This film is about Demetrio Braceros, aka Demi. He was Cayuga Park's gardener and artist for well over 20 years in which he transformed it into a work of art. Today, many San Franciscans have come to enjoy and love Demi's labor of love.
This is my labor of love. My name is JJ Casas and to put it out there, I've never produced a film. While I am the Creative Director of 8:45a and have produced many commercials for clients, I've never produced a full length documentary. However, I do understand the power of storytelling and the necessary technical knowledge to make it possible. This is my chance to tell someone's story that impacted many lives and created joy in a community.
When I read an article on SF Gate on the hidden gems of San Francisco, Cayuga Park was mentioned. I immediately realized that I've known Demi ever since I was a kid as he was a family friend. And being a kid in the early 90s, I never thought of anything else of Demi and his work he already was doing at Cayuga Park.
But being a family friend, it didn't take much to get Demi's number and give him a call out of the blue. I reminded him who I was and we set a meeting the next week at where else? Cayuga Park. I told him how I want to tell his story and produce a film about Cayuga Park. He happily obliged.
I'm currently in the pre-production phase which means I'm planning out our interview sessions with Demi and the people involved with Cayuga Park's restoration. Because I want this film to be produced the best that it can, I am opting to hire the same talented people I typically work with for our commercials. The difference is that for our commercials, our talented crew is with me for at least 2 days whereas for this full length documentary, it will surely require weeks and even months of work.
With that being said, I am turning to the power of crowdfunding to get the word out and reach people who either know Demi and his work or want to know Demi and all the work he's done for San Francisco. I believe his story is worth preserving to be shared and remembered. And what better way than to reach out to not just the people of San Francisco, but the world.
Sign up to our mailing list so we can let you know once our crowdfunding campaign is live. There will certainly be many ways for you to contribute and help us produce this film together.

Thank you for joining us on this journey!

- JJ Casas-Jumoc, Creative Director8:45a
P.S. Do you have fond memories of Cayuga Park? Do you know someone involved with Cayuga Park who should be in this film? Do let me know by dropping me a message! Would love to hear from you. You can email me jj [at] 845a.com :)
P.S.S. Please do pass this along to you friends and family. It'll just take 7 seconds to share on your own social media network below!