Born and raised in the Bronx, my life as a child was relatively care free. I didn’t have a cellphone, or need to worry about being cyber-bullied. At home I could flip through my family photo albums, take a book off the shelves, or put a VHS in the video tape player. Then the planes hit the towers on a sunny Tuesday morning and everything changed. Fear set in and technology offered a sense of security and connection. I remember right after 9/11, I had a cellphone and so did everyone else in my class after that. I don’t think all technology is “bad,” on the contrary technology has always been a great source of pride and achievement for the human species. But I do think we need to be careful and I need to show how it may possibly change the true essence of who we are, how we’re remembered and ultimately who we will become. Technology is altering the way we communicate externally and internally. How will stories be told and remembered as we delve further into the realm of digital transaction? That’s why I want to share and “Archive” the things that make us so great today. My dedication to telling stories is more than just a hobby, it’s a part of who I am. I have to create art and I’ve put everything on the line to do so, quite literally. As a NYC firefighter in the Bronx, I’m often confronted with the worst that the world has to offer. Everyday I go to work in a city full of diversity and historical beauty. As the world changes rapidly, I feel an innate need to tell the story of preserving what we already have, because it is beautiful and fleeting. My directorial debut “Pedicab” is a love letter to NYC and is a great source of pride for me. I have a special connect to NYC and use it as a muse within every project that I create. As a story teller, I feel it is my responsibility to tell stories that inspire people to reconnect to their humanity and to themselves.