It’s fairly common for twins to share similar identities—it’s not often they combine their careers.
Twin brothers Andrew and Adrian Nuño grew up with a love of films and a desire to tell stories. After founding their joint venture, Luminoso Studios, in 2024, they’ve continued to produce and assist with films which highlight underrepresented themes such as the LGBTQ+ and Latine experience.
The brothers’ love of film began in their childhood, where going to the movie theater was a weekly occurrence. The first film they actively remember was E.T.
“Ever since that moment, we were very fascinated by the power of movies to just transport people to far away places, to place people in the positions of other folks,” Andrew said. “We realized the potential for film to really build empathy with folks in a way that no other medium could.”
Adrian began to ask himself if he could create those experiences emotionally drawing an audience in. He focused on becoming a better storyteller as he grew up.
Neither brother ever really imagined doing anything else—in high school, they both enlisted the help of their theater department to be cast and crew for their own first projects. They learned first-hand how to manage lighting, write a script, direct actors and produce a film.
Andrew said those first projects were “incredibly formative” and helped their filmmaking—they released their first feature-length project in 2015. They continued making films through college, beginning to do freelance work with nonprofits and entrepreneurs.
In 2022, Andrew won a Suncoast Regional Emmy for producing an online show, Mardi Gras for All Y’all about New Orleans Mardi Gras advice. He was nominated for the second consecutive year for producing the show’s 2023 version.
After years of working on their own projects and assisting in the community, the two founded Luminoso Studios in late 2024.
“One other big reason why we wanted to help produce other people’s work is that we want to be for them what we wish someone was for us when we started filmmaking,” Adrian said. “We really wanted to help guide other filmmakers with how to go about the filmmaking process and how to connect them with key cast and crew that can help elevate their projects to the next level.”
Andrew said it’s imperative to them to link what they do to “something that feels personal to [them].” He said bringing their identities to light and creating that representation has also been a “cathartic experience” for them both.
Before taking on a project, Adrian said he and Andrew ask themselves three questions—why this project, why is now the time and why are we the people to bring it to life?
Their web series, Border’d, came from the two “trying to come to terms with” their Latine identity and the vast number of different experiences across the community. While participating in it, both brothers went through their own realizations about their identities and felt they learned more about who they are.
“Every single project we take on, it really has been an opportunity for us to really look inward and see, ‘Okay, what reckoning am I having with what aspect of my identity or the work that I do or this moment in my life?’” Andrew said. “‘How can we translate that into something that we can then turn into a film?’”
Their recent work Final Frame came out of a two-year filmmaking sabbatical where they took time to dive into what was most important to them in life. The narrative highlights how the main character grapples with Latine LGBTQ+ identities—it reportedly raised over $20,000 through crowdfunding before touring numerous film festivals in 2025.
Although working together doesn’t come without compromise, the brothers are now used to the process of combining their creative ideas. Though it didn’t necessarily come naturally—there was “definitely a learning curve,” according to Andrew, especially in the post-production process.
One of the ways they’ve made the process easier is by one submitting written feedback instead of being in the room to watch the other’s film cuts with them. Adrian said their ability to be candid with each other allows them to push each other to be their best, along with leading with compliments and positive notes.
Adrian also focuses more on technical aspects, while Andrew tends to focus more on performance details.
“We’ve definitely evolved a lot as brothers, but also as collaborators,” Adrian said. “Whenever we conflict with how we see a certain edit or a certain scene, one thing that I really tried to do to go about that, is really just ask questions and be curious.”
Being twins also provides its own fun moments—Adrian said in the brothers’ last film, the producer noted they both raised their hands in perfect sync to call a cut without noticing. Their next project will be a film about the experience of being twins.
One thing both brothers agree on is how they represent identities in their films—identity is part of a character, but not all they are. They hope future films can continue to drive empathy in viewers and show that narrative themes and life experiences can apply to anyone, regardless of identity.
“Despite the labels that these might have of being about the Latine story or the LGBTQ+ story, these are all tied back to universal emotions we all share—loss, ambition, hope, family,” Adrian said. “I think if we bring it back to those ideas, people who might feel one way or another about these certain communities might be able to see that there is more that is shared between us than other things that divide us.”