Meet The Team

Executive Producer

Melinda Marroquin

An award-winning filmmaker based in Austin, Texas, originally from the Texas border town of  Mission. Raised on movie sets and theater stages, she made her screen debut at age seven in the film She Came to the Valley. Since then, she has built a dynamic, multifaceted career both in front of and behind the camera.

Melinda’s extensive hands-on experience across various crew positions gave her the opportunity to collaborate with legendary directors such as Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino—each shaping her craft and reinforcing her passion for storytelling. That passion ultimately led her to pursue her true calling as a director and producer.

Her short film Dancing with the Devil, which she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in, made waves on the indie film festival circuit—earning multiple awards including Best Director and Best Folklore Film.

As Executive Producer on The Yaqui,  Melinda brings a sharp eye for talent, a strong creative vision, and a lifelong devotion to cinema. She is also a committed advocate for diversity and inclusivity in the film industry, championing women's voices and creating opportunities for the next generation of storytellers to thrive. Melinda currently sits on the board of directors of Women in Film and TV Austin as Secretary and is an active member of Austin Film Society, ATX TV Festival, Texas Motion Picture Alliance, and AEB/All Entertainment Business.

Screenwriter

Sol Marroquin

A former actor turned screenwriter, author, and devoted public servant whose passion for storytelling left a lasting mark. In 1978, at the request of esteemed author Dr. Cleo Dawson, Sol adapted The Yaqui into a screenplay, with her full consent to register and copyright the work as his own. Deeply committed to bringing this powerful story to life, he devoted over four decades to championing the project. Until his passing in 2018, Sol worked tirelessly to see The Yaqui realized on the silver screen — a testament to his enduring vision, perseverance, and love for the craft.

Author

Dr. Cleo Dawson

Cleo Dawson came to Mission, Texas as a child with her family in a covered wagon in the early 1900’s. Her family’s story was made in to a movie, She Came to the Valley in 1977.
In 1973, Cleo wrote a manuscript entitled, “The Jeweled Cross” based on her doctoral dissertation on Mexican Indian studies. The Yaqui is based on this manuscript. Cleo died in Lexington, Kentucky in 1991.

Producer

Amy Soto

Amy got her start in the entertainment  world when she was asked to be the model for the Tejano women depicted in the film, “The Alamo”. 
She immediately felt passion for the craft and became a self - taught filmmaker. Her “film guru” nickname comes from the diverse amount of experiences she’s been able to cultivate. 
Working from the indie film market to studio movie houses,  Amy’s career has A well balanced repertoire that makes her able to produce various content projects. 
The Yaqui  has always been a favorite story she wanted to help produce and she will bring all her experiences to the table to bring this beautiful story to the big screen. 

Producer

Laura Perez

Laura is an award-winning producer and film consultant, leveraging her business acumen and law degree to tackle and turn the adversities and challenges of production into opportunities to empower and illuminate the strengths of a production team. She produced one of the first nationally distributed bi-lingual feature films “Harvest of Redemption” (shot for $25k) which won the Best Foreign Feature award at the International Family Film Festival in Hollywood and secured distribution throughout the U.S. and Mexico. She is currently producing the environmental underground documentary “American Orange,” and the dark-comedy feature “The Place in Between,” due for release in late 2024. Laura has been a screenplay judge for Final Draft’s Big Break Script Competition, The American Screenwriter’s Association International Screenplay Competition, and Scenarios USA’s “What’s The Real Deal” Screenplay Contest. She has been awarded grants from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts for her creative ventures.

Producer

Jess Guiterrez-Hefner

Jess is a Creative Producer with over 15 years experience in international co-production and development. She was the supervising producer for Michel Franco’s film, April’s Daughter, winner of the Jury prize in the “Un Certain Regard” section of Cannes International Film Festival in 2017. She worked on projects in Mexico such as Nosotros los Nobles (Warner Bros), Club de Cuervos (Netflix), Pulling Strings (Pantelion), Blacker than Night (Videocine) and in 2016, she was one of the producers of La Leyenda del Diamante (Corazon films) which was accepted into and shown at San Diego Comic Con International Film Festival in 2017. From 2018 to 2019, she was Supervising Producer at 11:11 Film & TV, working on international series such as Rubirosa with the Dominican Republic, La Negociadora and Claramente for the streaming platforms ViX+ and Mexico's Clarovideo. At the end of 2021, she moved to Austin, where she has worked on various projects including the film Accidental Texan that premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2023. Nowadays, she is developing, packaging and seeking financing for various projects such as House in the Clouds (to be an international co-production between US and Mexico), the female-lead, latinx raunchy comedy film Why am I still Single? and the psychological thriller Doll House, produced in association with Banskota Productions, also exploring international co-production between the US and countries in South Asia, Latin America and Europe. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Women in Film & TV Austin as the Membership Chair and as of March 2025, she is the Supervising Producer for AEB/ All Entertainment Business.

Music Supervisor

Patricia Vonne

Hailed as a Renaissance woman of Austin Texas by The New York Times, Patricia Vonne has claimed many titles in her illustrious career: singer, songwriter,  actress, activist & award-winning filmmaker. 
Vonne has appeared on the big screen in Spykids, Desperado, Machete Kills, Four Rooms, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill , for  which she reprised her role as Dallas/Zorro Girl. Her song  “Traeme Paz” was featured in the film Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
Her song “Courage Under Fire” is featured in the indie film Wildlands.  “Mudpies and Gasoline” was also featured in Quentin Tarantino’s production  of Hellride.

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