Our story
I wanted to make a film with my family. I had this idea that maybe we could make something together. Not just a movie, but a kind of time capsule. Something our sons could return to one day, when they are older and living their own lives.
I also wanted to tell a story about childhood imagination. About the way children create worlds when the real one becomes too heavy. It became about how children survive it, how they invent, dream, play, and imagine their way through pain they cannot fully explain.
It began as a family project, but it grew into something deeper: a story about memory, loss, imagination, and the people we love most.
A Handmade Family Film
I brought in close friends I’ve worked with in television to help bring the world of the film to life. In that way, The Wild Dreamers became even more personal. I’m in the film too, along with Karis, who appears painting in her studio, adding another piece of our real lives into the story.
I wrote and directed the film, and I also operated the camera myself.
I knew we would be filming in many different locations, often moving quickly and working with what we had. My sons and I traveled all around New Jersey, capturing the beauty of its landscapes: the rolling hills, the ocean, the parks, and the quiet places that I wanted to show on screen.
Holding the camera allowed me to stay close to the actors, keep the process intimate, and capture the film in the same handmade spirit that started it.
Support The Wild Dreamers
The Wild Dreamers is a handmade independent film about childhood, grief, imagination, and the mysterious ways we learn to keep going after loss. I made this film with my family and close friends over one summer, carrying the camera myself through each location so the story could stay intimate, honest, and alive.
When you buy the film directly from me, you’re not just watching an indie movie. You’re supporting personal filmmaking, the kind made outside the system, with heart, risk, and family woven into every frame.
Kelly P. Beautiful Story and Message
“Beautiful and moving story of loss and resilience. The ending was so moving and brought me to tears.”
Michael Kirsic. Intimate Storytelling “A wonderfully produced and beautifully shot independent film. Intimate storytelling of two young boys and how their memories and imagination help them overcome a trauma.”
DS. Beautiful Independent Film
“The Wild Dreamers is visual poetry — raw, dreamlike, and drenched in feeling. Roberto Lopez channels the spirit of Terrence Malick, crafting a film that doesn’t explain itself, but invites you to feel every frame. Beautifully shot, with great performances. Highly recommended for anyone with a taste for atmospheric, dreamlike cinema.”
Stacy A. Takaki. A Beautiful Film About Life, Death and Family
“A beautiful film about life, death and family. It plays with memory and the power of nature to knit different times and experiences together. It made me reflect not just on the phases of my own life, but of the generations before and after me, and how everyone deals with time and loss in mysterious, personal ways.”
Denine Latz. Great Movie
“Compelling and beautifully shot. A great way to help with grieving. Truly a work of art.”