| 7p.m. |
Alamo Federal Credit Union VIP Reception
at the Cine Lounge |
| 8p.m. |
Don't Let Me Drown (Buy tickets!)
Dir. Cruz Angeles, 105 min., USA, 2008
Premio Mesquite Aware Winner: Best Feature Film |
| |
At the center of Cruz Angeles’s compelling first feature are Lalo
(E.J. Bonilla) and Stefanie (Gleendilys Inoa), two high-school kids
living in Brooklyn. Lalo comes from a Mexican immigrant family
that struggles financially. His father (Damian Alcázar), formerly
a janitor at the World Trade Center, now works at Ground Zero
cleaning up debris while his mother (Yareli Arizmendi) tries to
make ends meet. Stefanie’s family is Dominican and they moved
from Manhattan to Brooklyn after her sister was killed in the
attacks. While her mother (Gina Torres) tries to hold the family
together, her father (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) is overwhelmed
by the loss and cannot control his anger. In the midst of their
family turmoil and exactly one month after the WTC attacks, Lalo
and Stefanie meet at a birthday party, and although they start off
on the wrong foot, the ice melts, and their budding friendship
becomes a clandestine romance. Don’t Let Me Drown features an
elegantly poignant story, layered characters and standout performances.
The textures of the city and the lives of the families are
shaded with a wistful sense of struggle but the heart of the film is
a refreshing and honest love story.
Director Cruz Angeles and co-writer Maria Topete will be in attendance
for a post-screening Q&A session. |
| 10p.m. |
S.A. Film Industry Afterparty
co-presented by San Antonio Film
Commission |
