24 Jun Richmond High Grad Lands Film Deal with ‘Shadows of the Past’

Movie director, editor and producer Luz Cabrales started her own production company, Scranton Films, named for her current hometown. She grew up in Durango, Mexico, and Richmond. (Photo courtesy of Luz Cabrales)

By Joe Porrello

Four teens looking for a place to hide walk into a mansion — said to be haunted, of course. The older man waiting inside says they can stay and even promises to give them stuff. All they have to do is listen to his stories and keep him company. But for how long?

That’s the premise of “Shadows of the Past,” a new independent film from Richmond-raised director Luz Cabrales.

“It’s a very clean horror film geared toward teenagers,” said Cabrales.

It’s also her first feature-length film to be distributed on digital platforms, where it premiered May 9. The movie, which has a runtime of one hour and 23 minutes, is available on multiple sites including Amazon Prime for a fee and YouTube, where it can be viewed for free.

Cabrales was born in Durango, Mexico, a place with its own strong ties to filmmaking. More than 100 movies have filmed scenes in Durango, including “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and entries from the “Indiana Jones” and “Twilight” series.

“I never even knew that they were super rich in history as far as film and all the westerns — like John Wayne came here and did films — so that’s really cool to see now that I’m older,” said Cabrales.

On June 10, she was enjoying her last day on a trip to Durango by joining a group of independent Latinx filmmakers called Cinéfagos to see a performance at the historical Teatro Ricardo Castro — built 125 years ago.

She says being born to a state with Mexico’s second-lowest population density instilled in her a tight-knit community mentality that she uses in her art — including directing, editing and producing “Shadows of the Past.”

“When I was growing up, I always knew Mexico was rich in art — from Frida Kahlo to Diego Rivera — so I was always inspired by that,” said Cabrales. “As I grew up, I started seeing more every time I came back to visit and appreciate it just a little bit more. It’s part of my roots and shapes the way I am.”

Cabrales immigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1995 at age 11, graduated from Richmond High School in 2002, and earned her Bachelor of Science in media arts and animation from the California Institute of the Arts. Living in the Bay Area, Cabrales says, sparked her love for making movies.

That passion for filmmaking inspired her move across the country to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she attended Marywood University and earned a master’s degree in communication arts and interdisciplinary studies.

Since then, she has worked in the film industry freelancing, spotlighting artists, creating promotions, editing demo reels, and forging her own production company, Scranton Films.

“That’s how I funded my filmmaking journey,” said Cabrales. “Life took me different places, but now I’ve made filmmaking my full-time job.

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Now 41, Cabrales has called Scranton home for nearly two decades. She has directed over 10 projects, including a 2018 feature film called “Nick and Ophelia.”

On it, she said, “I did everything myself, but ‘Shadows of the Past’ … I had a team behind me and better resources,” which meant “a different level of quality.”

She tailored the movie’s narrative around a Scranton man who wanted to have a few town legends put on the big screen.

Cabrales drew on prior relationships with co-workers over the years to construct the crew.

The artistic nature of “Shadows of the Past” draws from her love of horror shows of the 1980s and 1990s like “Goosebumps” and “Tales from the Crypt.”

“I think they did a great job of keeping it in the horror genre while still having it be watchable and available commercially for young teens,” said Cabrales.

She consciously composed a set made up of primarily local talent and workers.

“It was made with a lot of love for our smaller communities who might not have the means to be in a bigger city, and it’s a way to showcase their talent,” she said. “Now, with technology, we’re able to do a lot more in smaller places, and we don’t necessarily need to be in L.A. or New York to accomplish things.”

Cabrales looks at obstacles as a way to get more creative.

She says one of the most difficult parts of filming was having to disappoint talent that was excited to be in the film but didn’t fit in the storyline, and getting the shooting schedules in order.

Cabrales filmed at locations like a restaurant and a mansion that is a historical landmark, and had to wait until summer for a trolley museum and school to be closed and available to shoot scenes in.

With over 50 actors — many of who were still in school or working — Cabrales had a lot of organizing to do. Plus, the child actors had to have their parents with them on set and legally could not work for more than eight hours a day.

“It was just really hard getting everybody on board at the same time,” she said.

But Cabrales still looked at the glass half-full. “It made it good on set because everyone knew what they needed to do and spent a lot less time sitting around and wasting time,” she said.

The payoff of giving local young actors and actresses their first chance in a movie, according to Cabrales, makes it all worth it.

“To give these children and young talent a foundation of what it is to be part of a film, it’s the best feeling,” she said. “Kids are observers, they’re always learning on set.”

Paying forward the mentorship she received as a child, while offering the chances she didn’t, is one of Cabrales’ goals.

“I didn’t have that opportunity growing up, but I did have a lot of opportunities to try something new with mentors at Richmond High,” she said.

After an eight-month filming process, Cabrales began seven months of editing that finished in July 2024.

“I had a couple of collaborators that kind of helped me shape the story in the editing room because I had a lot of footage and now I needed to put it together,” she said. “The hardest thing about filmmaking is finishing the film. Everybody has an idea, but to actually execute it takes a village.”

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About two months following the completion of editing, “Shadows of the Past” premiered at a Scranton theater for those involved with the film and drew a crowd of about 400 people — many proud parents and grandparents of young actors and actresses.

Roughly one month later, Cabrales secured her first distribution deal with the Los Angeles-based Terror Films. The distribution group, unlike many others, allows filmmakers rights to their creation even if it’s on streaming platforms.

“They were my first choice because I knew they took care of filmmakers and I was lucky enough to get a response that they really loved the film and wanted to take a chance on it,” she said.

Film festivals are often used to get distribution deals, but once an agreement is made, the acquired piece cannot be shown at any more festivals — meaning Cabrales only had about one month to show hers.

She says her hopes are that the film’s exposure via streaming opens up doors for the entire cast and crew that outweigh festival showings.

Despite the lack of time and a budget of only approximately $15,000, “Shadows of the Past” won awards like best feature film and best poster at Haunted Fest in New York City and the Reaper Festival in Pennsylvania. Actors and actresses also got a chance to participate in Q&A sessions following showings.

“They got to experience and get a sense for the cool part of being in a film,” Cabrales said.

She doesn’t know if the movie will make money but says she is more concerned with advancing her career to the next level.

One last potential step for the movie is being made in physical form for purchase through Terror Films. “Just having a copy you can take home and hold is something I think people still want,” said Cabrales.

And in her work, she takes a piece of Richmond home with her for inspiration.

“I really did make Scranton my home, but you never forget where you come from,” Cabrales said. “That’s the beauty of being an artist, you’re always using the places you’ve lived and experiences you’ve had and putting all those into an art form.”

In the meantime, Cabrales has nine separate film projects in the works that she is part of — and doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon.

She hopes to one day film a movie set partly in Durango and partly in Scranton.