Heart On The Diamond - Director’s Statement
Baseball is more than a sport to me; it is more of an American Dream. It is the pastime that brought my family together, and the baseball diamond is where I made childhood memories with my second family – a baseball team. I was the only girl on my baseball team for 12 years. A trailblazer with a passion for changing how people saw the sport of baseball and empowering other young women of color to play sports.
Countless hours on the baseball field created endless memories. The one that hits me hardest, and I miss the most, is hearing my parents yell at the top of their lungs at every game, “That’s my daughter!” as I stepped into the batter’s box. Filming this story in San Diego is so close to my heart. The city is the endpoint of my parents’ immigration journey to the U.S.; it is my birthplace, where I discovered baseball.
Growing up, I didn’t see people who looked like me on the screen, and I especially didn’t see women playing baseball. The first time I was introduced to a League of Their Own, I was excited to have seen women make history! I am incredibly grateful that Title IX played a big part in my life as it allowed me to play baseball in high school and supported me to create a community that felt like home.
Corazon en el Diamante, Heart on the Diamond is inspired by intertwining my mom’s immigration experience and my time as the only girl on a baseball team. By doing so, Corazon en el Diamante highlights the demanding responsibilities of being a first-generation and feeling like you are not from here or there: “Ni de a qui o de aya.” Cecilia embodies some of the struggles I faced growing up in a family who immigrated from Mexico to find their American Dream.
This bilingual short embraces Spanish and Spanglish, reflecting on the mother-daughter relationship. Although each immigration story is unique, our talented cast and crew will strive to depict scenes of sacrifice and love from within the Latine community. This film is an homage to all the mothers and parents who cheered me on at every baseball game and to all the immigrant moms and dads who sacrificed something for their kids.
Heart On The Diamond is a USC thesis short currently fundraising for production, find their campaign at Seed & Spark.
Martha Rodriguez
Martha Rodriguez is a first-generation Latina filmmaker, born and raised in San Diego by parents from Guanajuato, Mexico. Her life experiences and culture inspire Rodriguez to empower her Latine community through her films. Martha’s roots and values are a crucial part of her bilingual narrative, which depicts identity and social injustice within low-income, marginalized communities. Martha is proud her family embraces their Mexican language and culture; she hopes to allow underrepresented communities to see themselves on screen. She is determined to bring representation, inclusivity, and diversity to her filmmaking in front of and behind the camera. She wants to tear down barriers and challenge stereotypical labels affixed to the Latine community. As the only Latina of 60 students in her Spring 2022 MFA Production Cohort, Martha consistently advocates for more representation in higher education and film programs for underrepresented communities. Martha is going into her 5th semester at USC in the MFA Program. She continues mentoring first-generation Latine film students to further her desire to impact a new generation of courageous and kind filmmakers unafraid to tell their stories.