tesoro A SHORT FILM / 2025
A motel passage opens onto a sunlit swimming pool and the blue sea beyond.
PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDAJULY FOURTH

A FILM BY SAMUEL CORREA

TESORO

Photographs and memories

Step into the film

tesoro /teˈsoɾo/
SPANISH FOR “TREASURE”

01 / THE FILMA STORY CLOSE TO HOME

A boy.
His mother.
Everything
between them.

At a Florida beach motel, David, a lonely young boy, tries to help his mother after accidentally breaking a guest’s car window. Their struggle to repair the damage brings them closer, showing how love can create a sense of home in a place that doesn’t always welcome them.

YEAR
2025
DATE
September 26
SETTING
Florida’s Gulf Coast
Two young cast members smile from opposite sides of a motel doorway, with a boom microphone overhead.
Life around the edges of a take.ON SET, TESORO

OUT IN THE WORLD

FESTIVAL RECOGNITION / 2026
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD

Best Dramatic
Short

Tallahassee Film Festival

AUDIENCE AWARD · TIE

Social Justice
Film

Charlotte Film Festival

CINEMATOGRAPHY NOMINATION

Student Heritage
Award

American Society of Cinematographers
Juan Martinez, cinematographer

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS INCLUDE

Seattle Latino Film Festival Buffalo International Film Festival Hispanic Heritage Film Festival Subtropic Film Festival

02 / THE PHOTO DIARYPANAMA CITY BEACH, FL

Around
the frame.

The places, people, and in-between moments behind TESORO.

SELECT A PHOTOGRAPH TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK ↗

Sea oats grow in front of the motel’s yellow balconies.
THE CHATEAU / PANAMA CITY BEACHA place to stay.
A world of its own.
03 / CAST & CREWMADE TOGETHER

A film by
Samuel Correa.

Samuel Correa is a Colombian-born filmmaker who grew up between Colombia and South Florida. A graduate of the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, his work explores family, belonging, and the experience of growing up between cultures.

The TESORO slate, listing director Samuel Correa and cinematographer Juan Martinez.
THE FIRST OF MANY MOMENTS.

CAST

Sandra
Mirrorajah Metcalfe
David
Martin Flores
Leo
Thomas Stuart-tilley
Rohan
Dinesh Kuma Sundarar
Karen
Audrey Heffron
Leo’s Mother
Melinda Standwood

Behind the camera.

THE CREW

STORY & PRODUCTION

Writer & Director
Samuel Correa
Producer
Ariya Beckler
First Assistant Director
Mikhelon Arnold
Second Assistant Director
Giulia Abreu

CAMERA & LIGHTING

Director of Photography
Juan Martinez
First Assistant Camera
Tommy Gold
Second Assistant Camera
Sam Perez Laurenza
Gaffer
Daniel Cooper
Key Grip
Grace Evans
Best Boy Grip
Ayden Kotzer

ART, EDITORIAL & SOUND

Production Designer
Julio Aceituno
Art Director
Alex Duque
Editor
Sebastian Valencia
Sound Mixer
Lauren Kim
Boom Operator
Jackson Kottkamp

Florida State University
College of Motion Picture Arts

TESORO / THE PHOTO DIARY