Self taught and self-made, Rudy Valdez is a shooting star in the world of documentary filmmaking. After his sister was incarcerated for 15 years and separated from her 3 children for a first time, non-violent offense, Rudy Valdez picked up a camera & went on a 10 year journey documenting his family’s fight for her clemency and return  back to her family. The culmination ended up being “The Sentence” a documentary which won the Audience Choice award at Sundance and was picked up by HBO. This experience has led Rudy on a wildly successful career and recently ESPN tabbed him to tell the extraordinary story of WNBA superstar Maya Moore who left the game in the prime of her career to rescue the love of her life who spent 23 years in jail on a wrongful conviction, for the film Breakaway … Rudy sat in the back of his high school drama class attempting to skate his way towards graduation.  Little did he know his teachers simple push would lead to his first steps in the entertainment world.  From that moment Rudy followed his heart and not his head and that became became the secret sauce to his filmmaking style.   In this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films, Rudy Valdez opens all the way and details turning points in his life as well as significant moments in his films.  For fans of the docuseries We are the Brooklyn Saints on Netflix, you will want to listen all the way until the end because Rudy gives us the goods.   Enjoy the pod