NYILFF - Shine On

Shine On – Director: Agustin – A formula movie that breaks the mold in so many ways. First, the lead character, Jay, is a musician who goes to Manhattan to play his music in the park. When he is not playing music, he is working overnight at a gas station or hanging out with his friends in the Bronx. The refreshing bit about him is that he does not sing salsa but folk-rock music. The movie shows that not all Latinos from the Bronx sing salsa, hip-hop or reggaeton. Another break in the stereotypes often portrayed in Bronx movies is that no one is using or dealing drugs. They party, they drink and they often get in trouble but they are just living. Even their living conditions are not dirt poor; the father works his ass off as a doorman to provide for his family. Which brings me to another point; there is a father in the picture.
Played by Nestor Serrano, the father is a proud man who may be too tough at times but you can tell he cares about his family and their well being while at the same time being aware that his sons need to learn responsibility. The underused Julie Carmen portrays the mother. The family dynamic rings true in the film.
The lead actor, Andrew Cisneros, brings great depth to a character that exists in two different worlds and navigates both being comfortable with himself. In the supporting cast, I must point out, Flaco Navaja as one of Jay’s best friends. He has so much presence on screen, that he deserves to get more roles in movies.
It would be a shame if this movie did not get proper distribution. It’s a movie that should be seen.
You can see a trailer here.

NYILFF - Shorts Program: Talk 2 Her

Yesterday I saw another short film program and my review is below. Overall, I have to say that all the shorts I have seen have been enjoyable and very creative. When I say that I like some better than others, it does not mean that the other films are not worth seeing. I believe that the New York International Latino Film Festival has done an excellent job at choosing the films for presentation.


Made In Japan – Director: Ciro Altabas – A very humorous film where a man explains his lateness for a date by telling a story of his search for his Japanese father.
Madre – Director: Juan Laplace – A woman relates her story of searching for someone to father her child, while she waits for the results of a home pregnancy test.
La Chambre de Motel (The Motel Room) – Director: Saro Varjabedian – Two student filmmakers have an encounter in a motel room after a shoot.
Casper & Kitty – Director: Franco Parente – An erotic tale of a man dealing with a failed relationship.
The Gift Wrapper – Director: Daniela de Carlo – A sweet tale about a deaf-mute woman who works as a gift wrapper around the Christmas holidays and longs for one of her customers.
Para Bailar Se Necesitan Dos (Two to Salsa) – Director: Juan Pablo Osman – Two immigrants who dance in the streets for a living deal with changes in their relationships. Feels like it should be a feature length movie, would love to see their relationship develop.
Bloom – Director: Lance Larson – One of my favorite shorts in the set, very well directed, acted and photographed. A nice twist in the end that I should have seen coming but didn’t.
The Stain on the Sidewalk – Director: Adam Schlachter – A teenage boy tries to work up the courage to confess his love for a girl who is going out with someone else.
Vamonos (Let’s Go) – Director: Maurice Compte – Two people have an altercation at a rest stop restaurant leading to sinister results. Very good acting on the part of all actors. Feels like a portion of a feature length film.
House of Cards – Director: David Priego – An interesting short dealing with two people dealing with a divorce but trying not to fight in front of their son. Their struggle may lead to tragic consequences. This was another one of my favorite shorts.
Rosas de Color Rosa (Pink Roses) – Director: Otto Scheuren – In what is basically a monologue a woman speaking to the camera talks about herself to a man that she is interested in.

NYILFF - Shorts Program - Made You Smile

I saw two shorts programs today but only have time to write about one. The other - Talk 2 Her will be reviewed later on.

Short Films: Made You Smile

La Leyenda Del Hombre Lento (The Legend of the Slow Man) – Director: Armando Del Rio – An odd man out type of story done with great humor and creativity. A very enjoyable start to the program, had the audience laughing out loud throughout the film.
Exposed Negative – Director: Stuart Altman – A humorous take on the whole celebrity and paparazzi phenomenon. A Britney, Lindsay type actress has been away from the spotlight and makes a deal with two paparazzi to make a comeback.
La Gordiranfla – Director: Anwar Safa – A very funny film about a notorious gambler who loses the truck that he and his wife use to sell gorditas.
Crossing Numbers – Director: Abel Gonzalez – An odd choice of subject for a humorous film but it totally works. The story focuses on border patrols from Mexico and the U.S. who don’t want to claim the body found in the desert.
Browntown – Director: Deepti Paul – I hope this short is a work in progress of a much longer film. I would love to see the characters develop and see where the story goes. This was the only film that I have seen so far that incorporated many ethnicities, a real “browntown” cast.
Hombre Rana (Frogman) – Directors: Roxana Ruzzante & Martin Escriche – Another odd man themed movie where a man has a successful life but yearns to leave it and go away.
Llora – Director: Pepe Caudillo – This 11 minute film, done in one take, pokes fun at filmmakers, where they will go to any lengths to get their take. Very well acted and directed piece of film.
The Tree – Director: Paul Starkman – Very funny film about a man who plants a tree in Brooklyn to get some shade from the hot summer days but the tree becomes the center of activity in the neighborhood. Great performance from the underrated Jose Zuniga.

NYILFF - Shorts Program - Boys to Men

The six short films in this program dealt with boys becoming men. The first film “El Prestidigitador (The Prestidigitator)” directed by Hugo Sanz, was about a boy who will do anything to get a good grade so as not to disappoint his mother. In the second film, “ Kid” directed by Miguel Alvarez, a boy has to come to grips with his estranged father. The next one “Verano 79 (Summer 79)" directed by Rodrigo Oviedo, deals with two teens who become friends and business partners until one of them betrays the other. The consequences are dealt with when they meet later on in life. “Limpiando Sapos (Catching Rats)” by Vero Shamo-Garcia, deals with children soldiers in Colombia. The last two movies were the best of the program, “Little Bones” directed by Fabian Marquez tells the story a boy running an unusual errand for his father in the middle of the night. “Victim” co-directed and written by Cesar Mazariegos and Roger Florez is about a white DJ who moves into a black neighborhood but soon finds out that no matter what he thinks of himself, he is not going to be accepted that easily.

New York International Latino Film Festival

I am attending the Latino Film Festival in New York and I will be posting on the movies that I saw.

Today was my first day and I was able to catch three films:

Off Jackson Avenue - Directed and written by John-Luke Montias

I have to admit that I was prepared to hate this movie, the story dealt with prostitution, drugs and hit men. From the synopsis it sounded so stereotypical of so many Latin themed films. Much to my surprise I really liked this movie. The directing was on point as well as the acting. It is not an easy movie to watch at times but it did try to inject some humor which helped the enjoyment. For the most part, all characters were sympathetic, except for the Albanian pimp, and I am not sure if that was due to the acting or the direction. In the Q&A after the film, the director stated that the movie was shot in a very short time and for a budget of about $200K, and the movie looks much more expensive. The different ethnicities were treated as real people and not stereotypes. This is definitely a movie I would recommend.

Harrison Montgomery - Directed by Daniel Davila

This was another wonderful surprise of a movie. Very realistic while at the same time it had a fantasy feel about it. Seeing veteran actors Martin Landau and Diane Baker was a treat but the real breakout performance was the relatively unknown actor, Octavio Gomez Berrios. He held the movie together and was a joy to watch. This movie compared to "Off Jackson Avenue" had a more Hollywood independent style but very enjoyable.

South of Pico - Written and directed by Ernst Gossner

Of the three movies, this was the one I was most looking forward to seeing and for me, was the least pleasurable. As opposed to the other two movies, this one was more Hollywood casting style. You were always aware that everyone was "acting" whereas in the other movies they were real people. The story and style was reminiscent of the movie "Crash." The ending was disturbing and not easy to watch but the lead up to the ending felt very patchy. A mild recommendation for this movie from me.