We recently had the chance to connect with Thomas Sahagun and have shared our conversation below.
Thomas , we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
Absolutely, I would hire myself. I’m driven by ambition and a relentless pursuit of my goals that I set for myself. I think what sets me apart from everyone else is how hungry and determined I am to make sure I reach those goals without a doubt. I don’t stop until I achieve what I have set out to do, even if it means facing failure over and over again. I quickly learned that for every step backwards, is a step in the right direction. It’s like one of my favorite athletes of all time said “You never just win, you gotta lose to win” Michael Jordan. I have followed that quote many times. I am passionate in what I do and I learn from every setback and find other ways to succeed. I’m confident that this drive, combined with my skills, would be make me a perfect asset to anyone’s team especially if they have the same drive as me.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey everyone! My name is Thomas Sahagun, a film producer, director, writer, and founder of Elite Films Production. We’re building something special right here in the Central Valley. We’ve already created several different movies from short films, to feature including “Unknown Caller” On Amazon Prime Video, a fan film “Halloween The Rise From Hell” for the spooky season and our latest movie “NOC SHIFT” which had a limited theatrical release in Galaxy Theatres, Lemoore Cinemas and a few other theater locations as well. The movie is set to hit the TUBI platform soon which is a huge dream come true. Just two years, it was a struggle and all I could do was just dream of being on a platform like TUBI. Since I began my journey in filmmaking, it was dream of mine to get on the big screens, on the TUBI platform and on Netflix, it’s safe to say we have checked out two of those on the list. Elite Films Production has grown so much here in the Valley. From one actor and one camera guy who also did lighting, to a full team set with several talented actors and actresses, to a full crew of 15 helping on set. The success we have had over the last months, is due to everyone’s help. None of this would have been possible without our wonderful talented cast members, and crew. Our goal here is simple: bring Hollywood quality filmmaking to the Central Valley and become a top-tier production company.
What makes us unique? We’re not just telling stories, we’re creating experiences, friendships and opportunities. Currently, we’re diving into our most ambitious project yet, “Slaughter Night” set to be a truly terrifying, horrifying, disturbing, and one of the most disgusting films of all time that will hit theaters on Valentine’s Eve, Friday the 13th in February 2026 and stars Mike Hanson, Laura Dimmer and Mercy Alcantar. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing people as well such as Castillo Productions and Phoenix Entertainment. But that’s not all – in December of 2025 we turn our focus to the film I’m most looking forward to, “Beyond The Spotlight – The Jeromy Blackwell Story.” Jeromy Blackwell is the Strahtmore Spartans football head coach in Strathmore California who had a horrific incident, collapsing in the backyard while making food due to a heat stroke. His story is of overcoming a severe heat stroke and leading his team to another high school valley championship and state title is incredibly inspiring, and I am truly honored to have the opportunity to film this movie. Coach Blackwell is someone I look up to immensely, and his resilience is a true testament of the power of the human spirit. I have never looked forward to a project like I am this one, great cast, great crew, and the opportunity to collaborate with Castillo Productions and Black Rain Entertainment is something im truly looking forward to. We are building a brand on passion, dedication, commitment, and by brining stories to life, creating opportunities and bringing our visions not just to platforms, but the big screens.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
There are three huge impacts in my life and at the top of that list is my dad. Growing up my dad was my biggest influence when it came to understanding the value of hard work. He instilled the importance of dedication, commitment, and doing things the right way, no matter what. He always said that if you pour your heart and time into something, and if you truly apply yourself, you can accomplish anything and regardless if you fail or not, it’s important you finish until the end and don’t quit. My dad is my superhero and I have looked up to him always and gone to him for advice. He is my biggest supporter and always will be. Another person I look up to in my life is my big sister because as I got older and came more out of my shell, I decided to truly chase a dream I’ve had set out for a long time, and my sister played a huge role in that journey. Seeing her open her own business, “Top Line Real Estate & Property Management” which has grown into one of the fastest real estate and property management companies in the Central Valley, was incredibly inspiring to me. It showed me first hand that with enough dedication, hard work, and fully applying yourself to your vision, you can make your dream become a reality. Her success has taught me that anything is possible if you’re willing to put in the effort and believe in yourself. One final person that truly inspired me was my good friend Romelia Hernandez who I know is in a much better place now with the good lord. She was a such a sweet heart and had a huge impact in my life. I worked with her at a school job, she was one of the first people I told that I was going to make a hard push in filmmaking. In the beginning there wasn’t a lot of firm believers in me, not a lot of support outside of close family, but Romelia believe in me from the start, always showed support, prayed for me, and supported my goals. I knew her for a short period of time, roughly two years but it felt like I knew her my entire life. One thing she would always tell me everyday is “I am praying for you” no matter what she fit me in her prayers every day. It was hard decision to leave that job with little to no money at the time to try and purse my dream, but the day I chose to leave, a day didn’t go by that she wouldn’t send me a prayer. When I heard the news that she had passed my heart broke, but I knew she was still with me, I feel her presence everyday, and I know that all the success that I have had recently is because I know she’s working her magic from above. Her words meant the world to me everyday, and I can honestly say, if I wouldn’t have ever met the great Romelia Hernandez, I know for sure I would have never pursued my dream. She told me every day, keep going, do not quit even on the days I felt like giving up. I miss you everyday bestie and I truly appreciate you working your magic still. I know you are still looking over me and praying for me.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
There has definitely been times when I felt like giving up. The most recent was when someone I thought was my best friend, chose to walkway from what I thought was a strong friendship. It sent me into a depression, the feeling of not being able to trust anyone anymore. Our film team is more than just actors they become friends and I met a good friend through filmmaking. When they left, especially, because they were there from the beginning of my filmmaking career, I felt betrayed and stuck. But thank goodness for my amazing team and good friends like Laura Dimmer and Mike Hanson, new members Dawn, Vanessa, and Ruben Castillo, they lifted my spirits and truly believe in my visions still. Here I was stuck on one person when I failed to realize I have an amazing team behind me that has my back. They never walked away, the stuck by my side, and kept me pushing forward and because of them, just two months later our recent film made more cinemas, wanting to show our film, and that’s when we got the news that TUBI would be accepting our film “Noc Shift” onto their platform. Our production has grown so much since that moment, and bigger things are happening. We all have our dark days, our own battles we face on a daily basis, but I can’t thank my team enough for believing in me when I was down and ready to quit. I truly did not feel like filming anymore, I felt the dream was gone, I felt that I lost the joy in filmmaking, it took its toll of me, but this cast, and team are more than just people I work with, they’re family. We have each others back. I don’t know if I would’ve ever been able to forgive myself if I had given up that day knowing how close we were to everything we dreamed of and success. Things happen in life that we don’t understand, but I truly believe God has a plan for everything, and we needed that experience of someone walking out to elevate us. it opened doors to so many more great things, new collaborators, new team members, etc. I’m so proud of this team, and I’m grateful to work with them on set. It’s a blessing every time.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would definitely say that family is what matters to me the most. They’d mention how much I value spending time with them, traveling together and cherishing every moment because I know life is short, tomorrow is not promised and we have to enjoy the time we have and what’s better than spending that time with family. They’d also point out my Friday night dinners with my dad, and watching Notre Dame football together on Saturdays, and how proud I am of my sister’s business, seeing it grow the way it has in such a short amount of time. Plus they’d definitely bring up my funny arguments with my little niece Hannah, always bickering like brother and sister but also know how much she truly means to me.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
The story I hope people tell about me when my time is up and when I am gone from this world, is that I was a good person and a good friend who always tried to help others, that I was extremely passionate in what I did, I love my family, I love being around my players during coaching, seeing them grow through the years and being there along the way was truly a blessing, but I hope they can say that I inspired others to go after their goals and dreams, to never give up no matter how hard it gets. I want people to say that I lived life to the fullest, and that I cherished every moment with my loved ones, friends, players, talents, etc. I want to be remembered for my kindness, my sense of humor, my heart and the positive impact I had on others lives. Ultimately I want them to say that I made the world a little bit of a better place just being here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elitefilmsproduction.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamthomassahagun/?next=%2F
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.sahagun.37?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Elitefilmsproduction/videos
- Other: Noc Shift on TUBI
