This short film will screen with other short films in Block 7 | East to West
Saturday, December 10th at 4pm
Palm Springs Art Museum. Palm Springs, California.
Buy Tickets Here
Starring Blanca Araceli from “Coco” (Disney / Pixar), Rafael Cobos Delgado (“Sin Frontera”), and Carolina Vargas (“Corazon Rebelde”).
An ignored chapter in U.S. history:
In 1915, Jovita, a reporter, writer, and activist for women and Mexican-American civil rights, interviews a mother whose son has gone missing while at the hands of racist Rangers and vigilantes who have been targeting the Texas-Mexican community in the Lower Rio Grande Valley during a time known as “La Matanza” (The Massacre).
Iz Gutierrez is a Mexican-American award-winning director and screenwriter who was born in Mexico but grew up in Los Angeles.
He is the recipient of both the Illustrious Award for Best Film Screenplay at the Mexican-American Film & TV Festival, and the Panavision Filmmaker Grant. Iz’s films have screened at countless festivals including Academy qualifying LA Shorts and Hollyshorts, as well as Chicago Latino Film Festival, Napa Valley Film Festival, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival, and numerous others where he won jury and audience awards. His films have also screened at the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, ShortsTV channel, and Sony Pictures (MPSE).
Israel commits to provocative storytelling by tackling social issues including powerful characters Iz believes should not be bound by stereotypes or exploitative narratives which only hurt Latinos by perpetuating overused clichés. Iz’s devotion to proper representation also transcends to all of his films about diverse stories and characters of all backgrounds no matter the genre or topic.
By combining his influences from cinema, literature, comic books, and life experience as an immigrant, Iz’s work consistently showcases his unique narrative voice and visual prowess.
Iz Gutierrez is developing both feature films and episodic projects. He resides in Los Angeles, California.
Thank you for considering my short film. I am very excited to showcase my project, particularly because it is step-one in my effort to make this into a full-length feature film. I am hoping the short film will pave the way by introducing the characters and world all based on real events in United States history. Events where Latinos, LatinX, and Mexican-Americans were at the forefront but were also ripped out of history books. This is my way to use film to educate the world about my heritage as a Mexican-American living in the United States and the impact my people made on building this country.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. Thanks again!
All the best,
Iz Gutierrez
writer, director, producer
www.izgutierrez.com
