'Ojos Tristes' named Indiewire's Project of the Week

https://www.indiewire.com/2016/03/ojos-tristes-deals-with-identity-and-industry-issues-in-los-angeles-61927/

‘Ojos Tristes’ Deals With Identity and Industry Issues in Los Angeles

Mar 3, 2016 12:02 pm

Here’s your daily dose of an indie film, web series, TV pilot, what-have-you in progress — at the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.

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Ojos Tristes

Logline: The coming out story of a gay Chicano boy, who lusts over men online while visiting his struggling-actress sister in Los Angeles.

Elevator Pitch: 
Our story follows a closeted Chicano teen, Mateo, as he travels from El Paso, TX to visit his sister, Lupita, a struggling actress in Hollywood. But, what Lupita doesn’t know is that Mateo has plans to meet someone else in Los Angeles; a handsome older stranger who he’s been chatting with on a hook-up app. As the siblings struggle to find common ground, Lupita’s concerns for her little brother intensify when she begins to suspect that Mateo is sleeping with older men.

Production Team:
Our production team is a diverse group of highly motivated professional filmmakers from all walks of life. 
Director/Editor – Andrew Arnold; former Fulbright Research scholar and currently an MFA Directing student at UCLA TFT. 
Producer – Will Robelo; currently Director of International Sales and Festivals for Spotlight Pictures. 
Producer – Dannia Alfonso; currently an Associate Producer at The Elite Daily Show for Verizon’s go90 app. 
Cinematographer – Julia Swain; recently shot and produced a feature documentary highlighting some of the top female cinematographers. Lead Actress – Vivian Rubio; previously a Telemundo actress, she is currently an MFA Acting student at UCLA TFT. 
Lead Actor – Cesar Robelo; coached by Carnegie Mellon Drama graduate Erica Nashan.

About the Film:
The “Ojos Tristes” team wants to create a socially impactful and visually-stunning film that helps put Latino stories in the hands of Latino actors and storytellers. We want to dignify the LGBTQ narrative through cinema and entertainment, and hope our film will reach a vast audience. Following suite with new films like “Straight Outta Compton” and “Tangerine,” our team strives to produce content that pushes diversity to the forefront of film.

Current Status: We are fundraising to pay the costs of production and moving into post-production.

Andrew Arnold