MINDWASH is a film that I wrote, directed, produced, and—at the last minute—acted in. I hadn’t planned to step in front of the camera, but when the actor I wrote the role of Chloe for couldn’t do it, I filled in. That’s the nature of filmmaking: you adapt, you create, and you deliver.
This film was, in tech terms, a Beta test—small scale by industry standards but monumental in what it demanded of me internally. The greatest limitation? Time. Before production, I told my team I wanted to shoot the entire film in under two weeks. Most people said it was impossible—especially during the heart of COVID, when production was plagued with risks. We were union, following strict protocols, including daily testing and a COVID Compliance Officer (CCO) on set.
And yet, my Assistant Director, Jake Miller, ignored the noise. After reviewing my plan, he came back and said, "I think we can do this in eight days." I beamed with joy. Eight days? Following union rules, with COVID restrictions? It was unheard of—but I knew it could be done.
The Unexpected Battlefield
Then came Day 1. A massive flood warning swept through Houston, Texas. At 6 AM, my phone blew up with calls from producers and crew members advising me to hold off for safety. I listened to their judgment and made the call to pause production. The chorus of “I told you so” followed soon after: "See? This can’t be done in under two weeks. Plan for a month."
I responded calmly: "Let’s see how this week goes. Give me this week." I’m sure some thought I was delusional.
As if the stakes weren’t high enough, that night, I received news that my great-aunt—a woman I deeply cherished—had passed away. My heart broke, but I felt a fire ignite inside me. My production designer had told me weeks earlier that every film is like going to war. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. It’s a battlefield of time, resources, and unpredictability—but it’s also where the magic happens.
So, on my first day of filming as a director and producer—grieving a loss and starting with one less day on the schedule—I gave a speech to my crew. I told them: "If we get through today, the rest of the week will flow effortlessly. What matters is that we work together, lift each other up, and drive forward as a team."
That day, we shot 32 pages in 14 hours—a feat that many would call impossible. Not only did we recover our lost day, but we went on to shoot the entire feature film in 7 days. No pick-ups. No reshoots. Just pure focus, teamwork, and belief.
It felt like a miracle, but deep down, I knew we would pull it off. The cast and crew became a family in those seven days. I will forever remember that production as one of the happiest moments of my life. It marked the beginning of my journey as a storyteller—not just in spirit, but in flesh.
The Heart of MINDWASH
I wrote MINDWASH because we live in what I call an age of thoughtlessness. From the moment we’re born, we are programmed. Programmed to want what we’re told to want. Programmed to follow trends, to live in fear, to chase external validation.
You choose clothes, makeup, gadgets, and food because they’re trending.
You think, feel, and react because society—the media, the news, the people around you—tells you to.
COVID was a magnifying glass for this. I won’t dive into conspiracies, but we can all agree that during the pandemic, humanity’s morale was at an all-time low. Fear became a product, sold to the masses. And we bought it.
But the programming runs deeper. It disconnects us from our higher selves. From our own knowing. From the divine. From God. It convinces us to see the glass as half empty, to live small, to remain asleep.
MINDWASH is a mirror—a reflection of the world we’ve created and the minds we’ve allowed to be hijacked. It’s a call to wake up. To think for yourself. To ask:
Who am I, beyond the programming?
What do I truly believe, want, and value?
Because the greatest freedom we have is the freedom to choose our thoughts. To reclaim our sovereignty as individuals and as a collective. We are not meant to live in thoughtlessness. We are greater than that.
So I ask you: Are you ready to think for yourself?
Watch the Clip above
Let me know what you think. Have you ever felt the weight of programming in your own life? Let’s start a conversation.
For anyone who’s ready to dive in and experience Mindwash, you can watch it here:
Tubi: Watch on Tubi
Prime Video: Watch on Prime Video
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