Up To Us (2023) is an award-winning narrative film series that reimagines sexual health education through scripted, character-driven storytelling. Created through UCLA's Art & Global Health Center, the project is now used in juvenile justice facilities across California and represents the intersection of Francisco's work as a journalist, educator, community organizer, and filmmaker. Rather than relying on traditional public service messaging, the series demonstrates how compelling stories can foster empathy, encourage dialogue, and expand access to critical information.
Up To Us (2023) marked the convergence of Francisco's work as a journalist, educator, community organizer, and filmmaker. Developed through UCLA's Art & Global Health Center and inspired by years of creative writing workshops with formerly incarcerated youth, the award-winning narrative series reimagines sexual health education through character-driven storytelling rather than traditional public service messaging. Now screening in juvenile justice facilities across California, the project reflects Francisco's belief that film can do more than inform; it can build empathy, expand opportunity, and create lasting cultural change.
More information here.
Disruptors Fellowship (2021) is a competitive screenwriting fellowship created by the Center for Cultural Power in partnership with Final Draft to support emerging writers from historically underrepresented communities developing original film and television projects.
Selected as a fellow, Francisco spent a year refining original screenplays through an intensive program focused on story development, craft, and the business of television and film. The fellowship deepened their approach to character, structure, and adaptation while providing opportunities to workshop material with accomplished writers, producers, and industry executives. Through the program, Francisco developed lasting creative relationships and expanded a professional network that led to meetings and pitches with producers, executive producers, showrunners, and potential collaborators across the film and television industry.
Today, the fellowship remains a foundational chapter in Francisco's evolution as a screenwriter, reinforcing a long-term practice rooted in deeply reported, character-driven stories that bridge journalism and narrative filmmaking.