The life of legendary Hollywood actor and internationally renowned artist Pepe Serna is revealed in Pepe Serna: Life Is Art, a one-hour documentary film directed by Luis Reyes will be available for streaming on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and Vudu on February 21, 2024. Told by Serna himself, the documentary follows his lengthy acting career and artistic life and provides viewers with a rare opportunity to discover previously unseen and unknown sides of the actor’s journey. 

With over 100 film and television credits, Serna is most recognized for his iconic role opposite Al Pacino in the classic film Scarface as Ángel Fernández, whose grisly demise is one of the most memorable in cinema history. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1944, Serna built a career from the ground up and appeared in films such as Car Wash with Richard Pryor, Postcards from the Edge with Meryl Streep, The Jerk with Steve Martin, and Academy Award-winning director Alexander Payne’s Downsizing with Matt Damon. 

Eva Longoria and Edward James Olmos, both longtime friends of Serna, provide personal insight and perspective on his versatility and longevity as an actor and artist alongside Cheech Marin, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Luis Valdez and many others.

Throughout his journey, he has inspired countless Latino artists to follow in his footsteps by delivering powerful performances for filmmakers such as Brian De Palma, Clint Eastwood, John Schlesinger, Dalton Trumbo, Roger Corman, Henry Hathaway, William Friedkin and Dick Donner. 

Serna’s career is a testament to how far Latinos have come in Hollywood. He has indisputably claimed a reputable place in one of the world’s most competitive industries for his story-telling abilities and unique drive to empower not just Latinos but also other underserved communities. 

His recent memoir “Life is Art” recounts his motivational story from humble beginnings and offers life-changing lessons to overcoming adversity. “Life is Art” is available now for purchase here.

In addition to Hollywood success, Pepe is a visual artist whose paintings have been exhibited in galleries around the world. He also conducts motivational and improvisational workshops in high schools nationwide.

The documentary received awards in 2022 including Best Documentary at the Official Latino Film and Arts Festival, and the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, Audience Award at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, and Festival Prize at the South Texas International Film Festival.

Most recently, Serna can be seen in Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut Flamin’ Hot and on Amazon’s TV series With Love.

For additional information on Pepe Serna: Life Is Art, please visit: 

Website: https://www.pepeserna.net

Facebook: @https://www.facebook.com/pepesernanews/

Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/pepefied11/

Purchase the book today Here

Cast: Luis Valdez (Playwright, director Zoot Suit, La Bamba), Edward James Olmos (Oscar-nominated actor & director), Eva Longoria (actor, producer & director), Gloria Calderón Kellet (showrunner on “One Day at a Time,” “With Love”), David Ansen (former Newsweek film critic), Cheech Marin (of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong, actor & art collector) and Robert Beltran (actor, Cmdr. Chakotay in Star Trek: Voyager TV series)

Produced By: Kayvon Derak Shanian, David Méndez and Isaac Artenstein 

Executive Produced by: David Damian Figueroa 

Directed By: Luis Reyes

Run Time: 1 hour and 2 minutes

Rating: Not rated

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By Bel Hernandez Castillo

David Damian Figueroa is an artist, storyteller, and activist at heart.  He is also a producer and an author whose second book “El Oz”, a new children’s book loosely based on “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is top on the Fiction Bestseller list at publisher Lulu.com.

Four years ago David Damian moved from Los Angeles to La Quinta in the Coachella Valley, a two-hour drive East of L.A.  Since then he has written two books, produced a TV talk show pilot, three independent films, poetry, and digital art exhibited in museums. He is currently also working on developing two reality television shows.  The move definitely suited him.

We wonder how he finds the time to do all this when he is also working full-time as the Director of Development with the non-profit organization Farmworker Justice whose work helps to improve farmworker’s living and working conditions.

His mother’s untimely early death left a void in his heart, a need to live more fully.  “When she passed away it left this longing in me,” Figueroa explained.  “Life is to be enjoyed, life is to be experienced. Whatever amount of time we have we need to say, ‘I can do this. I can be that…why can’t I have that?’”

Loosely based on “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum, “El Oz” tells the story of a young girl from El Pueblito de Los Milagros, Dolores, and her Chihuahua, Pepito.  They live on a ranchito with Tia Tonia and Tios Ozvaldo, Wilfredo, Pablo, and Leonardo. Dolores’ simple life is filled with dancing, chores of feeding the farm animals, laundry, and cooking meals for the family. Her Tia and Tios struggle to make ends meet and pay the rent to Señora Vicenta the landlady.  When a sudden rainstorm hits Dolores and Pepito take cover falling asleep under a large tree. When they awake, they find themselves in a strange land. A place where flowers with faces sing and her dog, Pepito, can now speak. 

El Oz is Figueroa’s personal tribute to one of his heroes, civil rights activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, Dolores Huerta, as well as his farmworker family back in Yuma, Arizona.  “They have taught me the value of hard work and never giving up on one’s dreams.”

In the book, a hummingbird guides Dolores (named after his hero Huerta) to the guardian Necaxa, who gives her a red heart-shaped necklace for protection and instructs Dolores to follow her own heart, down a Talavera-tiled path to Ozlandia to meet El Oz. Only he can help her to return home. Along the way, Dolores and Pepito meet Necaxa, Los Chiquitos, El Empresario, and befriend Welo, Hierro, and El Leon. They help protect Dolores from the evil and wicked La Chaquetza and Los Malalas.

David Damian is executive producer of  “Pepe Serna Life is Art,” a documentary about the amazing life and career of veteran actor Pepe Serna. The film was an official selection of The Palm Springs Film Festival. David Damian also produced Abuelo, a short film starring Serna which was accepted into the 2022 Cannes Film Festival’s Market Section. He is also an executive producer on Food Chains, a documentary about the plight of U.S. farmworkers that premiered at Berlinale – The Berlin International Film Festival.

David was recently interviewed on Latin Heat’s Hollywood Talks by Bel Hernandez.

El Oz is available at all retailers including lulu.com, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Amazon, Google Books and Apple Books

Product Details:
ISBN-13: 9781678011451
Publisher: Lulu.com
Publication Date: 02/22/2022
Pages: 118
Dimensions: 6 X 9

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