A Filmmaker’s Success in Costa Rica

Hernán Jimenez, San Francisco Art Institute ’11 (Costa Rica, Pearson UWC) wanted to make films but didn’t have money or Hollywood connections—so he did a standup comedy tour and used the proceeds to make his first film, which was distributed in Costa Rica and seen by over 50,000 people.

He used the proceeds to make his second movie, with help from the online fundraising site Kickstarter. El Regreso won Best International Feature at the HBO New York International Latino Film Festival. “El Regreso became Costa Rica's biggest box office success in history, bringing more than 130,000 people to see it in Theaters,” Hernán writes. “I am working on a major stand-up comedy event at home, and we have begun fundraising and pre-production for a documentary feature called Traffic, about the collapse of Costa Rica's road system and the emotional impact of sustained traffic congestion on our population.”