In one of the oddest films presented at the Los Angeles Film Festival last week, “Recommended by Enrique” tells the stories of two separate individuals who was stuck staying at a border town near the Mexico/Texas border under unusual circumstances. One person was an actress on a production that didn’t really existed and the other about an assassin abandoned by his partner in town.
Latino-Review had exclusive one-on-one interviews with actress Sarah Swinwood and directors Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia on the indie film. The movie won Best Performance in the Narrative Competition at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
With Swinwood and the directors, we discussed the process and how the movie came to existence. In addition, we also talked about the true story based on actual events (the actress on a not-quite-so-real movie production).
The movie also stars Lino Vareia. We will have the exclusive interview with Vareia published later this week.
Latino-Review had exclusive one-on-one interviews with actress Sarah Swinwood and directors Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia on the indie film. The movie won Best Performance in the Narrative Competition at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
With Swinwood and the directors, we discussed the process and how the movie came to existence. In addition, we also talked about the true story based on actual events (the actress on a not-quite-so-real movie production).
The movie also stars Lino Vareia. We will have the exclusive interview with Vareia published later this week.
- 6/26/2014
- by Gig Patta
- LRMonline.com
In the age of rising stars born out of online self-promotion, finding presumably talented individuals on YouTube is not far-fetched. Harnessing this current casting tool to enhance the offbeat quality of their story, co-directors Daniel Garcia and Rania Attieh created the unusual comedy “Recommended by Enrique.” Apart from the inclusion of this social media component, the film also makes use of the inherent mysticism that exists in border towns like Del Rio, Texas - where the entire film was shot and where most of the cast is from. In the film, a young aspiring actress comes to town to act in what she believes is a reputable horror production. She meets the crew, made of unprofessional teenagers, but she is never allowed to meet the director, who is supposed to be out of town finding resources to make the film. Concurrently, in the same town, a Mexican man has arrived to apparently deliver some plants to a client, but his harmless façade covers something more sinister.
Scattered throughout their stories are clips from the “project” the kids and the actress are working on, "The Return of the Phantom Guards." These very amateur and grainy images attempt to depict a terrifying tale of demons and a cult using cheesy make-up, over the top voice over, masks, rollerblades, and swords. Unbelievably enough, this part of the outrageous plot is based on a true story that the directors themselves experienced as students wanting to be involved in professional filmmaking.
Displaying tonally perfect performances by the protagonists, “Recommended by Enrique” is awkwardly hilarious and downright original. Modern trends inhabit a strange world of makeshift stardom, obscure intentions, and traditional Mexican spooky legends for an indie movie experience unlike many out there.
The filmmakers talked to us during the Los Angeles Film Festival where the film premiered and won the Jury’s Acting Award for both leads, Sarah Swinwood and Lino Varel.
Aguilar: What was the inspiration for this outrageous take on the concept of a film within a film ?
Rania Attieh: When we first met Daniel and I were in undergrad in Texas. Daniel was in philosophy, and I was doing public relations, but we had talked and said, “It’ll be interesting to one day make films and maybe we’ll go to film school.” He told me he knew of a film set that was shooting in Del Rio, Texas and asked if I would like to go during the summer to help work on that set.
He said “It ‘s apparently a really big budget film that they are making there.” We went there, and obviously it wasn’t a big budget film. We were 18 or 19 years-old, and this was a 35-year-old director crooking the town, taking money from parents of teenage kids telling them “I’m backed by Columbia Pictures, I’m going to make your kids famous.” He was running the set of a film that was not called “Phantom Guards, “ it had another name as weird [Laughs].
We hung out for three months on this film set. The director would disappear, the though he was the Son of God, he was never there. Every now and then he would hire these wannabe actresses from Austin or Dallas and he would pay for them and bring them to town. The actresses would have to hang out with us and a bunch of other teenagers. They would never see the director. We were making what you saw. The film within the film are literal recreations of the scenes we were working on back then. We were also the camera people, the people on rollerblades, and the people with the masks.
The original story escalated to where the FBI got involved because of the money, they shut down that production. That was the catalyst for us to make our first short film. We always thank that “director” in every movie we make because it was one of the most surreal experiences of our lives. Daniel still has a mark from one of the samurai swords on his eyebrow because he gave us real swords and put us on rollerblades. There was no movie, there were just scenes that didn’t make any sense. In the end he put them all together with music, we have a VHS tape of it.
Daniel Garcia: After that experience we went on to start making short films and video art, and then eventually we graduated into features. This scenario was always in the back of our minds, and we though “At some point we should make something based off of this experience.” When we found the opportunity to do that two years ago, we were in Mexico City and we had a month and a half break between projects. We decided to take a shot and make something based on that and go back to Del Rio.
I’m from San Antonio but I have family in Del Rio. Lino, who plays the cowboy, is my uncle, and he lives there. It just seemed like the right time and the right opportunity to make something. We wanted to try and work that into the idea and then mixed in the Mexican traditionalism and mysticism. Rania and I met in San Antonio in undergrad, she had various experiences with Mexican mysticism and then traveling through Mexico we came across that again.
Rania: Towns like Del Rio are neither here not there. They have northern Mexico beliefs but they are also completely American, they go to malls, they love celebrities. It’s a border town culture. It’s a very specific type of culture. It is Mexican and American in the right amounts. It is a very strange mix of those two.
Aguilar: The actress in the film is found on YouTube and there are several other elements in your film that play with social media. Were you interested on the idea of an actress playing an actress who promotes her career online?
Rania: We found her on YouTube [Laughs].
Daniel: She is very active on social media. However, in addition to our own ideas and memories, a lot of stuff happened because of whom we were interacting with. In the original scenario in Del Rio 15 years ago with the weird film set that we were involved in, every now and then the “production” had money. He would get money from various places in town by conning people. He would be able to fly in actresses who wanted to be in a movie, who wanted to start a career in acting. Every now and then an actress would show up for the weekend. She would be ready for her “scenes”, but there were no scenes, it was more like “Run over there, then run back” or “Look over here and then somebody is going to chase you. Be scared” There were just scenarios.
In addition to the whole experience being strange, something that stuck with us were these actresses. The fact that as a struggling or starting actress - especially in southern Texas and not L.A. or N.Y - you might find yourself in bizarre scenarios, which happen mostly because you put yourself there. You entered that casting call and you said, “Yeah, I’ll go to Del Rio. I don’t know what this is but I’ll take a chance” We thought that was very interesting and we wanted to base the actress portion on our memories of the actresses that would come.Also, now with social media people twitter post or Facebook post their experiences in real time, we wanted to keep it modern.
Aguilar: What are the challenges of working with non-professional actors?
Rania: This is the first time on screen for everybody in the movie.
Daniel: We are used to it. We’ve made a habit of using non-professionals.
Rania: Our first feature we shot in Lebanon and it was with a full cast of non-professional actors from 5-year-olds to 86-year-olds. They were all from the same city.
Daniel: It’s a matter of picking the right people. Obviously we knew my uncle and we knew his limitations. He is showman during family gatherings, he likes making everybody laugh, being the center of attention. We knew he would be able to do certain things. With non-actors you always have to keep those limitations in mind.
Rania: You write for them. You write specifically what you think they can give you. You pull from their mannerisms and their possibilities. We’ve done it before so we were really comfortable doing it again. In “Recommended by Enrique” we did it with everybody. The mayor in the commercial is the previous mayor of Del Rio. After we did this film she said, “That’s a cool commercial, you should work on my next campaign,” she was really into it. The barber is a real barber and that’s his barbershop. With non-professionals you have to keep it as close to what they know as possible, because otherwise they don’t have the possibilities to do it. His uncle who plays the cowboy is a real cowboy, he lives in Del Rio.These are roles that are based on their lives.
Aguilar: The cowboy uses these plants as a disguise. It is a very peculiar element. Where did that idea come from?
Rania: We made the film in one month from pre-production to production. We had one month in between two projects. We made the film quickly and left Del Rio. It was an extreme marathon. Before that we were in Mexico City working on a different project and we were thinking about “Recommended by Enrique” and what we wanted to do.
From the car I saw a Mexican cowboy carrying two plants, probably delivering them. I said “Oh my gosh that’s what he should have. He should have a decoy and that’s it. These big plants that he carries everywhere”. It was a visual thing. They are specific plants that live in this kind of weather, and there is something nice about such an iconic prop. For example, the actress is a character that is trying to play a role the whole movie, but the cowboy is a classic fictional character, almost unbelievable, so that prop was a perfect element for him.
Aguilar: The clips we get to see from the fake production within the film, “The Return of the Phantom Guards,” seem like a really clever mockery of B-movies, and I assume that it is also based on your experience. Have you considered making a full version of that film?
Daniel: It was a mockery of the original film we were involved in. The footage that plays at the end of the film over the credits is the original footage from the VHS. What’s in the movie is what we recreated based on the material we had from the VHS. We never thought of making a full version of “The Return of the Phantom Guards,” until now [Laughs]
Aguilar: How did the division of labor worked while making a film as co-directors?
Daniel: It is pretty much split down the middle. We co-write and we edit together. On set I handle mostly the camera stuff, but she also provides in ideas. I’m more camera-based, she is more focused on the art direction, and we work with the actors together.
Rania: We talk to them sometimes at the same time. We probably confuse a lot of them [Laughs].
Daniel : A lot of times it would be like, “I think you should do it this way”, then she’ll say, “No, I think you should do it this way.” Then I’ll say, “Ok we’ll do it this way first and then we’ll do it that way” [Laughs].
Aguilar: Did the Mexican mysticism and paranormal undertones come from the fake production that inspired the film or from the town itself?
Daniel: Yes. The original director legitimately believed that he was the Son of God, Jesus’ brother, and that his film was going to save the world from the apocalypse. One of the main characters in that film was a 15-year-old girl who was supposed to be the princess of Heaven and he was supposed to marry her, even though he was 35. We’d be shooting sometimes and the battery would die, which happens on a film set, and he would say “Oh my God, the battery die, I just charged it, it’s the demons! They are trying to stop us from making the movie. “ It always had this supernatural mysticism.
Rania: Allso in this town there is the story of the Llorona. They really believe this. The entire town believes that on top of the Loma de la Cruz the Llorona is buried. They all believe it and they don’t go there, or they go to spook each other. We wanted to highlight the town. We made a fun movie for you to watch and say “I kind of feel like I went to Del Rio” We wanted to make the town a third character in the film.
Scattered throughout their stories are clips from the “project” the kids and the actress are working on, "The Return of the Phantom Guards." These very amateur and grainy images attempt to depict a terrifying tale of demons and a cult using cheesy make-up, over the top voice over, masks, rollerblades, and swords. Unbelievably enough, this part of the outrageous plot is based on a true story that the directors themselves experienced as students wanting to be involved in professional filmmaking.
Displaying tonally perfect performances by the protagonists, “Recommended by Enrique” is awkwardly hilarious and downright original. Modern trends inhabit a strange world of makeshift stardom, obscure intentions, and traditional Mexican spooky legends for an indie movie experience unlike many out there.
The filmmakers talked to us during the Los Angeles Film Festival where the film premiered and won the Jury’s Acting Award for both leads, Sarah Swinwood and Lino Varel.
Aguilar: What was the inspiration for this outrageous take on the concept of a film within a film ?
Rania Attieh: When we first met Daniel and I were in undergrad in Texas. Daniel was in philosophy, and I was doing public relations, but we had talked and said, “It’ll be interesting to one day make films and maybe we’ll go to film school.” He told me he knew of a film set that was shooting in Del Rio, Texas and asked if I would like to go during the summer to help work on that set.
He said “It ‘s apparently a really big budget film that they are making there.” We went there, and obviously it wasn’t a big budget film. We were 18 or 19 years-old, and this was a 35-year-old director crooking the town, taking money from parents of teenage kids telling them “I’m backed by Columbia Pictures, I’m going to make your kids famous.” He was running the set of a film that was not called “Phantom Guards, “ it had another name as weird [Laughs].
We hung out for three months on this film set. The director would disappear, the though he was the Son of God, he was never there. Every now and then he would hire these wannabe actresses from Austin or Dallas and he would pay for them and bring them to town. The actresses would have to hang out with us and a bunch of other teenagers. They would never see the director. We were making what you saw. The film within the film are literal recreations of the scenes we were working on back then. We were also the camera people, the people on rollerblades, and the people with the masks.
The original story escalated to where the FBI got involved because of the money, they shut down that production. That was the catalyst for us to make our first short film. We always thank that “director” in every movie we make because it was one of the most surreal experiences of our lives. Daniel still has a mark from one of the samurai swords on his eyebrow because he gave us real swords and put us on rollerblades. There was no movie, there were just scenes that didn’t make any sense. In the end he put them all together with music, we have a VHS tape of it.
Daniel Garcia: After that experience we went on to start making short films and video art, and then eventually we graduated into features. This scenario was always in the back of our minds, and we though “At some point we should make something based off of this experience.” When we found the opportunity to do that two years ago, we were in Mexico City and we had a month and a half break between projects. We decided to take a shot and make something based on that and go back to Del Rio.
I’m from San Antonio but I have family in Del Rio. Lino, who plays the cowboy, is my uncle, and he lives there. It just seemed like the right time and the right opportunity to make something. We wanted to try and work that into the idea and then mixed in the Mexican traditionalism and mysticism. Rania and I met in San Antonio in undergrad, she had various experiences with Mexican mysticism and then traveling through Mexico we came across that again.
Rania: Towns like Del Rio are neither here not there. They have northern Mexico beliefs but they are also completely American, they go to malls, they love celebrities. It’s a border town culture. It’s a very specific type of culture. It is Mexican and American in the right amounts. It is a very strange mix of those two.
Aguilar: The actress in the film is found on YouTube and there are several other elements in your film that play with social media. Were you interested on the idea of an actress playing an actress who promotes her career online?
Rania: We found her on YouTube [Laughs].
Daniel: She is very active on social media. However, in addition to our own ideas and memories, a lot of stuff happened because of whom we were interacting with. In the original scenario in Del Rio 15 years ago with the weird film set that we were involved in, every now and then the “production” had money. He would get money from various places in town by conning people. He would be able to fly in actresses who wanted to be in a movie, who wanted to start a career in acting. Every now and then an actress would show up for the weekend. She would be ready for her “scenes”, but there were no scenes, it was more like “Run over there, then run back” or “Look over here and then somebody is going to chase you. Be scared” There were just scenarios.
In addition to the whole experience being strange, something that stuck with us were these actresses. The fact that as a struggling or starting actress - especially in southern Texas and not L.A. or N.Y - you might find yourself in bizarre scenarios, which happen mostly because you put yourself there. You entered that casting call and you said, “Yeah, I’ll go to Del Rio. I don’t know what this is but I’ll take a chance” We thought that was very interesting and we wanted to base the actress portion on our memories of the actresses that would come.Also, now with social media people twitter post or Facebook post their experiences in real time, we wanted to keep it modern.
Aguilar: What are the challenges of working with non-professional actors?
Rania: This is the first time on screen for everybody in the movie.
Daniel: We are used to it. We’ve made a habit of using non-professionals.
Rania: Our first feature we shot in Lebanon and it was with a full cast of non-professional actors from 5-year-olds to 86-year-olds. They were all from the same city.
Daniel: It’s a matter of picking the right people. Obviously we knew my uncle and we knew his limitations. He is showman during family gatherings, he likes making everybody laugh, being the center of attention. We knew he would be able to do certain things. With non-actors you always have to keep those limitations in mind.
Rania: You write for them. You write specifically what you think they can give you. You pull from their mannerisms and their possibilities. We’ve done it before so we were really comfortable doing it again. In “Recommended by Enrique” we did it with everybody. The mayor in the commercial is the previous mayor of Del Rio. After we did this film she said, “That’s a cool commercial, you should work on my next campaign,” she was really into it. The barber is a real barber and that’s his barbershop. With non-professionals you have to keep it as close to what they know as possible, because otherwise they don’t have the possibilities to do it. His uncle who plays the cowboy is a real cowboy, he lives in Del Rio.These are roles that are based on their lives.
Aguilar: The cowboy uses these plants as a disguise. It is a very peculiar element. Where did that idea come from?
Rania: We made the film in one month from pre-production to production. We had one month in between two projects. We made the film quickly and left Del Rio. It was an extreme marathon. Before that we were in Mexico City working on a different project and we were thinking about “Recommended by Enrique” and what we wanted to do.
From the car I saw a Mexican cowboy carrying two plants, probably delivering them. I said “Oh my gosh that’s what he should have. He should have a decoy and that’s it. These big plants that he carries everywhere”. It was a visual thing. They are specific plants that live in this kind of weather, and there is something nice about such an iconic prop. For example, the actress is a character that is trying to play a role the whole movie, but the cowboy is a classic fictional character, almost unbelievable, so that prop was a perfect element for him.
Aguilar: The clips we get to see from the fake production within the film, “The Return of the Phantom Guards,” seem like a really clever mockery of B-movies, and I assume that it is also based on your experience. Have you considered making a full version of that film?
Daniel: It was a mockery of the original film we were involved in. The footage that plays at the end of the film over the credits is the original footage from the VHS. What’s in the movie is what we recreated based on the material we had from the VHS. We never thought of making a full version of “The Return of the Phantom Guards,” until now [Laughs]
Aguilar: How did the division of labor worked while making a film as co-directors?
Daniel: It is pretty much split down the middle. We co-write and we edit together. On set I handle mostly the camera stuff, but she also provides in ideas. I’m more camera-based, she is more focused on the art direction, and we work with the actors together.
Rania: We talk to them sometimes at the same time. We probably confuse a lot of them [Laughs].
Daniel : A lot of times it would be like, “I think you should do it this way”, then she’ll say, “No, I think you should do it this way.” Then I’ll say, “Ok we’ll do it this way first and then we’ll do it that way” [Laughs].
Aguilar: Did the Mexican mysticism and paranormal undertones come from the fake production that inspired the film or from the town itself?
Daniel: Yes. The original director legitimately believed that he was the Son of God, Jesus’ brother, and that his film was going to save the world from the apocalypse. One of the main characters in that film was a 15-year-old girl who was supposed to be the princess of Heaven and he was supposed to marry her, even though he was 35. We’d be shooting sometimes and the battery would die, which happens on a film set, and he would say “Oh my God, the battery die, I just charged it, it’s the demons! They are trying to stop us from making the movie. “ It always had this supernatural mysticism.
Rania: Allso in this town there is the story of the Llorona. They really believe this. The entire town believes that on top of the Loma de la Cruz the Llorona is buried. They all believe it and they don’t go there, or they go to spook each other. We wanted to highlight the town. We made a fun movie for you to watch and say “I kind of feel like I went to Del Rio” We wanted to make the town a third character in the film.
- 6/22/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
All are first features by wildly original voices who are remixing potent multi-cultural heritage and inventing their own unique brand of genre. So much talent! Makes this Chicanita so proud!
Let’s start with numero uno:
1. Water & Power – from Chicano wordsmith warrior and Culture Clash iconoclast, Richard J. Montoya and produced by Mark Roberts. This is the screen adaptation of Montoya's 2006 play originally performed at the Mark Taper Forum in La. Rife with The City of Angels' legends, haunts and lore, the Chicano noir tale (how cool is that?) takes place over the course of one fateful night. An intense story centered on twin brothers nicknamed “Water” played by Enrique Murciano and “Power” played by Nicolas Gonzalez who were born and raised on the East Side streets playground - one grows up to be a senator and the other a high ranking cop. The young gifted musical artist and composer Gingger Shankar (Circumstance, Charlie Wilson's War) has contributed music to the film. The project participated in the 2007 Sundance Institute screenwriters & directors lab. A madly prolific playwright (a regular Berkeley and Yale Repertory Theatre collaborator), I got a chance to see Montoya's uproarious American history redux play, American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose last fall (read the La Weekly feature review here). An uncompromising artist with a thundering voice all over the culture pop pulse, Montoya's first feature film tops my list of films to watch out for in 2013. Can. Not. Wait.
Like the Facebook page to stay on top of future premiere announcements and here's a pic on Mark Roberts website
Film contact: <mark@robertsdavid.com>
2. Pardon – written and directed by R.F. Rodriguez and produced by his production company BadMansSon. A story that deals with a cholo ex-con who returns to his barrio in Highland Park and sets to go on the straight and narrow but soon finds himself pulled by his old gang familia may sound familiar, but never has it been as emotionally excavated and depicted with such sensitivity and complexity. Hector Atreyu Ruizis Saul Sanchez whose driving motivation is the chance to reunite with his estranged daughter. Guided by a sympathetic parole officer, played by Tracey Heggins (from the 2008 indie African-American gem (Medicine for Melancholy), Saul tackles catch-22 circumstances towards his mission and confronts growing uneasiness from his vatos who continue to test if he's still down. At its core the film is an exploration about fatherhood and home, in particular highlighting the social phenomenon of absentee fathers because they are behind bars, an issue predominantly afflicting Latino families and communities.
Rodriguez, a USC film school grad, made the feature before graduating, having fleshed the story further out of the short film he made of the same name. His project mentor, Patricia Cardoso (Real Women Have Curves) encouraged him to do more with it and this is the amazing result. With earnest and raw performances, the moving and powerfully directed film marks this a sign of a true filmmaker talent discovery.
Website, Twitter
Film contact <contact@badmansson.com>
3. Recommended By Enrique written and directed by Daniel Garcia and Rania Attieh and produced by their NY based company En Passant Films. Shot in border town Del Rio, Texas (the U.S. side of the Rio Grande) with an offbeat hipster cast of young non-professionals plucked locally, the quirky, mystical tale is about an aspiring actress and an old cowboy who each arrive into town with respective plans and expectations, only to end up waiting for something to happen. Forced to wait out their time, they've nothing to do but explore the bewitching town and its people. Lino Varela plays the Cowboy and Sarah Swinwood, a Canadian newcomer actress nails the airhead wannabe star.
This is the second feature film from Texas native Daniel Garcia and Lebanese born Rania. Their first film, Ok, Enough, Goodbye screened at San Francisco International Film Festival among other world wide festivals, and the duo were included in 2011's Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Undertones of a Twilight Zone type of dimension and the spellbinding pull of the dusty town are perfect captured - as anyone who's been in these strange little Texas towns can attest. An unexpected, unpredictable and ultimately lyrical film, this definitely gets my recommendation.
Website, Facebook
Film contact < info@recommendedbyenrique.com>
4. Vincent & Luzy (Fka On the Run) written and directed by Alberto Barboza and produced by Cinético Productions. A charming, hip and modern fairy tale love story between a soulful graffiti artist,Vincent, played by Miguel Angel Caballero, and sexy tattoo artist, Luz, or Luzy played by Iliana Carter Ramirez. The film captures and romanticizes the happening, multi-culti rockabilly/emo scene and counter culture of Boyle Heights and Echo Parque, and features lots of home grown talent and spots like Self Help Graphics, the community visual arts mission center. The posters created by Vincent in the film are designed by La native, rising street artist, El Mac (Miles MacGregor). You'll recognize some of his murals around La like this one on Hollywood and Wilton, one of my favorites. He just did the album cover for No Doubt.
An eclectic soundtrack featuring local Vallenato band, Very Be Careful, Hermanos Herrera, Irene Diaz, Doghouse Lords and more. The cast also includes ol' G', Sal Lopez (American Me) and Lupe Ontiveros in what may be her last film role before she passed away last year (she also has a small role in Water & Power).
Fresh, exuberant and inhabiting a distinct, heightened magical street reality, Vincent & Luzy might be the first film to truly reflect this young, vibrant artist subculture, making this one a hot to track.
Film contact: info@CineticoProductions.com
Website
5. Blaze You Out – written and directed by Mateo Frazier and Diego Joaquin Lopez and produced by Alicia J. Keyes. Set in the rarely seen mystic world of New Mexico, this young female driven thriller is uniquely atmospheric. Starring the rising young talent, Veronica Diaz Carranza (Mamitas) along with Elizabeth Pena, Q'orianka Kilcher and Raoul Trujillo, all who ignite the screen. Diaz stars as Lupe, a DJ who is forced to venture into her town's heroin trade underworld in order to save her younger sister Alicia's life. To do so she must confront mysterious occult figures and harness the power within her to connect with the divine that surrounds her.
I was thrilled to hear that Lionsgate picked up the film at Afm a couple months ago. Lionsgate/Grindstone will release the film July 2013. 6 Sales is handling rights to rest of world. Intense and wicked and unlike anything else this is a film to look forward to. In the meantime, check out the press kit, pics and more on their site.
Website, Facebook
Must Mention
Chavez – written and directed by Diego Luna and produced by Canana Films, Mr. Mudd and backed by Participant Media. The biography of an iconic Chicano figure, labor rights activist Cesar Chavez, and Luna, who is an international name talent, has obviously been given major press coverage ever since it was first announced so it doesn't really fit my 'Discovery' profile. That said, it is a highly anticipated and eagerly awaited film. I truly hope the film opens wide and mainstream - although Participant will likely need a partner to make this happen in the U.S. Michael Peña, the Puerto Rican actor catapulting towards leading man roles and more regularly Hollywood roles (he's also in Gangster Squad opening this weekend), embodies a young Chavez. It wasn’t quite ready for Sundance so it’s possible the film will bow at a high profile festival like Cannes or Toronto. Although I'm hoping Stephanie Allain, director of Film Independent's La Film Festival will go hard after the film to wrangle what would be a fitting La gala premiere. Diego Luna proved his salt as the filmmaker of Abel, an eloquent and heart-stirring portrait of a little delusional boy who pretends to be the man of the house since his father left. Peña recently shared his approach was to be truthful to Cesar the Man not necessarily the legend or myth generated by his colossal perseverance and labor rights feats. All eyes will be on the representation of such a querido and influential figure. My bet? All in. I trust the filmmakers and cast will deliver a resonant and accomplished cinematic film worthy of the inspiring civil rights story, and more importantly re-introduce Chavez to mobilize our millennial generation.
Do you have a hot independent American Latino film recommendation I should track? Holler at your girl. Email me at chicanafromchicago@gmail.com
Next up, Non-Fiction American Latino films to track in 2013...
Let’s start with numero uno:
1. Water & Power – from Chicano wordsmith warrior and Culture Clash iconoclast, Richard J. Montoya and produced by Mark Roberts. This is the screen adaptation of Montoya's 2006 play originally performed at the Mark Taper Forum in La. Rife with The City of Angels' legends, haunts and lore, the Chicano noir tale (how cool is that?) takes place over the course of one fateful night. An intense story centered on twin brothers nicknamed “Water” played by Enrique Murciano and “Power” played by Nicolas Gonzalez who were born and raised on the East Side streets playground - one grows up to be a senator and the other a high ranking cop. The young gifted musical artist and composer Gingger Shankar (Circumstance, Charlie Wilson's War) has contributed music to the film. The project participated in the 2007 Sundance Institute screenwriters & directors lab. A madly prolific playwright (a regular Berkeley and Yale Repertory Theatre collaborator), I got a chance to see Montoya's uproarious American history redux play, American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose last fall (read the La Weekly feature review here). An uncompromising artist with a thundering voice all over the culture pop pulse, Montoya's first feature film tops my list of films to watch out for in 2013. Can. Not. Wait.
Like the Facebook page to stay on top of future premiere announcements and here's a pic on Mark Roberts website
Film contact: <mark@robertsdavid.com>
2. Pardon – written and directed by R.F. Rodriguez and produced by his production company BadMansSon. A story that deals with a cholo ex-con who returns to his barrio in Highland Park and sets to go on the straight and narrow but soon finds himself pulled by his old gang familia may sound familiar, but never has it been as emotionally excavated and depicted with such sensitivity and complexity. Hector Atreyu Ruizis Saul Sanchez whose driving motivation is the chance to reunite with his estranged daughter. Guided by a sympathetic parole officer, played by Tracey Heggins (from the 2008 indie African-American gem (Medicine for Melancholy), Saul tackles catch-22 circumstances towards his mission and confronts growing uneasiness from his vatos who continue to test if he's still down. At its core the film is an exploration about fatherhood and home, in particular highlighting the social phenomenon of absentee fathers because they are behind bars, an issue predominantly afflicting Latino families and communities.
Rodriguez, a USC film school grad, made the feature before graduating, having fleshed the story further out of the short film he made of the same name. His project mentor, Patricia Cardoso (Real Women Have Curves) encouraged him to do more with it and this is the amazing result. With earnest and raw performances, the moving and powerfully directed film marks this a sign of a true filmmaker talent discovery.
Website, Twitter
Film contact <contact@badmansson.com>
3. Recommended By Enrique written and directed by Daniel Garcia and Rania Attieh and produced by their NY based company En Passant Films. Shot in border town Del Rio, Texas (the U.S. side of the Rio Grande) with an offbeat hipster cast of young non-professionals plucked locally, the quirky, mystical tale is about an aspiring actress and an old cowboy who each arrive into town with respective plans and expectations, only to end up waiting for something to happen. Forced to wait out their time, they've nothing to do but explore the bewitching town and its people. Lino Varela plays the Cowboy and Sarah Swinwood, a Canadian newcomer actress nails the airhead wannabe star.
This is the second feature film from Texas native Daniel Garcia and Lebanese born Rania. Their first film, Ok, Enough, Goodbye screened at San Francisco International Film Festival among other world wide festivals, and the duo were included in 2011's Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Undertones of a Twilight Zone type of dimension and the spellbinding pull of the dusty town are perfect captured - as anyone who's been in these strange little Texas towns can attest. An unexpected, unpredictable and ultimately lyrical film, this definitely gets my recommendation.
Website, Facebook
Film contact < info@recommendedbyenrique.com>
4. Vincent & Luzy (Fka On the Run) written and directed by Alberto Barboza and produced by Cinético Productions. A charming, hip and modern fairy tale love story between a soulful graffiti artist,Vincent, played by Miguel Angel Caballero, and sexy tattoo artist, Luz, or Luzy played by Iliana Carter Ramirez. The film captures and romanticizes the happening, multi-culti rockabilly/emo scene and counter culture of Boyle Heights and Echo Parque, and features lots of home grown talent and spots like Self Help Graphics, the community visual arts mission center. The posters created by Vincent in the film are designed by La native, rising street artist, El Mac (Miles MacGregor). You'll recognize some of his murals around La like this one on Hollywood and Wilton, one of my favorites. He just did the album cover for No Doubt.
An eclectic soundtrack featuring local Vallenato band, Very Be Careful, Hermanos Herrera, Irene Diaz, Doghouse Lords and more. The cast also includes ol' G', Sal Lopez (American Me) and Lupe Ontiveros in what may be her last film role before she passed away last year (she also has a small role in Water & Power).
Fresh, exuberant and inhabiting a distinct, heightened magical street reality, Vincent & Luzy might be the first film to truly reflect this young, vibrant artist subculture, making this one a hot to track.
Film contact: info@CineticoProductions.com
Website
5. Blaze You Out – written and directed by Mateo Frazier and Diego Joaquin Lopez and produced by Alicia J. Keyes. Set in the rarely seen mystic world of New Mexico, this young female driven thriller is uniquely atmospheric. Starring the rising young talent, Veronica Diaz Carranza (Mamitas) along with Elizabeth Pena, Q'orianka Kilcher and Raoul Trujillo, all who ignite the screen. Diaz stars as Lupe, a DJ who is forced to venture into her town's heroin trade underworld in order to save her younger sister Alicia's life. To do so she must confront mysterious occult figures and harness the power within her to connect with the divine that surrounds her.
I was thrilled to hear that Lionsgate picked up the film at Afm a couple months ago. Lionsgate/Grindstone will release the film July 2013. 6 Sales is handling rights to rest of world. Intense and wicked and unlike anything else this is a film to look forward to. In the meantime, check out the press kit, pics and more on their site.
Website, Facebook
Must Mention
Chavez – written and directed by Diego Luna and produced by Canana Films, Mr. Mudd and backed by Participant Media. The biography of an iconic Chicano figure, labor rights activist Cesar Chavez, and Luna, who is an international name talent, has obviously been given major press coverage ever since it was first announced so it doesn't really fit my 'Discovery' profile. That said, it is a highly anticipated and eagerly awaited film. I truly hope the film opens wide and mainstream - although Participant will likely need a partner to make this happen in the U.S. Michael Peña, the Puerto Rican actor catapulting towards leading man roles and more regularly Hollywood roles (he's also in Gangster Squad opening this weekend), embodies a young Chavez. It wasn’t quite ready for Sundance so it’s possible the film will bow at a high profile festival like Cannes or Toronto. Although I'm hoping Stephanie Allain, director of Film Independent's La Film Festival will go hard after the film to wrangle what would be a fitting La gala premiere. Diego Luna proved his salt as the filmmaker of Abel, an eloquent and heart-stirring portrait of a little delusional boy who pretends to be the man of the house since his father left. Peña recently shared his approach was to be truthful to Cesar the Man not necessarily the legend or myth generated by his colossal perseverance and labor rights feats. All eyes will be on the representation of such a querido and influential figure. My bet? All in. I trust the filmmakers and cast will deliver a resonant and accomplished cinematic film worthy of the inspiring civil rights story, and more importantly re-introduce Chavez to mobilize our millennial generation.
Do you have a hot independent American Latino film recommendation I should track? Holler at your girl. Email me at chicanafromchicago@gmail.com
Next up, Non-Fiction American Latino films to track in 2013...
- 1/10/2013
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
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