." You have to be committed and you need people, your mentors, your friends, to encourage you to keep going because it's a commitment for life... you just have to keep at it. Keep working, keep writing, keep doing the shorts, keeping doing that so that when the time comes you're prepared and you're ready and you make your feature. It's not easy but it's fun.