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Driverx screens Sunday, November 5th at 3:15pm at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Producer Mark Stolaroff will be in attendance. Ticket information can be found Here.

Skidding into middle age, a stay-at-home dad must drive for an Uber-like ride-share company to help support his working wife and two young daughters. Leonard (Patrick Fabian of “Better Call Saul”), a middle-aged man living in the suburbs, has lost his mojo. It’s been two years since the demise of his record store, and now he’s a stay-at-home dad taking care of two young daughters while wife Dawn (Tanya Clarke) works during the day. With both kids now in elementary school, he’s been interviewing for jobs, but

record companies aren’t looking for a 50-year-old music lover with a knowledge of classic rock and pre-’80s hip-hop.

Driverx screens Sunday, November 5th at 3:15pm at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Actor Patrick Fabian and producer Mark Stolaroff will be in attendance. Ticket information can be found Here.

Skidding into middle age, a stay-at-home dad must drive for an Uber-like ride-share company to help support his working wife and two young daughters. Leonard (Patrick Fabian of “Better Call Saul”), a middle-aged man living in the suburbs, has lost his mojo. It’s been two years since the demise of his record store, and now he’s a stay-at-home dad taking care of two young daughters while wife Dawn (Tanya Clarke) works during the day. With both kids now in elementary school, he’s been interviewing for jobs, but record companies aren’t looking for a 50-year-old music lover with a knowledge of classic rock and pre-’80s hip-hop.

Cannes Ends with…Awards — 3rd of 3

The heightened security with machine gun armed soldiers and policemen constantly patrolling was intensified after the Manchester Massacre. With a pall over the festival, one minute of silence was observed for the 22 murdered and flags hung at half-mast. In addition to that, the sudden death at 57 of the Busan Film Festival deputy director Kim Ji-seok and that of the James Bond star Roger Moore brought the film world into a new perspective as we join the larger world to face the random indications of human mortality. High security vs. cinema as a sanctuary of freedom is highlighted this year like no other time that I can recall in my 31 years here.President of the jury, Pedro Almodovar

But life does go on, the jury judges, the stars get press attention on the red carpet and the rest of us continue to wait patiently in...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveriesNEWSSeijun SuzukiThe great Japanese studio rabble rouser Seijun Suzuki, best known for his crazed remixes of pulp genre films in the late 1950s and 1960s (Tokyo Drifter, Branded to Kill) and also for his late career renaissance (Pistol Opera, Princess Raccoon), has died at the age of 92.On the other side of the industry, Time critic and documentary filmmaker Richard Shickel has also passed away.On a more positive note, the second film program for the great Knoxville music festival Big Eats has been announced, and it's a humdinger, ranging from a focus on directors Jonathan Demme and Kevin Jerome Everson to programs of new avant-garde work.Recommended Viewinga researcher in Quebec has identified the only known moving image footage of Marcel Proust, found in a 1904 recording of a wedding.Finally, a view at Terrence Malick's long-in-the-works drama set in the Austin music scene,...

About two years ago British writer Andy Riley, whose credits include “Veep,” “Gnomeo & Juliet” and “Slacker Cats,” put together a list of terminology used by comedy writers that isn’t found in screenwriting books. He’s now updated the glossary with a handful of new words that help describe a few tricky aspects of the screenwriting process.

“Most are terms that have grown out of writers’ rooms, email exchanges, and talking shop in the pub,” he explained on his website. “Some are in wide use: others used by literally only a couple of people. I’ve just been told a lot more of them so the list has grown, a lot. Please enjoy.”

Read More: Aaron Sorkin’s Ama: 10 Highlights Include Screenwriting Tips & Possibility of ‘Studio 60’ Season 2

In the article, “How To Talk Comedy Writer – Updated!,” writers can learn what “Landgon” means — “A joke construction named after the writer John Langdon,...

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Has Eve Myles told fans that she’s played Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper for the last time? Speaking on Twitter to fans discussing author Guy Adams – who penned 2002’s Torchwood novel, The House That Jack Built by Guy Adams and the upcoming Big Finish audio adventure Torchwood: More Than This – Myles seemed to go from...

The post Has Eve Myles Just Said Goodbye to Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Charming award winning Boricua, E.J. Bonilla can currently be see in a festival favorite, "The House That Jack Built" which tells the story of Jack Maldonado, a hot-blooded, ambitious young hustler who buys a small apartment building in the Bronx and moves his boisterous Latino family into the complex to live rent-free. Tension builds as he imposes his views on everyone around him, including his fiancee (Melissa Fumero), while hiding the fact that his corner store is a front for selling marijuana. E.J. talks to LatinoBuzz about upbringing and his skyrocketing career so far.

LatinoBuzz: What was the moment you decided you wanted to be an artist?

E.J: For a long time I didn't know what I wanted or what I loved to do. Friends had that blessing and I remember thinking when I would have my turn. Then, in 9th Grade I sort of fell into playing Danny Zuko randomly in that years Grease themed portion of the dance show. The moment I hit the stage I think something in me knew. Even in rehearsals. I'd fallen in Love.

LatinoBuzz: Did you grow up in a household of artists?

E.J.: For a while I felt like I spoke a different language than my immediate family. It wasn't until my teens that I met and got to know better members of my extended family (my cousin Alma in particular) that self- identified as artists. Something in us clicked together; in the way we thought, in the language we chose to use, in what we enjoyed. She helped me see and appreciate a lot both about myself and my loved ones. And when I look back I recognize now that I indeed do come from a large family of artists. Whether they necessarily realize it or not.

LatinoBuzz: Were you aware of 'House' writer Joseph B. Vasquez' work or his life when you got involved with The House That Jack Built? And what did you think? Please, tell me you have seen Vasquez' 'Hanging With The Homeboys'!

E.J.: I was not aware of Joe before this movie but 'Jack' has certainly allowed me an education and an opportunity. Hanging With The Homeboys was one of my first homework assignments by Henry Barrial, our director. I welcomed it. We could say Joseph Vasquez was before his time but really I just think he was a real artist and Real art stand the test of time. 'The Homeboys' is no different. Even with the theatricality of cinema at the time, Joe made it feel intentional. Painting a portrait of our time in the 90's within urban New York with colorful and lavish brush strokes. I Loved it. It was a powerful film.

LatinoBuzz: What drew you to the role of 'Jack'? Could you relate to the core of the character?

E.J.: To me, 'Jack' is an ode to the males in my family. Strong. Opinionated. Loving. And with that special "hint" of machismo, to say the least. I loved having the opportunity to play him. This film is in honor of my mother and those males in my family, specifically my brother Ivan from whom I borrowed most of Jacks mannerisms.

LatinoBuzz: How does working with Henry (House), Cruz (Drown) and Nick (Mamitas), Joshua (Four) differ from one another? (btw I recommend you for Mamitas!) and did you have to adjust your approach as an actor?

E.J.: First of all, thank you for the recommendation. Lol. And yes honestly, they are all very different directors. Some are more specific, some are calmer than others when the pressure is on, some use more colorful language and they all communicate differently. But they all have love and care in common. They are all artists. And they have voices that I believe shine through within their films. To add to that, as a director myself I have learned so much from all three. I would like to thank them for that.

LatinoBuzz: Ok, Ideal role: What's the story, who is the director and who is your co-star?

E.J.: Lol. Always one of the hardest questions to answer.... I don't know. I love telling truthful honest stories. I suppose I'd love the opportunity to be a superhero within a realistic dramatic piece. It would have opportunity for humor too of course. And ideally I would be the writer/director? (Though I suppose if I was, it is Possible I would give myself a meaty but smaller part so I could focus on the latter of my duties... Maybe). Annnnnnnd my co-star would be... One of my actual best friends. I am blessed to have so many beautiful talented people around me, I would like them all in my film please!!!

LatinoBuzz: What is next for you?

E.J.: I'm working on creating a sitcom with some of those best friends as we speak. We recently just shot our pitch video. You can follow us on our endeavor on Instagram @TheGatosNegros. Also my writing partner and I are in the midst of finalizing a final draft of our latest short film, "The Normally." We should be shooting sometime in December under the production company we're creating, Almost Dark, prod. In addition, if you guys are looking for amazing music from a brand new indie artist, I just copped "Life Happens: The BiPolar Symptoms" by Naiqui on iTunes. Seriously one of the greatest pieces of art I've ever heard. It is genius. I'm looking to see if I can have him score my next piece.

Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...

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As Jekyll & Hyde arrives on ITV, we chatted to creator and novelist Charlie Higson about kids’ horror, VFX budgets and more…

Charlie Higson is currently a very busy man. After the press launch of ITV’s Jekyll & Hyde, he has to rush off to a VFX meeting (“If an episode’s got shit special effects in it,” he jokes, “it’ll be your fault because you kept me too long!”). Then he’s straight on to filming his second Professor Branestawm adaptation for the BBC, appearing at live events to mark The Fast Show’s twenty-first birthday, and, at the end of this month, bringing out the final instalment in his Ya horror series, The Enemy. That’s a full plate by anyone’s standards.

Incidentally, Higson is eating from a full plate as we chat, multi-tasking interviews with the consumption of a modest Jenga tower of posh chips and bijou burgers.

Dominic Cooper, who will be taking on the lead role of Jesse Custer in AMC’s Preacher

AMC has cast the lead role in its upcoming series Preacher. The adaptation of the Garth Ennis comic series has formally signed Dominic Cooper as the titular preacher Jesse Custer, as confirmed by executive producer and co-developer Seth Rogen.

We have Jesse Custer! @dominiccoop is gonna save our souls. #Preacher

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) April 17, 2015

This is not Cooper’s first foray into the world of comic books, as he has also played Howard Stark, father to Iron Man Tony Stark, on both the big and small screen. Cooper, whose formal signing comes after weeks of talks, joins a cast that already includes Ruth Negga, Joseph Gilgun, Ian Colletti, and Lucy Griffiths. A premiere date for Preacher has yet to be announced.

———

HBO made a number of moves over the past week. Key among...

Lars Von Trier, a man who’s made a lot of suggestive comments at film festivals over the years, used this year’s Venice Film Festival to make an announcement. He’s returning to TV for the first time in twenty years for his next project, The House That Jack Built. Announced by his long-time producer Louise Vesth, she revealed the title while doing press for the director’s cut of Nymphomaniac. She didn’t let much slip, except that Von Trier is busy scribbling away this fall and hopes to shoot sometime in 2016:

“He has a really good idea which I cannot tell more about right now. He wants a huge cast and from what I heard, I’m sure that it will be something that you have never seen before and you will definitely never see again.”

Danish public TV production arm, Dr, will join Vesth to help with production duties.

If you were concerned that Lars von Trier had come out of his self-imposed media isolation (since 2011) to share assuredly bizarre news with the world, soothe your worries, because he had Stellan Skarsgard and Nymphomaniac producer Louise Vesth do the dirty work for him. During the Venice Film Festival press conference for Nymphomanic: Vol. II — Director’s Cut, which von Trier declined to attend in person, Vesth shared brief details on the filmmaker’s next project (even cranky artists who aren’t too fond of reporters need to get the word out somehow). Deadline relayed the announcement that von Trier is tackling an “unprecedented” English language TV series with an enormous international cast called The House That Jack Built. According to Vesth, it will be “something you have never seen before and something you will definitely never see again.” While that is completely believable, the plot details aren’t available yet. Von...

Sitting through five hours of Nymphomaniac already felt like a lot to endure, but filmmaker Lars Von Trier is now planning to send his English-language audience through an entire TV series. Von Trier previously worked on the 1990s Danish series The Kingdom, and now according to Deadline, he's returning to long-form storytelling. At the Venice Film Festival for the out of competition screenings of the Director’s Cut of Nymphomaniac Volume I and II, producer Louise Vesth announced on behalf of Von Trier (who has kept to his 2011 promise of refraining from all public statements and interviews) that his next project will be an English-language TV series. Hit the jump for more. Deadline reports that Vesth told the press Von Trier "has a really really good idea which I cannot tell more about right now. He wants a huge cast and from what I heard I’m sure that it...

Lars Von Trier is taking his distinct brand of controversial filmmaking to television.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Danish director will be writing and directing a series titled The House That Jack Built. Other than the title, details surrounding the project are sparse, but frequent collaborator and producer Louise Vesth described the project as a “high-end TV drama series” at the Venice Film Festival. Vesth is set to produce along with Peter Aalbaek Jensen for Von Trier’s production company, Zentropa.

Lauded and derided for the sexual and violent content in his films, Von Trier’s most recent works include Melancholia,...

Controversial Danish film director Lars von Trier (Melancholia, Nymphomaniac) is turning his attention to the small screen, with a “high-end TV drama series” titled The House That Jack Built. This is von Trier's first TV project in two decades, since creating the cult Danish horror miniseries The Kingdom back in 1994. Producer Louise Vesth made the announcement while premiering the five-and-a-half-hour director’s cut of Nymphomaniac Vol. 2 at the Venice Film Festival (von Trier, who stopped speaking in public after making incendiary remarks about Hitler at Cannes in 2011, appeared via live-stream). According to Vesth, the show will begin shooting in 2016 and feature a huge cast. “Lars has a great idea, which I can’t tell you about,” she told reporters. “From what I’ve heard, it’s something you have never seen before and will definitely never see again.” Yep, sounds like Lars!

Lars Von Trier is returning to television for the first time in two decades with The House That Jack Built. The Hollywood Reporter details the announcement from Von Trier’s producer Louise Vesth from the Venice Film Festival. Other than the title, there are no other details at this time other than the show will be written by Von Trier this fall and begin shooting early in 2016.

Indiewire’s The Playlist quotes Vesth saying “Now, when he’s not able to speak [Von Trier no longer speaks publicly since his unusual Nazi comments at the Cannes Film Fesival], so he cannot say that it’s not true, I’m happy to announce that the next Lars von Trier project will be a TV series in the English language,” she said. “He has a really really good idea which I cannot tell more about right now. He wants a huge cast and from what I heard, I’m sure that it will be something that you have...

The director whom we lovingly refer to as Captain Sunshine here at Dread Central, Lars Von Trier, is bringing his special brand of horror and misery to the small screen with a new series entitled "The House That Jack Built." Interested? Read on!

Screen Daily reports that the series will be the first to be directed by the controversial auteur behind Antichrist and Melancholia since his acclaimed Danish TV production, "The Kingdom," 20 years ago.

The news was revealed by Zentropa-producer Louise Vesth during the press conference for Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac Volume 2 - Director’s Cut at the Venice Film Festival. Von Trier’s regular producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen described it as “a TV series without precedent” adding that "The House That Jack Built" would be “a TV series as you have never seen it before and never will again. You better hold your breath.”

Von Trier will start...

Controversial Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier is readying the English-language TV series "The House That Jack Built". Von Trier will start working on the script this autumn with shooting currently set for 2016.

The series will be the first the "Antichrist" and "Nymphomaniac" auteur has directed since the original acclaimed Danish series "The Kingdom" two decades ago.

Producer Louise Vesth revealed the project at the Venice Film Festival where Von Trier’s regular producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen added that it will be "a TV series without precedent... a TV series as you have never seen it before and never will again. You better hold your breath."

Source: Screen...

Lars Von Trier is returning to television.Though the Danish director has spent the vast majority of his career working in feature film his horror series The Kingdom - sadly never to be finished due to the passing of key actors - was a landmark bit of work and though nobody is saying much about the content he's returning to the small screen for his next effort. Here's the official news:Lars von Trier's next project will be an English language TV series with a huge international cast.The TV series will be named The House That Jack Built. This was revealed by Zentropa-producer Louise Vesth during the press conference for Nymphomaniac Volume 2 - Director's Cut at the Venice Film Festival. 20 years ago, von Trier set new standards...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Lars von Trier is readying an English-language TV series called The House That Jack Built.

The series will be the first to be directed by the controversial auteur behind Antichrist and Dancer In The Dark since his acclaimed Danish TV production, The Kingdom, 20 years ago.

The news was revealed by Zentropa-producer Louise Vesth during the press conference for Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac Volume 2 - Director’s Cut at the Venice Film Festival.

Von Trier’s regular producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen described it as “a TV series without precedent”.

He added that The House That Jack Built would be “a TV series as you have never seen it before and never will again. You better hold your breath.”

Von Trier will start working on the script this autumn with shooting currently set for 2016.

The series will be produced by Louise Vesth for the Zentropa Group with executive producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen.

The project...

Lars von Trier is readying an English-language TV series called The House That Jack Built.

The series will be the first to be directed by the controversial auteur behind Antichrist and Dancer In The Dark since his acclaimed Danish TV production, The Kingdom, 20 years ago.

The news was revealed by Zentropa-producer Louise Vesth during the press conference for Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac Volume 2 - Director’s Cut at the Venice Film Festival.

Von Trier’s regular producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen described it as “a TV series without precedent”.

He added that The House That Jack Built would be “a TV series as you have never seen it before and never will again. You better hold your breath.”

Von Trier will start working on the script this autumn with shooting currently set for 2016.

The series will be produced by Louise Vesth for the Zentropa Group with executive producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen.

The project...

Update: TrustNordisk has released further details of Lars von Trier’s TV series project which was first mooted during a press conference in Venice this morning. A “huge” international cast will star in The House That Jack Built with von Trier to start working on the script this fall for a 2016 shoot. Plot details are being kept close to the vest, but exec producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen said the series will be “without precedent” and cautioned, “You better hold your breath.” Louise Vesth is producing for Zentropa. It’s being developed in co-operation with Dr executive producer Piv Bernth. Dr is the Danish public broadcaster behind such series as Borgen and The Killing.

Previously: Danish bad boy filmmaker Lars von Trier appeared in Venice today in honor of the out of competition screenings of the Director’s Cut of his Nymphomaniac Volume I and II. Unlike his appearance sporting a...

A couple of years ago writer/director Henry Barrial appeared on our radar when his low budget, big brains sci-fi thriller Pig made waves across the American and International festival circuits. For his follow-up, Barrial has taken on something completely different: a drama written by acclaimed writer/director Joseph B. Vasquez (of Hangin' With The Homeboys fame) which has been sitting for nearly 20 years.

The House that Jack Built stars E.J. Bonilla as the titular Jack, a charismatic young man who seems to have everything. He owns an apparently successful business, an apartment building in the Bronx that he's moved his entire family into and he has a beautiful fiancé. He's the family success story, the one who will do whatever is necessary to take care of the [Continued ...]...

This Friday April 25th The Filadelfia celebrates its third annual edition with an impressive line up of the best of Latino film from Mexico to Chile to Colombia, The Us and even a film made with the youth of Philly. Opening night film will be the super 1943 classic ‘Maria Candelaria’ starring Dolores Del Rio. For those near the city of brotherly amor we’ve done ya homework and listed their films below!

Opening Night: Maria Candelaria (Mexico)

Starring Dolores del Rio and Pedro Armendáriz, Maria Candelaria was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival, and the first Latin American film awarded the Gran Prix. Gabriel Figueroa, the film’s cinematographer, was nominated for an Academy Award for The Night of the Iguana, and is often referred to as “the Fourth Muralist” of Mexico.

A young journalist presses an old artist (Alberto Galán ) to show a portrait of a naked indigenous woman that he has in his study. The body of the movie is a flashback to Xochimilco, Mexico, in 1909. The film is set right before the Mexican Revolution, and Xochimilco is an area with beautiful landscapes inhabited mostly by indigenous people.

The woman in the painting is María Candelaria (Dolores del Rio), a young Indian woman who is constantly rejected by her own people for being the daughter of a prostitute. She and her lover, Lorenzo Rafael (Pedro Armendariz), face constant struggles throughout the film. They are honest and hardworking, yet nothing ever goes right for them. Don Damian (Miguel Inclán), a jealous Mestizo store owner who wants María for himself, prevents them from getting married. He kills a piglet that María and Lorenzo plan to sell for profit and he refuses to buy vegetables from them. When María falls ill with malaria, Don Damian refuses to give the couple the quinine medicine necessary to fight the disease. Lorenzo breaks into his shop to steal the medicine, and he also takes a wedding dress for María. Lorenzo goes to prison for stealing, and María agrees to model for the painter to pay for his release. The artist begins painting a portrait of María, but when he asks her to pose nude she refuses.

The artist finishes the painting with the nude body of another woman. When the people of Xochimilco see the painting, they assume it is María Candelaria and stone her to death.Finally, Lorenzo escapes from prison )to carry María's lifeless body through Xochimilco's canal of the dead.

Bad Hair/Pelo Malo (Venezuela)

The third film from the filmmaker and plastic artist Mariana Rondón, Pelo Malo stars Junior, a 9 year-old with "bad hair". He wants to have it straightened for his yearbook picture, like a fashionable pop singer. This puts him at odds with his mother Marta. The more Junior tries to look sharp and make his mother love him, the more she rejects him, until he is cornered, face to face with a painful decision.

To Kill A Man/Matar A Un Hombre (Chile)

Read the Review

Read the Interview with Dir. Alejandro Fernandez Almendras

A thriller about a hardworking family man Jorge who is just barely making ends meet. When he gets mugged by Kalule, a neighborhood delinquent, Jorge's son decides to confront Kalule, only to get himself shot in the process. Sentenced to a scant 2 years in prison for the offense, Kalule, released and now intent on revenge, goes on the warpath, terrorizing Jorge's family. With his wife, son and daughter at the mercy of a thug, Jorge has no choice but to take justice into his own hands, and live with the emotional and psychological consequences.

Lines of class and masculinity ignite friction in this rugged thriller, adeptly shot with a discerning eye. Director Alejandro Fernández Almendras elevates raw grit to a new level with a tone that is both elemental and prophetic. Rife with unnerving tension, To Kill a Man is ultimately a surprising exploration of the heavy burden of what it takes to do what the title suggests.

Anina (Colombia)

Read the Review

Anina Yatay Salas is a ten-year-old girl. All her names form palindromes, making her the butt of her classmates’ jokes, and especially of Yisel’s, who Anina sees as an “elephant.” One day, fed up with all the taunting, Anina starts a fight with Yisel during recess. The incident ends with the principal penalizing the girls and calling their parents.Anina receives her punishment inside a sealed black envelope, which she is told not to open until she meets with the principal again a week later.She is also forbidden to tell anyone about the envelope. Her classmates pressure her to find out what the punishment will be, while they imagine cruel physical torture.

Anina, in her anxiousness to find out what horrible punishment awaits her in the mysterious black envelope, will get mixed up in a series of troubles, involving secret loves, confessed hatreds, close friendships, dreadful enemies, some loving teachers, and also some evil teachers.Without her realizing it, Anina’s efforts to understand the content of the envelope turn into an attempt to understand the world and her place in it.

The Devil’S Music (USA)

When the new sound of jazz first spread across America in the early twentieth-century, it left delight – and controversy – in its wake.As jazz's popularity grew, so did campaigns to censor "the devil's music." This documentary classic has been hailed by the New York Times as a documentary that "addressing the complex interaction of race and class… engages viewers in a conversation as vigorous as the art it chronicles,” featuring timeless performances by artists such as Louis Armstrong and vocalist Rachelle Ferrelle, plus interviews with giants of social and musical criticism such as Albert Murray, Marian MacPartland, Studs Terkel, and Michael Eric Dyson. The Devil's Music is Written, Produced and Directed by Maria Agui Carter and Calvin A. Lindsay Jr., and Narrated by Dion Graham.

I, Undocumented/Yo, Indocumentada (Venezuela)

Yo Indocumentada (I, Undocumented) , exposes the struggles of transgender people in Venezuela. The film, Andrea Baranenko’s first feature-length production, tells the story of three Venezuelan women fighting for their right to have an identity.

Tamara Adrián, 58, is a lawyer; Desirée Pérez, 46, is a hairdresser; and Victoria González, 27, has been a visual arts student since 2009. These women share more than their nationality: they all carry identifications with masculine names that do not correspond to their actual identities. They are transgender women, who long ago assumed their gender and now defend it in a homophobic and transphobic society.

The House That Jack Built (USA )

Jack Maldonado is an ambitious Latino man who fueled by misguided nostalgia, buys a small apartment building in the Bronx and moves his family into the apartments to live rent-free. His parents, Carlos and Martha, sister Nadia, brother Richie and his wife Rosa, Grandmother/Abuela and cousins Hector and Manny, all under one roof. Tension builds quickly as Jack imposes his views on everyone around him, including his fiancée, Lily. All the while, he hides the fact that his corner store is a front for selling marijuana but soon has to deal with new unwanted competitive forces. It's only a matter of time before Jack's family and 'business' lives collide in tragic fashion.

Aqui Y Alla Crossing Borders (USA)

The “Aquí y Allá’ transnational public art project explored the impact of immigration in the lives of Mexican immigrant youth in Philadelphia in connection with youth in Chihuahua, Mexico. The documentary highlights the testimonials of the youth on both sides of the border working towards the creation of a collaborative mural in South Philadelphia.

Cesar’S Last Fast (USA)

Read the Review

In 1988, Cesar Chavez embarked on what would be his last act of protest in his remarkable life. Driven in part to pay penance for feeling he had not done enough, Chavez began his “Fast for Life,” a 36-day water-only hunger strike, to draw attention to the horrific effects of unfettered pesticide use on farm workers, their families, and their communities.

Using never-before-seen footage of Chavez during his fast and testimony from those closest to him, directors Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee weave together the larger story of Chavez’s life, vision, and legacy. A deeply religious man, Chavez’s moral clarity in organizing and standing with farm workers at risk of his own life humbled his family, friends, and the world. Cesar’s Last Fast is a moving and definitive portrait of the leader of a people who became an American icon of struggle and freedom.

La Camioneta (Guantemala)

Every day dozens of decommissioned school buses leave the United States on a southward migration that carries them to Guatemala, where they are repaired, repainted, and resurrected as the brightly-colored camionetas that bring the vast majority of Guatemalans to work each day. La Camioneta follows one such bus on its transformative journey: a journey between North and South, between life and death, and through an unfolding collection of moments, people, and places that serve to quietly remind us of the interconnected worlds in which we live.

Forbidden Lovers Meant To Be (USA)

Working with talented high school students from North Philadelphia at Taller Puertorriqueño’s Youth Artist Program, filmmakers Joanna Siegel, Melissa Beatriz Skolnick, and Kate Zambon sought to capture the personal and artistic journeys of the youth through film. While facilitating collaborative film workshops with the students, themes of race/ethnicity, cultures, language, and identity emerged. Throughout this process of engaging in story development and visual representation, the students created a video of their own, while the filmmakers documented the process using metafilm techniques. The students' short film, Forbidden Lovers Meant to Be, highlights the talent and creativity of these youth. Forbidden Lovers Meant to Be was created by the spring 2012 Youth Artist Program participants: Amy Lee Flores, Ricardo Lopez, Michael Mendez, Zayris Rivera, Tashyra Suarez, Nestor Tamayo, Yoeni Torres, Karina Ureña Vargas, and Kara Williams. (Amy Lee Flores, Ricardo Lopez, Michael Mendez)

Tire Die (Argentina)

The first film of the first Latin American documentary film school (The Escuela Documental de Santa Fe), this documentary focuses on the children in the neighborhood known as Tire Dié in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina, who wait daily for the passing train to ask for money from the passengers, shouting “Tire dié!” (Toss me a dime!).

Dubbed as the father of the New Latin American Cinema, Fernando Birriwas one of the first filmmakers to document poverty and underdevelopment. Tire Dié was part of the exhibition, Latin American Visions, produced by International House, 1989-1991.

The Illiterates/Las Analfabetas (Chile)

Ximena, played by the incomparable Paulina García (Gloria) is an illiterate woman in her fifties, who has learned to live on her own to keep her illiteracy a secret. Jackeline, is a young unemployed elementary school teacher, who tries to convince Ximena to take reading classes. Persuading her proves to be an almost impossible task, till one day, Jackeline finds something Ximena has been keeping as her only treasure since she was a child: a letter Ximena’s father left when he abandoned her many years before. Thus, the two women embark on a learning journey where they discover that there are many ways of being illiterate, and that not knowing how to read is just one of them.

For the schedule please visit: http://flaff.org/

Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...

Hispanicize 2014 Reveals Official Film Festival Selections, Presented by: Aarp, MyLingo.com, and Regal Cinemas

Festival will feature filmmaking stars Edward James Olmos, Nicholas Gonzales, Diego Luna, and many more

Miami Beach, Fl – March 28, 2014 – (Hispanicize Wire) – With a strong star presence and a national Hispanic media and social media stage as the backdrop, Hispanicize 2014 organizers today unveiled the event’s film festival selections, celebrity screenings and professional development sessions. Hispanicize 2014 (http://www.hispanicizeevent.com/), the largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in social media, journalism, advertising, public relations, film, music and innovation, will take place at the Intercontinental in downtown Miami, April 1-4.

This year’s film selections are: “ Cesar Chavez”, “Water and Power”, “Sleeping with The Fishes”, “Avenues”, “The House That Jack Built”, and six short films: “Missing Grandma,” “J-1”, “Tender Love”, “Reason Y I’m Single”, “ The Price We Pay” and “Stereotypically Me”.

Hollywood celebrities confirmed to...

Review by Dana Jung

Families have a way of defining us. Who we are, what we feel, the choices we make; all these things can be traced to the quality (or lack thereof) in our family life. The new film The House That Jack Built tells heartfelt and sometimes humorous story that reverberates throughout with themes on the impact and importance of the people we call family.

To all the world, Jack (E.J. Bonilla) has it all. He runs a successful business, has a pretty girlfriend (Melissa Fumero), and owns the nice high rise apartment building that his extended family and friends live in. However, Jack’s idealistic dreamworld is beginning to crumble down around him: his parents (Saundra Santiago and John Herrera) constantly fight, mostly because his father is an alcoholic; his sister is about to come out as lesbian; his girlfriend is starting to pressure him to get...

Film to Premiere at a special one-night, invitation-only, engagement sponsored by HBO(R) on October at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street

New York, NY – September 25, 2013 – (Hispanicize Wire) – ProyectoNEXT, a new showcase for emerging Latino and Urban talent sponsored by HBO, will debut next month with the New York premiere of director Henry Barrial’s “The House That Jack Built.” The one-night, invitation-only feature presentation will take place October 2 in Manhattan at the AMC Empire 25.

Hailed by The Hollywood Reporter as a “convincing portrait of a neighborhood and its Nuyorican culture,” and “a majestic journey of crime, family drama, and redemption” by The Awards Circuit, “The House That Jack Built” stars Bronx native E.J. Bonilla and features an all-Latino cast of Caribbean descent from New York, including Melissa Fumero, Leo Minaya, Flor De Liz Perez, Saundra Santiago, John Herrera, and Rosal Colon.

“HBO is extremely excited to partner in the...

Kino Lorber's Horizon Movies label has acquired all North American rights to "Pig," the latest sci-fi flick from Henry Barrial ("The House That Jack Built"). The sci-fi/mystery feature had garnered great success on the festival circuit this past year. The film stars Rudolf Martin ("Swordfish," "High Art," "NCIS") and features Patrick Fabian ("The Last Exorcism"), Steve Tom (HBO's "Funny Or Die") and Keith Diamond ("The Drew Carey Show"). "Pig" tells the story of a man (Rudolf Martin), who wakes up alone and in critical condition in the middle of the desert with a black hood on his head and his hands tied behind his back. He is discovered by a woman and is nursed back to health, only to realize he has amnesia, and has no idea who he is. His only clue, a piece of paper in his pocket with the name "Manny Elder" on it, sends him...

Jack Be Simple: Barrial’s New York Story Buoyed by Strong Performances

For his fifth feature film, indie filmmaker Henry Barrial takes to the Bronx for a familial relations drama examining notions of family, marriage, and the forced archaic notion of patriarchal authority. While The House That Jack Built is unable to completely sidestep some well-worn clichés, both of a universal nature and those particular to the community within which it is set, Barrial is able to conjure a compelling level of engagement that makes you invested in the eventual outcome. Even better, he manages to do so even with an almost wholly unlikeable lead protagonist.

Jack (E.J. Bonilla) is a hot headed and handsome young patriarchal head of his extended family, and it has long been his life’s goal to provide for them all. Still a very young man, he has purchased an entire apartment complex for his whole family to live in,...

Shortly before its debut at the Los Angeles Film Festival next week, we've got the exclusive trailer for Henry Barrial's family drama "The House That Jack Built." The film is set to make its world premiere on Sunday, June 16th at the Regal Cinemas 10 in Los Angeles. From a script written 20 years ago by the late screenwriter Joseph Vasquez, "The House That Jack Built" tells the story of Jack, a hot-blooded and ambitious kind of guy who takes care of his own. He sets his extended family up in a single Bronx apartment complex and then expects them to play by his rules. But his parents still bicker non-stop, his brother can barely keep it together, and his sister continues to entertain lady lovers. Tensions rise, and his dream unravels into an uncontrollable hot mess.  Take a look at the trailer below.

Upon the Los Angeles Film Festival announcing their 2013 roster I was excited to see a title familiar to me that would be having its world premiere there. That film is 'The House That Jack Built' – from a screenplay written by Joseph B. Vasquez (Hangin' With The Homeboys) that I'd read close to 15 years earlier as an intern and it was rumored that it would be a Spike Lee/John Leguizamo collaboration. The film itself is a 20 year old journey in the making for the producers. The story revolves around Jack, a Puerto Rican drug dealer who yearns for those long gone memories of what was once a happy, united family where he remembers everything as ethereal-like. So he decides to buy a tenement where they can all be under the same roof in hopes of re-creating that joy, when in reality it will never be the same again as his well intentioned gesture tests the families bond to the point of irreparable dysfunction.

The joy for me at the time was reading the last screenplay written by Joe before he passed away in 1995. My friends and I used to quote the hell out of 'Hangin' With The Homeboys' and laugh at the way he wrote these richly drawn urban characters that could walk a very fine line and he was never afraid to push a few buttons when it came to sex, race and class. He knew the comedy in tragedy. The melancholy in reading his last screenplay was that it was his last screenplay.

Born to drug addicted parents in the South Bronx, Joseph started making movies on a Super 8mm camera at the age of 12. Eventually this would lead him to study film at City College in New York where he honed his craft and would later make a low budget, gritty, if not unwatchable film called 'Street Story' (later barely released as 'Street Hitz') where according to Joe, he was writer, director, cinematographer, editor, sound editor, gaffer, negative cutter and music editor. Working with a slightly larger budget and a little more experience his next film would be 'The Bronx War' (which I own on DVD courtesy of a spot on 125th st). It was another film with a story line firmly cemented in the street life that he was familiar and comfortable with. 'The Bronx War' would be the one to catch the attention of New Line Cinema. After all, there weren't many Puerto Rican/Black filmmakers coming out of the Bronx, especially ones that spoke to the surging urban market like he did. They would decide to finance a semi-autobiographical screenplay he wrote in about three days called 'Hangin' With The Homeboys' about an epic, odyssey-like guys night out in New York City with four friends. Each of the four characters represented a different part of Vasquez. He was now making a film for a studio and not paying for it out of his own pocket. But Joseph's life played out much like one of his screenplays. During the shoot, he was slashed down the middle of his forehead to his nose by a homeless man as he took the subway to the set, ending what he believed could have been another career as an actor. The tension on the set was unbearable according to his leads. Still, the film was completed and premiered at the '91 Sundance Film Festival to great success and even walked away with a best screenwriting award. Joseph, suffering from severe Bi-polar disorder started to grow wary of studios like New Line Cinema, the very studio that helped him achieve the success he had enjoyed and started turning down projects such as 'House Party 2', citing that the films had gotten too big and were slipping away from his creative and artistic grasp. Instead he opted to do things his own way as before. A result was 'Manhattan Merengue'. This film, understandably failed to move his career to the next level and Joseph began suffering from manic depression when the offers that once presented themselves to him stopped coming in. Once thought to be the next Spike Lee (a comparison he didn't care for), he alienated those around him and at some later point claimed to be Jesus. His behavior became increasingly erratic and drew great concern from those around him as his health deteriorated. At the time no one knew he had AIDS, to which he would succumb to far from the South Bronx he loved and wrote about. At aged 33 he passed away in San Diego, CA. penniless but with his mother, who got clean, by his side.

Producer Mike Lieber, who had known Joe for many years including during his tumultuous times, held on to the script of 'The House That Jack Built', hoping that one day he could finally get it made. It was something he promised Joseph on his death bed that he would do. After attaching Cuban-American, Henry Barrial (Pig) to direct, they raised a budget that was enough to cover a shoot on HD and raised the rest on Kickstarter to bring it home. Casting was primarily done in the Bronx with E.J Bonilla (Four, Mamitas) cast to play 'Jack' and joined by an all Latino cast that includes Melissa Fumero, Leo Minaya, Saundra Santiago, John Herrera, Flor De Liz Perez and Rosal Colon.

Mike Lieber fulfilled his promise and Joseph Benjamin Vasquez' new film will premiere at The Los Angeles Film Festival which runs June 13-23. Tickets can be bought at http://www.lafilmfest.com . Give them a “Like”: https://www.facebook.com/thehousethatjackbuiltmovie.

Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.

The summertime, downtown set, glitzy yet ‘cashz’ La Film Festival, presented by Film Independent has announced their film lineup today. The verdict on the Latino rep? Compared to the last three festivals I’ve examined this year, Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca, La Film Festival comes through with arguably the most valuable representation; there are three films representing American Latino in the narrative competition and one in documentary competition.

The lineup consists of a handful of new American indies mixed in with many favorited international films from last year’s Toronto, Venice, London and Berlin film festivals, and seven Sundance films screening out of competition including Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, which won both the Audience and Jury Awards in Park City. Starring Boricua Melonie Diaz as Oakland police murder victim Oscar Grant’s girlfriend, Fruitvale will be given the gala treatment (like last year’s Sundance awarded, Black film, Middle of Nowhere), alongside the direct-from-Cannes, Only God Forgives, the reteaming of director Nicolas Winding Refyn and GQ sensitive alpha hero Ryan Gosling (Drive).

But I’m not here to comb and recycle through the ‘high profile’ films that come armed with buzz. As always I’m spotlighting U.S. films in which the writer/director/cast are native born whose ethnic/cultural roots originates from Mexico, Central or South America. In addition, films by filmmakers who may not be Latino, but whose narratives explore and relate to the relevant bi-cultural experience/subjects. And finally I also like to mention the Latin films (international).

While I’m happy to acknowledge and give it up for La, it’s still painful for this blogger/programmer to know there are so many more fresh American Latino films out there ready to be discovered. Game-changing films offering such fresh and original perspectives, which have by and large been dismissed by most of the major Us Film Festivals. With the futures of the two highest profile Latino niche festivals in limbo, The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and HBO’s NY International Latino Film Festival, it’s especially crushing to know that these films might also be robbed of their only community platform. It’s cause for alarm and high time to address this void. But wait, lets save that for another post. For now, lets get back to the Latino stories coming at you at this year’s La Film Festival. For official synopsis and pics check the Film Guide here.

Narrative Competition – Notably 9 of the 12 are Us, hopefully giving the scrappy indies a better chance to compete and win the cash prize against the healthy subsidized production value of foreign movies. Five are first features and only one female narrative director.

40 Years From Yesterday written and directed by Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian

This is the first feature from the writing/directing team who got a lot of attention with their 2010 short Charlie and The Rabbit. Ojeda-Beck (whose parents are from Peru) and Machoian who is from the heavily Mexican populated King City, met at Cal State, Monterey Bay where they forged a tight artistic collaboration. Forty Years from Yesterday is described as Machoian’s imagination of how his mother’s death would unfold for his own family, capturing the loss his siblings would feel in losing a parent and his father’s pain in facing the death of his partner.

The duo have their way with documentary, fiction and experimental form, instilling an aura of temporality in an anchored realism. This unique evocative alchemy is found in Machoian’s doc short, Movies Made from Home #16, a 4 minute existential moment which screened at Sundance this year. The cosmic life themes they tend to broach are treated in such a down to earth and sensitive way, which is further made relatable by the natural non-pro performances they employ. Robert’s father, Bill Graham has starred in a few of his films and in Forty Years from Yesterday, both Robert’s parents and siblings play themselves. See this endearing behind the scenes clip of the making of the film:

The House That Jack Built written by Joseph B. Vasquez and directed by Henry Barrial

Written by the late Joseph B. Vasquez (d 1995) whose 1991 movie, Hanging with the Homeboys, was a groundbreaking urban comedy when it came out, now very much a classic albeit sadly forgotten gem. The only one of Vasquez’s five movies that was distributed (by New Line), Hanging with the Homeboys was shot in the South Bronx where he was born and raised. About four homeys, two Puerto Rican (one of them played by a baby-faced Johnny Leguizamo) and two Black, the movie, available on dvd from Amazon (or, I found it in 6 parts on Youtube) screened at the Sundance Film Festival at its indie darling peak. Its good-natured humor is derived from neighborhood beefs, trying to rap to ladies, and the racial tensions of the day delivered with unapologetic commentary. An overall glimpse into a day in the barrio slice life, the film is clearly an early influence for the Ice Cube Friday series.

The House that Jack Built similarly has that raw and authentic Nuyorican energy but pushed into a rollercoaster of a dysfunctional family drama with warmth, affection and intensity. The director, born from Cuban parents and raised in Washington Heights, Henry Barrial, is also an alumni of Sundance (Somebody 2001). The film stars E.J. Bonilla as the hot-blooded self-imposed king of his family who buys an apartment building to keep his family close, only to start dictating everybody’s life since he’s letting them live rent free. Bonilla is a fiercely charismatic up and coming actor who was last at the festival with the film Mamitas in 2011 and was also in Don’t Let Me Drown (Sundance 2010). An uproarious and high-edged Harlem set chamber piece, the heavy conflict of gravity that besets Jack is from being pulled in opposite directions by his street values on one side and deeply rooted family values on the other. See the trailer on their Kickstarter page.

My Sister’S Quinceanera written and directed by Aaron Douglas Johnston

This was reportedly one of the most talked about American films in the experimental leaning Rotterdam Film Festival this year. The filmmaker who was born and raised in Iowa, Aaron Douglas Johnston, has an impressive academic pedigree having attended world prestigious universities, Oxford and Yale. His first feature, the small town, gay life set, Bumblefuck, USA screened at Outfest 2011. In My Sister’s Quinceanera, he uses the local Mexican-American Iowa residents as his non-pro actors with whom he collaborated with on the story. It’s a gentle and earnest portrayal of a young man named Silas who is convinced he has to leave town to become independent and start his life but must first see his sister’s Quinceanera take place.

Workers written and directed by Jose Luis Valle (Mexico/Germany) - A quietly simmering artful drama about a retiring factory worker and housemaid in Tijuana circumstantially reunited and trying to compensate for their spent lives. An accomplished and arresting feature debut, the film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section and won Best Mexican Film at the Guadalajara film Festival. A full investment into the contemplative tone and rhythm yields an appreciation for the film’s visceral and dry humor undertones. Born in El Salvador, Jose Luis Valle previously made a documentary short called Milagro del Papa.

Documentary Competition: 7 out 10 are Us, 4 first features, six female directors (incl. 2 co-directors)

Tapia directed by Eddie Alcazar

The 5 time world boxing champion and emotionally damaged blue-eyed Chicano from the 505, Johnny Lee Tapia, survived a series of near deaths before his turbulent life ended at the young age of 45 last year. The sheer volume of tragedy and coping afflictions Johnny endured in his Vida Loca, as he openly shares in his autobiography, includes the scarring experience of seeing his mother’s kidnapping and violent murder at the tender age of eight. Tapia funneled his heartbreaking life to fuel a successful professional boxing career. Tapia’s confrontation to such tumult is so impressive, it’s no wonder that former EA video game designer Eddie Alcazar decided to both dramatize and document his harrowing real life story. Originally announced as a biopic, subsequently the documentary was born of it, in which Eddie captures final interviews and archival footage with the haunted boxer. Remarkably, watching the clip below, a slight zeal and spirit, however low key and worn, emanates from the towering rumble of his battered lifetime – unquestionably his refusal to be knocked out. This is actually the first feature out of the gate for filmmaker Eddie Alcazar whose radical sci-fi film 0000 has been curiously tracked as in production for a couple years now. The ambitious looking trailer only piqued mad interest when it was released last year.

Purgatorio directed by Rodrigo Reyes (Mexico) - An elegiac and cinematically shot poem filled with emotional narration and iconography, this border film is told by way of a tapestry of stories that culminates into a strong cry for human compassion. Imagining the border as if purgatory, where migrants must suffer in order to get through to the other side, the dangerous plight in crossing the Us/Mexico border is viewed outside political context but rather a metaphysical prism. This is the fourth film from Reyes, a talented young documentarian from Mexico.

International Showcase

Europa Report directed by Sebastian Cordero and written by Philip Gelatt - From award winning Ecuador born filmmaker Sebastian Cordero (Rabia, Cronicas, Pescador) Europa Report marks his first film in English. Somewhat shrouded in mystery, the story is written by Philip Gelatt, an adult comic book author, and is set aboard the first manned mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa. The genre bending sounding sci-fi thriller was recently picked up by Magnolia’s Magnet division and will go straight to VOD on June 27 after its La Film Festival premiere. Cordero, who is a UCLA grad, has a well-controlled gritty realism to his aesthetic, which might inhabit and distinguish this deep space thriller among the genre’s canon.

Crystal Fairy written and directed by Sebastian Silva (Chile) - From the crafty young Chilean filmmaker whose first first film, The Maid put him on the international map, this is one of two films he screened at Sundance this year. A road trip of self-discovery featuring the charming free spirited Gaby Hoffman pitted against a smarmy American tourist Michael Cera in the long and vast Chilean coast side, the film explores their unusual and fluid character dynamic and opposing auras.

The Women And The Passenger directed by Valentina Mac-Pherson, Patricia Correra (Chile) - A 45 minute version of this screened at the prestigious documentary film festival in Amsterdam Idfa. An unobtrusive camera follows four maids as they clean the rooms of one of those clandestine by-the-hour motels. Amid the moans behind doors and bed aftermaths of torrid love affairs, the women reveal their own perspectives about life, love and sex in some kind of visual love letter to the special place. I don’t believe the title is translated to interpret its full meaning, its more like, “The Transients’ women”.

Shorts

I Was Born In Mexico But…. written and directed by Corey OHama - 12min (Us) - Per the IMDb description, “using found footage to tell the story of an undocumented young woman who grew up thinking she was American, only to find out as a teenager that she didn’t have papers because she was brought to the U.S. as a young child. “ Sounds like the thousands of Dreamers plights whose stories are being suppressed.

Misterio written and directed by Chema Garcia Ibarra (Spain) 12min - So even though this is from Spain (not the Americas), I mention it if because I’m a huge fan of Chema’s shorts, Protoparticles and The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5. I have no doubt this will share that similar strange, whimsical vibe.

Al Lado De Norma written and directed by Camila Luna, Gabriela Maturana 14min (Chile) - 49 year-old Jorge is a silent, tired man, whose life seems to revolve around Norma, his elderly mother who has Alzheimer’s. But Antonio, who rents a small room in their home, will provide him with the chance to examine himself and question his monotonous life, which might just make for a radical change.

Papel Picado – written and directed by Javier Barboza - From a 2007 Cal Arts Alumnus, and independent animation teacher and filmmaker, this looks wild! Check out his vimeo works here.

Saint John, The Longest Night, written and directed by Claudia Huaiquimilla (Chile) 18 min - The filmmaker is of the indigenous Mapuche tribe of Southern Chile. Set amid the happy Saints celebration of June 24, a young boy must wrestle with the reappearance of his violent father.

Too Much Water (Demasiada Agua) written and directed by Nicolas Botana, Gonzalo Torrens (Uruguay) 14 min - A young woman fills her backyard pool every night and finds it empty in the morning. Strange neighbors and even stranger circumstances stir her paranoia.

Lastly, I have to mention dance beat rapper Kid Cudi’s feature film acting debut in Goodbye World directed by Denis Hennelly (Rock the Bells doc about Wu Tang Clan) and written by Sarah Adina Smith. Essentially, the film is about a group of friends hanging out when some kind of apocalypse hits. Hijinks ensue. (There’s a trend here after It’s A Disaster and the upcoming “look-we’re-so-cool-celebs partying of This is The End). Although it’s a small role, it is the first of a number of films Kid Cudi is in that are coming through the pipelines. Born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi in Cleveland Ohio, he is a beautiful brown blend of African American on his mother’s side and Native/Mexican mix on his father’s side.

The La Film Festival kicks off with Pedro Almodovar’s, I’m So Excited on June 13 and runs until the 23. Tickets and info here.