“In its sophomore year, the Latine Fellowship and Scholarship continues its mission to cultivate a vibrant space for Latine artists across various fields. It’s a place for community, professional growth, and financial and creative support,” said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, Director of the Artist Accelerator. “We’re ecstatic to back a brand new cohort of emerging artists, amplifying the Latine voice in film and television!”

The Sundance Institute Latine Fellowship will provide five early career Latine artists working in film or television with a yearlong fellowship experience. The fellows will each receive a $10,000 grant, bespoke creative and tactical support on their projects, and engage in regular cohort meetings. Fellows were selected from Sundance Institute artist support programs across fiction and nonfiction. In addition, scholars will receive customized feedback on their projects, mentorship from a Sundance Institute artist alum, and opportunities to connect with Sundance staff and its broader creative community.

Since the Latine Fellowship and Collab Scholarship launched last year, 11 artists have participated in the program. Alumni include Michael León, who has since made his Broadway debut as a playwright in New York, New York, and Cat Rodríguez, who recently received an Obie Award for her work with the ensemble Fake Friends Theater Collective. Rodríguez’s ensemble will embark upon several residencies where they will continue to develop their upcoming Sundance-supported project, Untitled Bikini Body Building Project.

The 2023 Latine Fellowship and Collab Scholarships were developed with leadership funding support from Lyn Lear and Cindy Horn and additional support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The fellows selected for the 2023 Sundance Institute Latine Fellowship are:

Johnny Alvarez (writer-director) with Average Dick: Borrowing from pop culture, current events, and the fraught collective consciousness, this tragicomic anthology series weaves together a complex tapestry of fragile masculinity. Each surreal tale introduces us to a disparate cast of characters, from closeted congressmen and porn-addicted priests to polyamorists in the apocalypse. Amidst triumphs, transgressions, and acts of self-degradation, these men learn the true weight carried between their legs.

Alvarez is a queer Cuban-American writer and filmmaker. His work has been supported by Sundance, SFFILM, Comedy Central, and Outfest. His films have screened at festivals in LA, Chicago, Seattle, and elsewhere. Originally from St. Louis, he currently resides in Northern California, where he is completing his MFA in Fiction.

Esteban Bailey (writer-director) with The Death of Salvador Colón. In the aftermath of a devastating hurricane, Juan’s father Salvador passes away, but when the overwhelmed police force fails to remove the body, Juan sets out to give his father a proper burial, confronting his own grief and the challenges of a ravaged community along the way.

Bailey is an award-winning Puerto Rican filmmaker. After graduating from NYU Tisch, Esteban’s short film El Extraño en la Casa Rivera screened at several festivals, including the Atlanta Film Festival, where he won the “Filmmaker to Watch Award” and the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Gabriella Garcia Pardo (director-producer) with Fenced (working title): Fences reflect our desires and fears. From our obsession with owning land and controlling virtual frontiers to the ways in which we divide ourselves, Fenced questions how the most ubiquitous human structure –– the fence –– shapes how we live, where we live, and the rules we live by.

Garcia Pardo is a Colombian-American documentary filmmaker whose work centers on stories of land, community, and non-humans. Gabriella produced and co-wrote La Bonga (True/False, 2023) with directors Sebastián Pinzón Silva and Canela Reyes. She’s currently directing her first feature, Fenced, and producing the observational feature, Backside, with director Raúl Paz Pastrana.

Gabriela Ortega (writer-director) with Huella: When her grandmother’s death in the Dominican Republic unleashes a generational curse, Daniela, a restless flamenco dancer living in New York City, must confront her family’s dark past as she fights for one last chance at professional dancing.

Ortega is an award-winning writer/director from the Dominican Republic. Her short Huella was a 2022 Sundance Film Festival official selection and will become her first feature film after being supported by the Sundance Labs. She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” and a Sundance Women to Watch fellow.

Walter Thompson-Hernández (writer-director) with If I Go Will They Miss Me: Twelve-year-old Lil Ant begins to see mysterious figures — eerie Black men with their arms spread like wings — around his home. When his father, Big Ant, realizes his son sees these “airplane people ” too, their family history emerges and reveals deeper meaning and connection between them.

Thompson-Hernández is a writer-director from Los Angeles. His film, If I Go Will They Miss Me, won the 2022 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction.

The artists selected for the 2023 Sundance Institute Latine Collab Scholarship are:

David Rodríguez Estrada (writer-director-producer-editor) with Believer: Set in present-day Mexico, Clemencia is an evangelical working-class mother with a terminally ill son. He confesses to her he used to work for the cartel and shares a notebook with detailed information of those he buried in clandestine graves. After he dies, Clemencia’s faith finds itself at a crossroads.

Rodríguez Estrada is a Mexican-American writer/director. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Film from the Art Institute of L.A. He’s directed award-winning short films, including ¿Existes?, which premiered at the Palm Springs Shorts Fest and Suripanta, nominated for an Imagen Award. El Tesoro, starring Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza, is David’s latest film.

María Álvarez (writer-director) with Guava Tree: After the discovery of a family secret, a father travels back to his birthplace in Havana, Cuba, for the first time in decades. But this time, he is accompanied by his eleven-year-old daughter.

Álvarez is an internationally recognized Cuban-Dutch filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She graduated from USC with a BFA in Film Production. María is a 2023 Rising Voices fellow (Hillman Grad / Indeed), where she directed and co-wrote her latest short film, Last Days of the Lab, which premiered at Tribeca.

Daniel Larios (writer-director) with Apocalipsis: Childhood sweethearts grow apart, as Isaac devotes himself to God and Maria becomes the party girl of their Salvadoran village. After Maria survives a freak accident, Isaac caused, she declares that God saved her, gifting her His Message. Believing she must be a false prophet, Isaac aims to discredit her.

Larios is a Salvadoran-American producer, director, and writer based in Los Angeles. His short films have played at festivals, including Bentonville, NewFilmmakers LA, Philadelphia International, Paraguay International, and ICARO International. Daniel was a 2022 Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today Fellow, and his first nonfiction short won the 2022 Blackstar Doc Shorts Pitch.

Silvia Castaños (co-director) with Untitled: Los Papeles de Mi Mami: Samantha lives in the city of Laredo, TX, in limbo between a country she came from and a country she seeks opportunity in, both bordered by a highly militarized state. Silvia, her first child, wants to heal with their mother as they both face deportation, separation, and the legal process.

Castaños is a Boston-based filmmaker and transit planner born and raised in Laredo, Texas. Silvia’s debut feature film Hummingbirds is a collaborative self-portrait directed by them and Estefanía Contreras. Their work is supported by Ford Foundation JustFilms, Field of Vision, Arts2Work, Threshold Fund, Sundance Documentary Fund, SFFILM, and Chicken & Egg Pictures, among others.

Eliana Pipes (writer) with DREAM HOU$E: Two Latina sisters with a strained relationship inherit their family home in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood and decide to cash in on the property by selling it on an HGTV-style reality TV show that takes a twisted left turn.

Pipes is a playwright and filmmaker based in her hometown of LA. Awards include the Academy Gold Fellowship, Alliance Kendeda Prize, and Leah Ryan Prize. Her play Bite Me will premiere off-Broadway with WP and Colt Coeur. Her animated short ¡Nails! received an Outfest x Colin Higgins Foundation Grant.

The post Sundance Selects 2023 Latine Fellows & Collab Scholarship Recipients  first appeared on .

The lead role of Jaime Reyes (AKA “Blue Beetle”) is portrayed by the talented Xolo Maridueña known to audiences from his role in the TV show Cobra Kai.  Blue Beetle also boasts a remarkable cast that includes George Lopez (Lopez vs. Lopez), Elpidia Carillo (Predator), Academy Award-nominated actress Adriana Barraza (Babel, Rambo: Last Blood), Harvey Guillen, newcomer Belissa Escobedo (American Horror Story, The Baker and the Beauty), Raoul Max Trujillo (Mayans M.C.), and Hollywood star Susan Sarandon (Bull Durham, Thelma & Louise). Additionally, the renowned singer Becky G lends her voice to the film as “Khaja-Da.”

The community screening, totally funded by the presenting entities, comes at a crucial time for the film industry, with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG/Aftra) currently on strike, the talent of the film are not able to promote the opening of the film.  That is when the organizations saw the need to rally support for Blue Beetle, a groundbreaking movie that holds significant importance for the future of Latino representation in Hollywood. This film showcases Latinos in a positive light, breaking barriers and paving the way for more inclusive storytelling in the entertainment industry. A special effort was made to include groups of student to attend because they will see themselves represented on the big screen.

In a city where Latinos make up 50% of the population, three screenings alone are not enough to spread the word. Latin Heat Media and HCSB are committed to ensuring that more individuals and in particular the students, have the opportunity to enjoy the film at the screening and be empowered by seeing a superhero who looks like them. The response has been overwhelming.  An hour after posting the free tickets on social media, all tickets were gone.

Bel Hernandez, President/CEO of Latin Heat Media and Chair of HCSB’s Arts and Entertainment Committee, emphasizes the importance of engaging the Latino audience in supporting films that authentically represent their community. “The power of the Latino audience has not always been fully tapped, especially when it comes to movies as important as Blue Beetle. The studios must involve and market to our community. Warner Bros., the studio releasing this film, hasn’t always had a stellar track record with Latino-focused film marketing. It’s time to see a commitment to our community and an  adequate marketing investment if they wish to access our significant consumer buying power.”

According to the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Latinos who comprise 19% of the population, accounted for 29% of movie tickets sold in 2020, and this trend continues to grow. Latin Heat Media and HCSB’s Arts and Entertainment Committee are dedicated to promoting awareness of projects with Latino participation, aiming to increase the visibility of the Latino representation in the entertainment industry.

The community screening of Blue Beetle promises to be an unforgettable event, celebrating diversity and unity, and inclusivity, and hopefully, a catalyst for more audience to go see it on their own.

The post FREE Community Screening in Support of ‘Blue Beetle’ Starring Xolo Mariduña first appeared on .

Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated actress Adriana Barraza, recently celebrated an acting career that spans more than 50 years and is getting ready for the premiere of several highly anticipated films coming out in the coming months. 

Adriana will be starring in the feature film Monica Nationwide in the US, premiering Friday, May 12th directed by award-winning Italian writer/director Andrea Pallaoro.

The film made its world premiere with rave reviews at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in 2022 receiving an 11-minute standing ovation. It also stars Trace Lysette (Transparent), and Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson (Sharp Objects).

“More than just exploring the complexities of what it is to be a transgender woman, the film leads us to delve into the possibility that we are all capable of forgiving, being forgiven, and forgiving ourselves. It was a true honor and privilege to have been invited to play Leticia and have the extraordinary experience of being directed by my dear Andrea Pallaoro,” Barraza commented.

Later this fall on August 18th Barraza will portray the “Nana” (grandmother) to the lead character in the much anticipated DC/Warner film from the popular DC Comics franchise, Blue Beetle. The unlikely story of a Mexican teenager, played by Xolo Mariduena (Cobra Kai/Netflix) who finds an alien beetle that gives him a superpowered armor. The new superhero film will make history for DC Comics as the first film from the franchise to have a stand-alone Latino superhero. The cast is literally a who-is-who of the Latino heavy-weight cast including George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Harvey Guillen, Belissa Escobedo, and Damián Alcázar. The film also stars Oscar winner Susan Sarandon.

In between these two projects, on May 26th Barraza stars in the Mexican feature film, El Último Vagón’ alongside Guillermo Villegas, and an incredible new young cast and is directed by award-winning Mexican director Ernesto Contreras (Cosas Imposibles, Párpados Azules) for Netflix. Barazza masterfully plays Georgina, a proud and loving teacher at a small rural school, dedicated to her students, doing the best she can with the little resources available. “El Último Vagón” Official Trailer

Additionally, Adriana can be seen in the new anticipated Mexican/American short film “El Tesoro” opposite Roberto Sosa (Miss Bala, Cesar Chavez) and Monica Huarte (40 y 20, Daddy Daughter Trip), directed by David Rodriguez Estrada and produced by Edward Enriquez-Cohen and award-winning Mexican director/producer Patricia Riggen. El Tesoro shines a much-needed light on the pain and suffering that all families in Mexico have endured with the disappearance of loved ones. The short film will make its World Premiere at the 22nd Annual Los Angeles Latino Film Festival (LALIFF) on June 3rd and its International Premiere at the 38th Annual Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) with 3 screenings, on June 6th, 7th and 8th.

The post Oscar Nominated Actress Adriana Barraza Celebrates a 50 Year Career With Three New Film Premieres first appeared on .

The story is based on the characters from DC, and it is written by Gareth Dunnet Alcocer and is directed by Angel Manuel Soto.  Beginning with the writer and director, Blue Beetle is truly a Latino led film.

Recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero Blue Beetle.

In addition to Xolo Maridueña, the rest of the cast is a literal who’s who of Latinoa talent, starting off with Oscar nominated Adriana Barraza (Babel, CSI: Miami), and some of the most notable actors in Hollywood: Damían Alcázar (La Ley de Herodes, Narcos), Elpidia Carrillo (Predator, Salvador), Bruna Marquezine (Salve al Rey, La Guerrera) Raoul Max Trujillo (Apocalypto, Zorro Negro) Belissa Escobedo (The Baker and The Beauty) Harvey Guillén (What we do in the Shadows, The Internship), Susan Sarandon (Atlantic City, Thelma and Louise) and George Lopez (Lopez VS Lopez, The Adventures of Sharkboy and LavaGirl).

Blue Beetle will premiere at theaters nationwide on August 18, 2023.

The post Who is Ready for Xolo Maridueña as ‘Blue Beetle’ Coming in 2023? first appeared on .

Horror films are the most underappreciated genre with the Motion Picture Academy. They rarely get nominated or win Oscars. The only true horror flick to win, The Silence of the Lambs in 1992, won Best Picture plus several other coveted categories. Two-thousand-seventeen saw The Shape of Water take the big prize, but Guillermo del Toro’s fish tale isn’t so much a horror movie as it is an amphibian, fantasy, re-telling of the Beauty and the Beast fable. Guillermo del Toro’s creature from the black lagoon is a mistreated critter who oozes pathos, not terror.

Despite being snubbed by the Academy, horror films are often critically acclaimed works of cinema and enormous commercial successes. Look no further than Halloween Kills which is currently killing it at the box office.

So, it is most gratifying to see Blumhouse produce Madres and Bingo Hell, two well-crafted horror films featuring Latino casts, themes and two young, promising Latino directors with distinct and unique approaches to the ever-popular, ticket selling horror movie genre.

THAT ENDLESS PERVADING SENSE OF DREAD

Madres is a classic gothic horror story. But rather than being set in a 19th-century dark, musty castle or spooky old Victorian mansion, director Ryan Zaragoza (All American) skillfully puts together shots that create a pervading sense of impending dread to a migrant farm community in the 1970s.

The story of Madres, written by Marchella Ochoa (Worry Dolls) and Mario Miscione (Dark Web), tells the story of a young Mexican American girl from Los Angeles who moves to a migrant farm community with her Mexican husband. But not long after arriving, she finds herself confronted by terrifying visions.

“This story takes place in the ’70s,” says Zaragoza, “and I am a huge ‘70’s horror movie fan. I especially love the way those filmmakers use the camera and block scenes.” He continues, “I spent a lot of time preparing for this movie analyzing the work of Stanley Kubrick (The Shining) and Steven Spielberg (Jaws).”
The Jaws reference is significant because Madre’s understated but haunting music score by Esqbelle Engman-Brodwik (Bebé) is eerily reminiscent in its effect, forewarning us something bad is going to happen like John Williams memorable score for Jaws.

Madres is also aided by an excellent cast led by a strong performance by Ariana Guerra (Hellstrom), who plays Diana, the young expecting Mexican American mother who is a complete cultural fish out of water in the migrant farm community. Tenoch Huerta (Sin Nombre), plays Beto, Diana’s sympathetic husband. And the always marvelous Elpidia Carrillo (Chateau Vato), is the mysterious curandera, Anita, who knows more than she cares to reveal.

Zaragoza’s careful framing and pacing allow the characters to tell their story with authentic voices. Zaragoza also shuns the use of CGI gimmicks to show the terrifying images Diana sees. Instead, like the old masters he admires, Zaragoza uses blurred images and shadows to impart jolting, shocking lightning flashes of fright.

Madres is frightening but at the same time a very satisfying gothic-horror tale with a surprising coda based on a current, relevant event. The horror movie masters of the ‘70’s could smile and say to Zaragoza, “You’ve learned well, Grasshopper.”

Madres
Director: Ryan Zaragoza
Stars: Ariana Guerra, Tenoch Huerta, Elpidia Carrillo

TAKE A RIDE ON A BIZARRE MERRY-GO-ROUND

Gigi Saul Guerrero (Into the Dark) is a beautiful, vivacious, upbeat Latina actor, director, writer with an outgoing personality and engaging sense of humor. Not exactly the traits you associate with a horror filmmaker, but Guerrero has made good use of those qualities in the weirdly wonderful outlandish Bingo Hell.

“The idea for the story came about,” recalls Guerrero, “when my writing partner and I started speculating what might happen if you took bingo away from a group of senior citizens and closed down their bingo hall?” The result is Bingo Hell, a playful scary-ass meditation on what happens when a mysterious stranger comes to town and turns an old-fashioned, small-town bingo hall into a high-stakes, life-and-death bingo casino.

“I love horror films like Goonies, Gremlins and Needful Things,” says Guerrero with a smile, “Those films were scary with quirky characters and had an underlying sense of playfulness. I also liked Cocoon which had senior citizens as the lead characters.” Those cinematic influences are on a full Gigi-style display in Bingo Hell.

When casting the lead role of Lupita for Bingo Hell, Guerrero asked herself, “Who can I get to play an authentic Mexican chingona?” Obviously, veteran Mexican superstar, Adriana Barraza (Rambo: Last Blood). ¿Quién más? As Lupita, Barraza chews up the scenery with spicy hot relish as the Mother Hen, abuela of her neighborhood and the self-appointed guardian angel of the sacred bingo temple. But things start to turn deadly when Mr. Big comes to town and transforms the innocent bingo hall into a glitzy, glittering carnival sideshow of temptation and death.

Guerrero’s camera is always moving and circling her over-the-top characters. Richard Blake (Doom), as the evil, gaunt Mr. Big makes John Carradine look like Mr. Olympia. This guy is so deliciously wicked you could see him spending an evening with Creulla de Vil gleefully pulling the legs and wings off houseflies. It’s a scene Gigi with her off-beat dark sense of humor would shoot as a macabre rom-com. When the hapless winners of Mr. Big’s bingo game meet horrible deaths, Guerrero films them like a grotesque burlesque act. But Guerrero makes all the oddball, Bizarro-world pieces of Bingo Hell work. The climactic shotgun blasting, avenging angel scene with la chingona Adriana Barraza is well worth the price of admission.

Bingo Hell
Director: Gigi Saul Guerrero
Stars: Adriana Barraza, L. Scott Caldwell, Richard Blake

NEW FACES FOR AND OLD GENRE AND MORE

The future of Latino Hollywood is indeed bright with brilliant filmmakers like Zaragoza and Guerrero behind the camera telling their stories through the lens of the Latino experience. The Hispanic culture is a fascinating and diverse one that easily lends itself to all the classic Hollywood movie genres. Kudos to Blumhouse for giving Zaragoza and Guerrero the opportunity to strut their stuff in the horror genre.

Madres and Bingo Hell are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

The post Ryan Zaragoza & Gigi Saul Guerrero:
Two Different Faces of Horror first appeared on .

By Justina Bonilla

Bingo, a new film to be featured in the second half of the popular Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios series Welcome to the Blumhouse, has revealed its entire cast, including Oscar-nominated actress Adriana Barraza as its star.

The Welcome to the Blumhouse film series follows the Blumhouse signature horror-thriller films, with up-and-coming directors who are female and/or of color. The films also feature diverse casts, blending established and emerging acting talents. Part one of Welcome to the Blumhouse included the films Black Box, The Lie, Evil Eye, and Nocturne. Both Black Box and Nocturne featured the talent of Latina cinematographers Hilda Mercado (Black Box) and Carmen Cabana (Nocturne).

Bingo is directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero and co-written by Saul Guerrero, Shane McKenzie, and Perry Blackshear. It’s one of the four films premiering later this year, alongside The Manor, Black as Night, and Madres. Bingo is the latest of Saul Guerrero’s award-winning directorial resume with Blumhouse Television. Her previous Blumhouse collaborations include the television series Hulu’s Into the Dark: Culture Shock and The Purge series episode“Hail Mary”.

Bingo follows a group of elderly women led by Lupita (Barraza), as they fight against gentrification in their beloved Oak Springs barrio. However, as they fight to save their beloved bingo hall, it’s about to be sold to a presence whose influence exceeds money.   

Lupita is described as, a strong and stubborn “chingona” (badass) who grew up in the barrio of Oak Springs, a neighborhood formerly full of crime and dangerous characters. Lupita has dedicated her life to lifting up the neighborhood and creating a community the residents could be proud to call home.

Barraza is an established actress with an impressive international career of over 40 years in film, television and theatres. Establishing herself in Mexico, she gained international regard acting in the 1999 critically acclaimed, and Oscar-nominated film Amores Perros, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. In 2006, Barraza re-teamed with Iñárritu, acting in a supporting role in Babel, gaining an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Most recently, Barraza has appeared in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, and We Can Be Heroes.

Another established actress of television, film, and theatres to be featured in a leading role, is Tony award-winning actress L. Scott Caldwell. Caldwell is the “witty, loyal, and though grandmother” Dolores and Lupita’s best friend.

The cast of Bingo will also feature Joshua Caleb Johnson (The Good Lord Bird), Bertila Damas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), David Jensen (Queen Sugar), Clayton Landey (Sully), Kelly Murtagh (The Purge series), Grover Coulson (Friday Nights Lights), Jonathan Medina (The Purge series), and Richard Brake (Games of Thrones).

Bingo just finished its filming in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The post Full Cast Announced for Blumhouse Television Film ‘Bingo’ first appeared on .

Jennifer Lopez announced on her Instagram that she has created Sunset Glow, her personal beauty line. What we know so far is that Lopez is the latest celebrity to jump into the beauty and skin-care game. And, her timing is perfect.

Lopez joins Selena Gomez with her Rare Beauty, Lady Gaga has Haus Laboratories, and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty makeup and skin-care company is also all the rave.

Lopez announced her new beauty venture on August 24th — what we know is that it’s called JLo Beauty and just broke the news on Instagram. Her Instagram post captioned “Sunset glow… #JLoBeauty coming soon.

Showtime Cancels: “Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels” After One Season

The industry trade, Variety, is the first to confirm that Showtime’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels will not get a second season of its drama TV series. And, what a shame it is that this promising series gets cut short before it gave its viewing audience an opportunity to really settle into a tale that opened in the 1930 Los Angeles era. This time in Angeleno history was infused deeply with social and political tension. Sound familiar to what’s going on in 2020?

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels cast stars Nathan Lane, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Zovatto, Kerry Bishé, Rory Kinnear, Adriana Barraza, Michael Gladis, Jessica Garza and Johnathan Nieves. Nieves also starred in this sequel from the original series created by John Logan, the series creator, writer and executive producer. Michael Aguilar is also an executive producer, along with the original series’ EPs Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris.

“Showtime has decided not to move forward with another season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” the network said in a statement Friday. “We would like to thank executive producers John Logan, Michael Aguilar and the entire cast and crew for their outstanding work on this project.”

The sequel opened with a grisly murder that shocks the city, Detective Tiago Vega (Zovatto), and his partner Lewish Michener (Lane). The detectives became embroiled in an epic story that reflects the rich history of Los Angeles. Think about it– it’s a time when the building of the city’s first freeways happened and it also captures its deep traditions of Mexican-American Folklore to the dangerous espionage actions of the Third Reich and the rise of radio evangelism. Before long, Tiago Vega and his family are grappling with powerful forces that threaten to tear them apart.

“The Dreadfuls,” Penny Dreadful’s loyal fan base, unfortunately, was not as supportive of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels and any new audience was not enough to carry over for a season two.

The post LatinHeat Hollywood Spotlight: Week of Aug. 19 – 26th first appeared on .

by Roberto Leal

“The more things change, the more they stay the same” —Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

When it comes to amassing a team of talented, resumé rich, creative people to put together a series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, which premieres on Showtime, Sunday, April 26, is loaded for bear!

It begins with Academy Award nominee writer and creator of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator), to Oscar winning producer / director, Sam Mendes (1917, American Beauty), who executive produced the original Showtimes series. 

The cast is stellar with engaging performances that include Natalie Dromer playing all the female evil incarnations (Magda, Alex, Elsa and Rio); Daniel Zovatto (The TV Shows Here and From Dusk Til Dawn) as the first Chicano detective in the LAPD; Kerry Bishe as the saintly Molly.  Nathan Lane, in a dramatic turn as Lewis Michener, Daniel Vega’s detective partner. Then there is Amy Madigan as Molly’s mother whose actions belie the religious woman she purports to be.  The rest of the Vega family is played by Adam Rodriguez (NCIS: Miami, Magic Mike), Johnathan Nieves (Shameless) and Jessica Garza (The Purge).

Logan’s sweeping, kaleidoscopic, multi-layered saga is set in 1938, Depression Era, pre-world War II, Los Angeles. It is a story with many fascinating moving parts; murder, racial discrimination, crooked cops and politicians, religious charlatans, Nazis, cultural upheaval in the Chicano community, horror, myth, and Mexican folklore, all culminating in a penultimate, apocalyptic battle between Good and Evil. Logan’s story is a cautionary tale that eerily and prophetically holds up a critical mirror, to present-day America, to remind us: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The breadth and depth of Penny Dreadful: City of angels, is truly breath-taking.

However, within all those moving parts, there is one significant, central gear that makes the narrative machinery move along smoothly: Maria Vega, the strong-willed, loving mother of the Vega family. And fortunately, Logan cast the perfect Latina actress to play this critical, pivotal role, Adriana Barraza. Mexican-born actress, Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner, director, and acting coach.

Barraza grew up in Toluca watching old Mexican and North American movies, in black and white, on Mexican network TV. Young Adriana loved watching such diverse movie stars as German Valdez Tin Tan, Pedro Infante, Carmen Montejo, Marga Lopez, as well as Esther Williams and Fred Astaire.

“I loved the dramas with Bette Davis,” she recalls fondly. “I think I’ve seen All About Eve more than 20 times.” What she admired most about those stars and stories, was they made her laugh, cry and always to dream.

In Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Adriana plays family matriarch, Maria Vega. She modeled Maria Vega after her own grandmothers.  “I modeled Maria after my two grandmothers who were the attentive parental role models in my life,” she began.

“My fraternal grandmother, Doña Virginia Marin de Barraza, was a very traditional, old-fashioned woman, very Catholic, and always wore black.”

“On the other hand,”, she continued, “My maternal grandmother, Doña Angela Flores de Gonzalez was an eccentric woman with a beautiful house full of light, classical music, birds in the garden, extravagant pets, like herons and large turtles.”

Logan played a huge part in getting the talented Mexican actress involved in this epic project. She had been a fan of the original Penny Dreadful series and an admirer of John Logan’s work.

“I received an invitation, from John Logan, to read the first episode of the new series. I was thrilled,” she recalls gleefully. “John’s uncanny knowledge of Mexican culture—such as Maria’s nahual, the coyote, and the other positive examples of what la Santa Muerte means—that is what hooked me on the project.”

Logan expressed to Barraza his desire and passion to bring to a wide audience the rich, complex, often turbulent and painful history of Mexican Americans in a city that once had a much longer poetic Spanish name, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río Porciúncula — before it became simply, Los Angeles.

It was Logan’s portrayal of Mexican Americans as not “the other”, but as people with normal every day hopes and dreams like everyone else, that ultimately drew Adriana to the role of Maria Vega. 

“I knew that I understood Maria Vega as a Mexican and as a fighting mother who loves her children and is capable of doing anything for them. Plus, the supernatural world that is familiar to me as I previously mentioned. I am forever grateful to John Logan for thinking of me for the role of my beloved Maria!” And Logan has done a masterful job of capturing the essence, the sights and sounds and what has been documented to be the reality of the Mexican American / Chicano experience of that time.

As with all great stories, and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels is all that and a bag of spicy chicharrones, there is always an overarching truth. Here it’s Logan’s tribute to the struggle and triumph of humanity of the Vega Family and by extension, the greater Chicano community.  The powerful mythical, supernatural presence of Coatlicue, the Aztec Earth Mother Goddess of Life, is embodied in the heart and soul of the family matriarch, Maria Vega.

It has been reported that Barazza has a part in the upcoming Robert Rodriguez superhero film We Can Be Heroes, due to appear on Netflix soon. Did Robert cast her as the very first mature, Latina superhero?

“No,” she came back quickly, “I play Grandma Moreno. I teach the superheroes.”

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels premieres on the Showtime Networks , Sunday, April 26, 10/9c.

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Starring J.M. Longoria, Omar Leyva, and Academy Award Nominee Adriana Barraza

The highly anticipated short film Bibi, starring J.M. Longoria (Miracles from Heaven), Omar Leyva (Icebox/HBO) and Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza (Babel) will make its world premiere on July 20th at the 23rd Annual LA Shorts International Film Festival.

The heartfelt Bibi was written by Victor M. Dueñas and J.M. Longoria, and executive produced by the Academy Award-winning civil rights organization, Southern Poverty Law Center Breaks Diversity Barriers in Hollywood, and the film is primarily a Latino cast.

Bibi marks the directorial debut of Dueñas who co-wrote and co-produced the film alongside the film’s lead actor, Longoria. The short film is also produced by Edward Enriquez-Cohen (50 Pills) and Vanessa Perez (Paraíso), and executive produced by Academy Award-winning civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center, civil rights activist Monica Ramirez (Justice for Migrant Women) and Edward Enriquez-Cohen.

Bibi is inspired by the true story between lead actor/co-writer Longoria and his father. As a child, Longoria. had trouble expressing himself. So his dad would say, “If you can’t speak it, write it.” As a result, they began communicating via letters for many years. They discussed things that were difficult to talk about as a father and son such as puberty, school shootings, and sexual orientation. And it became their own little tradition.

Bibi’s plot centers around a young man who begrudgingly returns to his small Texas hometown to handle the final arrangements for his estranged father’s passing. Just when he’s lost all hope of finding closure, he finds one last letter from his dad. 

“Using J.M.’s life as inspiration, this script was developed to highlight the importance of fathers communicating with their sons. Having said that, this story can apply to mothers, daughters, and all other loved ones,” stated Dueñas, the film’s director. “Bibi is a movie of acceptance, hope, and forgiveness. And while this film begins with the news of death and loss, it’s the belief in the rebirth that I want audiences to leave with.”

Bibi’s award-winning cast and crew is 90% Latinx and/or LGBTQ and includes director of photography Carmen Cabana (Vida), composer David Murillo R. (Between Land and Sea), editor David Rodríguez Estrada (The 33, Miracles From Heaven), casting director Blanca Valdez (East Los High), costume designer Jen Martin (Gentefied), and production designer Luie P. Garcia (Cesar Chavez). Southern Poverty Law Center has also signed on to be the exclusive educational distributor for Bibi by making it the centerpiece for their Teaching Tolerance program in 2020. As part of the program, the short film will be used as a teaching tool and made available to over 500,000 educators throughout the US.

“From the second I read the script, I knew I had to be a part of this beautiful project. It is such an important story that so many of us have lived,” said Oscar-nominee Adriana Barraza. “As an actor and mother, I knew that it had to be shared to help start a much-needed conversation within our families and our Latino community.”

LA Shorts International Film Festival ranks among the most prestigious and largest international short film festivals in the world. The festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Now in its 23rd year, LA Shorts is the longest-running short film festival in Los Angeles.

Follow Bibi on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BibiShortFilm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bibishortfilm/

For more info to LA Shorts International Film Festival premiere, CLICK HERE. And, TICKETS

The post “Bibi” Inspiring Short World Premiere, L.A. Shorts Intnl Film Fest first appeared on .

by Luis Reyes

Showtime’s hit supernatural horror series Penny Dreadful, closing its series run after three seasons (2014-2017), will return with a new focus on Depression Era 30’s Los Angeles through the prism of a Mexican-American family in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.

While the new series shifts away from its previous setting, it will have the involvement of series creator/ writer/ producer John Logan and executive producer/writer John Aguilar who has written for Showtime’s Kidding and I’m Dying up Here.

Daniel Zovatto, of Costa Rican ancestry will star as Detective Tiago Vega, the LAPD’s first Mexican-American detective. Tago’s reality will be rife with racism, childhood trauma and faith issues that challenge the inexplicable supernatural occurrences in the storylines.

Zovatto’s credits include the horror features Don’t Breathe and It Follows and the Greta Gerwig comedy Lady Bird. His television credits include HBO’s Here and Now and AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead.

Joining Zovatto will be Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Adriana Barraza, who will play Maria Vega, the powerful matriarch of the Vega family who will go to any length to protect her children from the dangerous world of 1938 social politics as well as from the chilling supernatural forces invading their lives. Barraza won a Best Supporting Actress nomination in 2006 for her role in Alejandro Inarritu’s Babel. She was most recently seen in FX’s The Strain. Upcoming for the Mexican actress are roles in the feature films Rambo 5 and Dora the Explorer.

Jessica Garza will play Josefina, the youngest of the Vega family (Tiago’s daughter). She plays the quiet and overlooked sister that possesses a powerful spirit waiting to be unleashed. Garza was recently seen on USA Networks The Purge and History channels Six. She has also guest stared on Modern Family and NCIS.  Jonathan Nieves plays Mateo Vega, Tiago’s younger brother, who looks up to his older sibling and carries his strength of character but is vulnerable to people and events around him. Nieves’ credits include New Amsterdam, Better Call Saul and Chicago Fire.
Also in the cast are Nathan Lane (Birdcage) and Natalie Dormer(Game of Thrones, The Tudors).

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