Movie Manny #8 - "Legends Never Die" A Sew Loka Short Story

Movie Manny returns with exciting news about directing a new short film "Legends Never Die," starring his wife, Claudia from Sew Loka and shot in their Barrio Logan sewing studio. Discover how a simple clothing patch can be transformed into a beautiful cinematic experience! Manny also gives exclusive updates on upcoming Sew Loka collaborations with SDFC, Uniqlo, San Diego Wave, and more. He also shares the raw journey of balancing small business growth with creative aspirations and using filmmaking to cope and push through crazy times. Whether you're into clothing, film, or entrepreneurship, hopefully this episode will remind you to stop overthinking and just "make the thing."

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Transcript

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Hello, everyone, and welcome to episode number eight of the Movie Manny podcast. It's been a while. It's been almost a year. This episode, I've maybe tried to record a bunch of times already, many times, and just never released it. And it's, you know, pretty much approaching almost a year since Movie Manny number seven, where I kind of talked about the upcoming Bob Dylan film and Complete Unknown. And, you know, that was all the way back in August of twenty twenty four. And here we are, right at the end of July 2025. And yeah, it's nearly been a year. So I kind of wanted to definitely record this episode and make sure this one gets posted because there's some exciting things happening. You know, there's been so many crazy paths for ever since this Movie Manny thing began. I don't even know if some people know kind of how it began, but Ever since it began, it's been this crazy whirlwind journey, and it's about to reach some sort of crest very, very soon, actually in the next couple of weeks. And that's why I wanted to record this podcast, post it, because there's something to report. There's something, there's action happening. Things are brewing. And for a while there, at least on my end, it was a lot of... Just stopping and starting, stopping and starting with multiple different things. And, you know, then after I posted that last episode in August of 2024, I began writing. I began writing a lot. I wanted to. I became obsessed with creating my own short film and releasing it. I became obsessed with it. I enjoy doing the podcast. I enjoy talking about other movies and meeting people that have done movies in the past and dissecting it and talking about it. really really what it made me have a hunger for more than anything else was actually doing it and you know not overthinking it and just making it happen happen and making it relevant and making it something that I would want to see and something that everyone would want to see and making it a creative experience that would fulfill me you know and I and I became obsessed with that idea and you know I started going on a journey to try to think about how I could make a short film, but then also how I could relate it back to what we're doing with Soloka. Because the thing here is that if it's only me and Claudia, you know, pretty much running Soloka and things are growing over there, it becomes way busier. Time becomes, you know, there's less time to take on these extracurricular activities activities that don't directly relate to the business because in order to keep a business alive you have to focus most of your attention on that business so i had the challenge of how do i do the short film which short film takes a lot of time writing it a lot of time thinking about it organizing it you know casting it all this stuff and and making it happen it's going to be a big project so I wasn't sure how to accomplish that, but also keep my eye on the ball when it comes to the business, the small business, Soloka, and how to grow it, you know, because that's our goal every year is to continue to find new ways to grow it. And we're in a definitely growth period right now, you know, over this last year, I would say, of really trying to plan how to take on these bigger orders and how to balance our time better, because when we get big orders in, sometimes we don't are not able to make new inventory for the shop. And, you know, it's just trying to find that balance that we're constantly searching for. And we know the answer to it is adding members to the Soloka team, like cut and sew team members. And that's what we're in the process of doing now. But it's been a journey to get there. And like I said, I can't take my eye off the ball when it comes to that because the small business is what feeds everything else, you know. But I did have this hunger to make this short film. So I began writing in my off time and I decided that if I was going to make this short film, it's going to have a direct correlation to Soloka. It's going to make sense within the brand of Soloka. It's not going to be something so left field where it's like, oh yeah, Manny's making this alien movie, you know, this alien short film, he's shooting it. You know, what does it have to do with Soloka and what they're doing? I have no idea. I didn't want that. I wanted it to be a direct correlation to what we're doing so it makes sense in larger project of what we're all trying to achieve, me and Claudia, and people that are invested in Soloka, you know, wanted to see it thrive and survive, wanted to see it thrive and just really, really keep growing. So I decided that when I was writing it, I was inspired by something that happened to Claudia inside the sewing studio. I was going to make it, you know, they say, write what you know. So I was going to make it something that kind of happened in the sewing studio that was was um interesting to say the least you know and um i wanted to write a story that was kind of inspired by that not exactly like that but and i wanted it to be tied into um something that Claudia, one of her designs, you know, like the patches that she creates, you know, like how it has the sayings like, you reap what you sow, skills pay bills, you know, legends never die. That's one of the sayings she uses a lot, legends never die. We even had an art show that was titled Legends Never Die. And the reason why we do that is because, you know, these sayings, yes, they're put on clothing, they're sayings that people know, they respond to them. But what if we can delve deeper into these sayings? What if these sayings had deeper, more three-dimensional meanings. You know, we did that with the art shows when it comes to our first ever art show was Sewing His Life. And Sewing His Life is a phrase that Claudia uses on her clothing and zipper pouches. We also did Community Over Competition was our 10-year anniversary. That's also another patch that Claudia uses, but we created an event around it. Legends Never Die was an art show that was dedicated to to people that have, people that have passed away and they wanted to honor, Claudia wanted to honor their lives with textile art pieces that represented them in some way. Sometimes it was made from their clothing. the people that who had passed and it was called Legends Never Die and that was our way of really like showing hey this is not just a patch for us this is also this incredible art experience this legacy the reminders of legacy and the people who came before us remembering our ancestors you know so that was the Legends Never Die art show but then what if there was also a deeper exploration of that phrase in the medium of a short film, of a visual representation. You know, so it's not just when you see Legends Never Die on the back of a flannel. Your mind is going to multiple places. It's, yes, whatever you correlate with that saying, but then also, oh my God, I remember the art show. The art show, when Legends Never Die means remembering the people who came before you. All the pieces that were created out of that art show. The jackets, all the incredible jackets. And then now... There's going to be a short film, Legends Never Die, that's going to have Claudia. She's going to be in the film. She's actually the main actress of the film. It's filmed inside the sewing studio. 90% of it will be filmed inside the sewing studio. And it will be a short film loosely based on an experience that happened in the sewing studio. And it's going to be an epic journey. And it's going to be something that I really feel kind of sets what we're doing apart. You know, we're always looking for ways to define what we're doing to define our brand. And it's like we are storytellers when it comes to the clothing, but when it also comes to the visuals, social media. But we want to go deeper than social media. Social media is a gateway into other things. You know, it's that bridge into other things. But we have aspirations to do these other things that are visually stunning. that are visually like take you deeper into what this phrase actually means it's not just a patch on a piece of clothing it's an art show it's an event it's a festival it's a short film it's a cinematic journey it's a photo it's a piece of poetry it's a fashion show it's all these Different things melded together and we get to explore it in this realm. So in my mind, if I wanted to make a short film, if I wanted to do something visually and creative, there's ways to explore it through the medium of Soloka. And that's the awesome thing that we're about to take a journey into and experiment with here. In the next couple of weeks, we'll be shooting this. We'll be shooting this short film. It's going to be a small crew. I'll be directing. I wrote it. I'm going to be also doing the sound. I'm going to edit it, but I'm joined by my good friend, Jorge. He's done a lot of awesome photography for us. If you look at his Instagram, he's an awesome DP. Cannot wait to see his excellent skills. You know, we've always, you know, Jorge has an amazing style. You know, amazing, amazing style. He's taken amazing photographs. Awesome videographer. Awesome cinematographer. He has, you know... a key eye for lighting and freaking just how he composes the image when he's taking pictures of the Soloka products in the past. And, you know, we've done photo shoots with them and it always comes out tip top. So he's going to be the DP for Legends Never Die. And then we also have Claudia. Like I said, she's going to be playing one of the main roles. And we also have Kayla. She's a professional actress and she was hired to play the role alongside Claudia. and it's going to be epic three days of shooting and we're putting everything on the side we're not you know closing the shop for those days and we're just gonna we're gonna make this happen because we truly believe in this and we believe that taking this extra effort and making this happen and completing this and putting together really really well-made film will enhance everything we do at soloka it all plays into it it's not just some some random expulsion of creativity, which there's nothing wrong with that either, but also trying to keep this, trying to keep the small business going, and also be creative, it's always that tricky thing of how do you meld the, everything together, so you, just like I said, you never take your eye off the ball, it's all, it's all going into the same, it's all feeding the same goals, you know, it's all basically feeding the soloka, and it's freaking, And it's going to, but you also get to be creative and it's a freaking, it's going to be a freaking journey and it's legends never die. And I'm going to edit it as soon as it's done. And I'm really, really, you know, putting my heart and soul into this. This is something that it's like, there's such a hunger for me to do and to complete. And I'm already writing the next one. I want this to be a trilogy of, there's so many patches that we use and the, you know, And Legends Never Die is just one of those patches. But then there's also the patch Sewing is Not Dead. And Sewing is Not Dead, where I'm saying I'm writing this next short film now, but it was an idea that Claudia had, you know, where basically she always had this idea of a group of sewists that kind of meet for like a knitting class or, you know, knitting club or something like that. And, you know, you think they're just like, oh my God, they're just innocent old ladies sewing, you know, but... in reality. They're really just basically plotting different ways they can take down fast fashion. So it's like this kind of really, really fun way of basically we have some really fun ideas to put in there, and we're going to make it really adventurous. We're going to step it up even from Legends Never Die, and it's going to be a totally different, totally different, more comedic take on things. Legends Never Die, there's not much comedy in there. It's more of just a very kind of spiritual, almost supernatural, but just talks about legacy and all those things that The Legends Never Die, our show also talked about, but this is going to be a more cinematic form. But Sewing Is Not Dead has that kind of punk rock DIY vibe, but also a little bit comedic, dark humor. You know, think of, God, what is it? Like, think of like, you know, like hints of that movie Serial Mom. You know, think of that kind of vibe, but just maybe a little less dark. But, you know, this is the things that We have kind of been focusing on these last, you know, over this last year. I haven't been putting out podcasts, but I have been focusing on making different videos, whether it be for Soloka or for other clients. You know, I love exploring new mediums. And then I upped to a Sony FX30 and with lenses and everything like that. And, you know, working with what I have and working with different clients and taking out different projects. And I did this podcast. video for a non-profit recently about Pedro and Rama and that was such a beautiful experience and oh my god just getting to interview everybody there and getting the creative freedom to put that project together and you know filming in different locations just getting so much experience when I was done with that done editing that boom I wanted to jump into Legends Never Die and that's what we're doing I mean literally in a couple of weeks we will be filming Legends Never Die it took me months to write it and to get it down to about 18-17 pages and And I really need to probably get it down a little more. But, you know, we'll see what happens in the editing room. And that's the cool thing. I get to edit it as well. So I really feel so much creative fulfillment for just visualizing this, writing it, getting everybody casted. Putting together the shot list and playing the roles of script supervisor, first AD, playing all those roles, having to direct in a couple of weeks, and then having to edit at the end. I really feel creatively fulfilled for being able to put this out, for being able to put this out, and then for also playing the next thing, and to know that Soloka is... Every day, you know, getting more and more opportunities thrown our way. So I know we're on the right path. We have so many. We have an SDFC collaboration coming up where Claudia is going to be creating 40 one-on-one jackets. It's going to be so, so sick. That's coming out in, you know, probably six, seven, eight weeks. Don't quote me on that, but it will be soon. Also. claudia is going to be doing upcycle pieces for unique glow you know so super excited about that there's going to be a drop with wave the san diego wave women's football club coming soon i think they're going to do a pop-up at the store in like three weeks so we're super excited about that because what they commissioned claudia to create them a one-of-one jacket using like the recycled jerseys and stuff like that and claudia created in this jacket the vamos wave jacket they freaking loved it they're like oh my god so um they bought it and what they're going to do is they're design team is going to look at that jacket and they're going to create a whole line of merch that's basically based off that jacket inspired by the design of that jacket so it's really cool and they're going to auction off that jacket as well and the money goes to a good cause and it's everyone's it's just such a cool experience all around and we can't wait to see what kind of merch comes from that jacket it's going to be super super cool and then also claudia created a hat for the sand eagle wave they're going to give everybody a hat it's noche latina night in september i'm not sure that the exact day but they're gonna give away like over 2,000 of those Soloka designed hats at the game at the San Diego Wave game so that's freaking super super exciting and we have a fashion show collab coming up in November 9th collabing with the epic homegrown project SD Chris Carson the one and only if you haven't checked him out National City check it out at the Highland Ave Supply Co super super super amazing designer Solo is collabing with Chris and it's going to be at the Marriott by the harbor it's a place called the Lane and it's such an epic epic spot oh my god I cannot wait to tell you more about that soon we're actually meeting with Chris in like two hours we've been meeting every week super super excited about this this is going to be the project of the year it's going to be such not just a fashion show it's going to be a fest all day long with different sewing cutting sewing upcycling workshops performances an epic collab fashion show show and I'm telling you like it's just the tip of the iceberg so more on that coming but and then I forgot Wonder Wonder Museum doing a collab with them at the end of the month on August 30th they're actually sadly closing their San Diego location they have other locations like Boston Chicago and other places but they're closing their San Diego location but they're doing like a little bash like to end everything and it's gonna be like really really awesome bash and if you haven't seen the wonder this is the time to see it before they close in September so August 30th we're gonna be I think there's an artist open call you can check the wonders website you can email them to basically if you want to participate all mediums and it's just gonna be a birthday not a birthday it's gonna be a bash it's gonna be be like a celebration more than you know anything somber so come out and celebrate the wonder it's been two incredible years they have an awesome spot there and if you haven't checked it out now is the time you know so a lot of amazing things happening we're shooting this film in a couple of weeks I cannot wait for you to see it I would love to premiere it at the fashion show or sometime around then it's going to be everybody who's listening now we'll get to see it and I just wanted to give everybody an update on what the hell's been going on this last year, there's a lot more, you know, that prevents me from, you know, it's, I've wanted to talk about it in different podcasts, and I end up talking about it, and then it just, it prevents me from putting out the podcast, because I just, you know, I have trouble getting that vulnerable on a podcast, so I try to keep this all kind of business related, but there were some You know, just things that happened over the last couple of years that have really kind of affected me, you know, like people close to me have passed and it threw me off in many, many different ways and still does to this day. And it may never be the same, but I'm learning to cope, you know, and this creative process. doing these creative things with my friends, with my family, it does help me to cope. And that's where I've been. That's the journey I am on currently. You know, Movie Manny, it started as a podcast, but it was really, like I said, a manifestation where I was trying to make a movie. It's Manny trying to make a movie more than it is Movie Manny. You know, so I basically am on this journey to create this Legends Never Die, create Sewing Is Not Dead, create another, the third one, Ride or Die, and basically have that little sewing journey death trilogy and basically just really explore all these themes in different cinematic ways and have fun with it and really feel like I'm on that creative journey that's helping me cope and helping me feel gratefulness and helping me see all the beautiful things about life which I know are there which I know are there but you have to remind yourself and sometimes being creative and doing all these things and the collaboration that's when you know this gratefulness kind of spurts out of that so that's what I'm hoping for and that's what I'm loving and that's why I came on here today check out the one of one videos Instagram and basically you know I'm gonna be these next couple weeks just putting up different stuff about legends never die you'll get to see some behind the scenes everything like that so please follow the soloka page follow the 101 videos page and i'm super grateful that i get to collaborate with these peeps around me and freaking make these things just make these things not think about it too much but just make these things and if you're out there make your thing whatever you want to do just make it and um no no you don't have to give any excuses to anybody or you don't have anybody to explain nothing to you just got to make the thing and have a few people that kind of agree to be like yeah let's fucking do it you know and it's and it's and it's awesome to have that so super grateful for that and that you're listening and um i i can't wait for you to see what we make in the sewing studio all right movie manny out