A HollyHood Filmmaking Reel
Inspiring - Moment In Time with Adel Morales
Adel L Morales at the NHFAs 12th Annual Gala
ADEL L. MORALES
Adel L. Morales is a former high school English teacher-by-day and a filmmaker-by-night, who quit his seventeen-year-career to pursue his passion for filmmaking. He began his studies at the NYU Grad School Film Program in the Fall of 2012. Bronx born and bred, Adel received his B.A. in English Literature from Pace University and his M.A. in English from Lehman College/CUNY.
After working on several student films as an actor, he caught the filmmaking bug and, in June of 2004, co-founded HollyHood Productions, Inc. By 2008, HollyHood produced six short films, a sketch comedy show, and a 6-episode web series. For the next two years, Adel served as the President of the N.Y. Chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). In 2011, he appeared in the critically-acclaimed Sundance feature film, "Gun Hill Road," and was also an assistant to the director.
During his six years at NYU, Adel produced two features (he wrote and directed one) and twenty-two short films (he wrote and directed seven). Adel graduated with his M.F.A. in Film Production from the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts in May of 2018. His first feature film, "Release," premiered at The Urbanworld Film Festival in 2019, and was distributed for three years on ALLBLK TV. Additionally, one of Adel's recent screenplays, "Going to Meet the Devil," was placed on NYU's 2022 Purple List. Currently, he is in post-production for his 2nd feature film, “Born A Stray,” for which he received the 2022 NYU Spike Lee Fellowship Grant in the amount of $50,000.
JULIO ANTONIO TORO
Julio was born and raised in the Bronx, where he combined his talents in writing and drawing from very early on, underscoring what would become his obsession with the art of storytelling. He attended the School of Visual Arts as a student in the Illustration/Cartooning Program, and it is there that he honed his knack for visualization & compositional design.
Julio has directed three of HollyHood's short films ("The Reckoning," "Repentance," & "Trouble Child"). He is a gifted and accomplished writer, having written three feature screenplays. "The Phenom" was the recipient of a 2007 BRIO Award (Bronx Recognizes It's Own) in screenwriting. Currently, Julio has worked as a script consultant on "La Santera" & "Release" two of HollyHood's upcoming projects.
FRANKIE VILLANUEVA
Frankie Villanueva is a Brooklyn born, Bronx raised self-taught artist who credits his rough upbringing in the gritty environments of New York City’s more aggressive neighborhoods for his many talents. Frankie has been honing and developing his skills since the young age of nine, when he first developed a love of cartooning. Sculpting, sketching, painting, and airbrushing came next.
One day in early 2003, Frankie was approached by his child-hood friends, Adel and Julio, to form "HollyHood Productions, Inc." HollyHood began with a half-hour sketch comedy public access cable show. Frankie has worked as an actor, gaffer, and key grip, often on the same project. Always searching for a new way to express himself artistically, Frankie took on the role of Production Designer on “Repentance”, the latest release by HollyHood. As expected, Frankie’s design skills proved to be incredible. He is eager to continue to learn and expand his growth as an artist.
GISELL CABRERA
Gisell Cabrera, born in Manhattan and raised in The Bronx,
co-founded a theater group, known as The Blockheads in 2014.
A year later, Gisell began her mentorship with HollyHood Productions, an independent film production company. There, her responsibilities grew, until she became a lead producer. Currently, she also works as a producer for Good Company Pictures, an award-winning creative studio positioned at the intersection of music, culture, and advertising.