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Films shown on September 22,
2011 at The Nuyorican Poets Cafe:
I. “THE INTERVIEW” (6min 45sec) by Reinaldo M. Green - When Ty Bedford meets Wallace Landry, he is in for a treat when
the interview takes one wrong turn after another. The film juxtaposes innocence and ignorance and the prejudices that underlie
both. II. “YITZI” (11min 26sec) by Joe Eckardt - Narcissistic Latino actor Manny Ramirez finally gets his big break audition, and he
couldn't be happier. But the arrival of a baby on his doorstep threatens to destroy his destiny of becoming a big soap star.
Follow Manny as he tries to enlist the help of his unique family and friends in hopes of attaining his ultimate goal. III. “ZOLA’S DAY” (10min 39sec) by Doug Williams - follows a 75 year-old woman getting ready on her Wedding Day. IV. “NIGHTLIFE” (13min) by Shandor Garrison - Hector, a troubled teen from the Harlem projects, forms a surprising
bond with Lily, a lonely girl who feels trapped in the restrictions of her Upper East Side life. V. “WEST SIDE GIRL” (14min 54sec) by Andrew Serban - Patty Reilly - a devout Catholic, working class Irish, female punk
- has lived in the rapidly gentrifying NYC neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen all her life. When she's evicted in the middle of
winter she solicits the help of a couple of neighborhood friends to exact violent revenge. VI . “44” (19min 13sec) by Mikal Din - Sinclair, sent on a journey by his ‘baby mama’ to purchase milk for the baby,
encounters various obstacles which put his life in danger. Whenever certain numbers appear (44) someone’s demise is
near. In a ‘Ground-hog day’ fashion, every four minutes the story resets itself. That being the case, Sinclair
must not only decide if what just occurred was real, but after seeing the outcome he has to figure out another course of action
to incur different results. The film blurs the line between cinematic-reality and fantasy-like violence. What started as an
opportunity to save a life has transformed into a recurring nightmare. VII. MY BACKYARD WAS A MOUNTAIN (24min) by Adam Schlachter - Ten-year-old Adan lives a carefree life in the rural town of Palmarejo,
Puerto Rico, in the late 1950's, surrounded by his friends, his caring mother, Lilliam, and his beloved pet goat, Chivo. His
father, Pablo, returns home from New York City after a brief absence, bringing good news that he has found employment there
and announcing he will be moving the family to the distant city immediately. Although Adan initially thinks the trip will
be fun and exciting, he discovers that he cannot take Chivo along with him. With the help of his childhood friend, Denise,
Adan embarks on a quest to find a new home for his goat.... A compelling, personal story with emotional resonance for anyone
with a loving heart. FILMMAKER BIOS: I. REINALDO M. GREEN - Before diving headfirst into film production, Reinaldo Marcus Green (Rei) spent the last 10
years as an educator in one of NJ’s most prominent school districts and then as a corporate director at one of Wall
Street’s most iconic companies of the 21st century, AIG. Rei has garnered a reputation for successfully navigating,
orchestrating and driving high profile projects across various levels throughout the organization. He has a knack for building
relationships, creating, designing and driving impactful programs successfully through to fruition. Over the years, Rei has
not lost touch with the outside world as corporate life has only helped sharpen his business acumen, dexterity and community
networks. In his hours away from his day job, Rei intimately worked on several film projects with his brother, Director Rashaad
Ernesto Green, while Rashaad attended NYU’s Tisch Graduate Film Program. Rei has recently produced two short films
entitled, “The Interview” and “One Way Ticket” which will hit the festivals this spring. Rei has recently
been accepted into NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where he will pursue his MFA in Producing and begin taking classes
this fall. II. JOE ECKARDT
(director) & DAVID TIANGA (writer) - Joe
has spent over 17 years successfully navigating the challenging waters of the movie industry. Over this time he honed his
craft by learning from some of the best in the business. The list of Hollywood elite that he has worked with over the years
reads like a who’s who of Hollywood, they include, but are not limited to Oscar winners Nicholas Cage & Cuba Gooding
Jr., Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Director Robert Rodriquez and Hollywood heavyweight Producer
and Emmy winner Jerry Bruckheimer. He first created LA based The Film Emporium. It was here that he completed the Award Winning
critically acclaimed documentary Champion and comedy High Hopes. Then in 2008 he set his sights on newly created Rock On!
Films. It is here that he is busy developing a full slate of films which currently star Peter Fonda, Talia Shire, Hulk Hogan,
Jason Mewes & Lacey Chabret to name a few. In 2010 ROF took another huge leap forward when Joe Directed and Produced family
super hero film Pizza Man, starring Frankie Muniz. With a budget of $3 Million Dollars, Pizza Man exemplifies Rock On! Films'
commitment to growth and success. Alexis Suarez (Lead Actor/Producer) - Born and raised in New York
City, this Latino actor of Dominican descent has shown his versatility on stage, the independent screen, and television. Most
recent credits, include appearances on "Onion Sports Dome" (Comedy Central), "Royal Pains" (USA), "Blue
Bloods" (CBS), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (USA), "Second District"(made for cable television
pilot) and "Yitzy" (recent winner, Best Latino Short, at the Downtown Shorts Film Festival, NYC. III. DOUG WILLIAMS - N/A IV. SHANDOR
GARRISON - Shandor Garrison is
the writer/director of 11 short films and the web series "Brooklyn is for Lovers." His stories are often about the
forging of connections, whether it is the plight of youth adrift without caretakers, or the serio-comic state of sexual affairs.
His films have won awards at film festivals around the world and been broadcast on PBS and IFC. He is currently pursuing his
masters degree in filmmaking at NYU. V. ANDREW SERBAN - Born and raised in New York City, Andrew Serban graduated Columbia College
/ Columbia University with a BA in English and studied film directing at the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory in
Los Angeles. Besides directing several student films at AFI, he has written and directed a number of independent shorts, including
L.A. DREAMS, PATTY REILLY WAS HERE and WEST SIDE GIRL. His most recent short, WEST SIDE GIRL, premiered at the Anthology Film
Archives (as a part of the NewFilmmakers Film Series), and was an official selection at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Foundation
Short Film Showcase, the Hoboken International Film Festival and the New York Hell's Kitchen Film Festival. He is also a professional
freelance photographer who has worked on assignment for such clients as L'Oreal USA (Redken), The New York Times, The Chicago
Tribune, Getty Images, Le Point and Figaro; his work has also appeared in TIME, LIFE (online), The Washington Post, BusinessWeek,
The International Herald Tribune and Der Spiegel, among others. He currently resides in Washington Heights, NYC. VI. MIKAL
DIN - Mikal Din is currently a
freelance director, working and residing in NYC. He completed his undergraduate degree in Film and Television production from
Boston University. Subsequent to college graduation he moved to New York City to secure an internship in Story Development
dept. at Forty Acres & A Mule Filmworks in Brooklyn. After Forty Acres, Mikal began to work behind the scenes for various
indie film and TV shoots, namely A&E , CBS (Rachel Ray Show), ABC (News Productions). Working on set and in Post Production
(editor) gave Mikal the confidence , and experience to start his own production company, BlackbirdPictures and pursue his
filmmaking endeavors. VII. ADAM SCHLACHTER - Born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and raised in Miami, Florida, Adam Schlachter
graduated with an M.F.A. in Film Directing from the American Film Institute, completed a Professional Advanced Certificate
in Screenwriting from the University of California, Los Angeles, and earned a B.F.A. in Film Production from Florida State
University. His AFI thesis, "My Backyard Was A Mountain", qualified for the Academy Awards, was the recipient of
the Imagen Award, won prestigious grants from Kodak and Panavision, and screened at over one hundred and fifty international
film festivals. A finalist in Esquire Magazine for his short adaptation, "Father Figure", Adam completed his debut
feature, "The 7", two shorts, "The Stain On The Sidewalk" and "The Perfect Shot", and two promos,
"We Are All Latino" and "Sue Wong: Beauty, Magic, Transformation". He was selected for the CBS Directing
Initiative, the NBC-Universal Showcase, the Writers Guild of America Independent Writers Caucus, the McNamara Arts Project
Grant, the Caucus Foundation Grant, and the Diversity Scholarship from the Multicultural Motion Picture Association. His new
feature film is "Hollywood Whores". |
