“CRUSH IT.”
A gay teenager spends his last summer before college with his estranged, alcoholic father.
He finds escape and self-recognition when he develops a crush on a local boy.
My 2nd feature film which I wrote, directed, edited, styled & produced. This was a true independent, grass roots, guerrilla, no budget production. We shot it in 2016 in Sacramento and the Bay Area. I lived with my cinematographer, and my main cast, in a cheap hotel in Sacramento for over a month while we made the movie. This was a film that, despite the sweat and tears in making it, made me realize how truly blessed I was to have made films in the Bay Area when I was young. Since I financed it myself while also working as a production assistant in Hollywood & trying to make ends meet, it took me 10 years to finish the post-production process. However, in the 10 years it took to complete, the movie became better & better, with the addition of music from indie musicians I collaborated with & met over the years, and with years of wisdom & experience helping making the final cut something I am truly proud of. The performances of the cast are authentic & moving, the soundtrack is evocative, and the aesthetic touches are undoubtedly my own.
Brian Brigantti as Jacob. Aaron Holliday as Aaron. Erwin Galan as Marc. Written & Directed by Azure Valencia. Cinematography by EM3. Produced by Alonzo Chism, Azure Valencia & Pamela Garcia-Aguirre. 
“LOVE WILL TEAR US APART.”
A jaded pair of friends become infatuated with the same person.
Well, this is my first feature film. I was 22 when I started planning it, 24 by the time the edit was complete. I was an art student in San Francisco and I took some semesters off to make this movie with other art students and local artists. I was inspired to make a feature length movie after watching the French cinema of the Nouvelle Vague and discovering the masterpiece "Les Amours Imaginaires." I had a budget of roughly $7000 and most of that went into buying camera gear and wardrobe. It was surprisingly difficult to find a young gay actor in San Francisco who connected to the lead gay character, so I cast myself as other directors have done before. Although I think I’m a good actor, I decided after this film to never act in my own projects ever again. To this day I am eternally grateful to all the people who were a part of making this movie and who gave their time and spaces to me. When I look at this film now, a decade later, it seems like a miracle that the film was completed, and I feel extremely proud of it.
Kaleigh Macchio as Genevieve. August Roads as Max. Azure Valencia as Adrian. Written & Directed by Azure Valencia. Cinematography by Ben Leon. Assistant Director Mikel Bossette. Production Design by EM3. 