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Hecho En Tejas Competition

Cine Las Americas presents “Hecho en Tejas,” a series of films and videos shot and/or produced in Texas, to showcase the wide variety of work being produced in the state by filmmakers with varied backgrounds. The films are eligible for a Jury Award and Audience Award. Cine Las Americas is pleased to partner with the Texas Film Commission (TFC) and the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) to present the Best “Hecho en Tejas” film.

June 12 at 1:30pm, AFS Cinema
Filmmaker Q&A to follow the screening

 

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Listed in alphabetical order

 

Adam 

A film by Hope Martinez

United States, 2021
Short, Drama
15 min, Color
English, No subtitles

Austin Premiere

ADAM is a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl, Elizabeth, and her best friend, Adam her dog. Elizabeth is often by herself because her single-parent mother is usually away on business trips. Elizabeth craves a genuine connection with someone. Due to bad experiences making friends, Elizabeth turns to the one and only friend she counts on, Adam.

 

 

Brown Eyes, Light Skin, Brown Hair

A film by Sergio Eduardo Muñoz Esquer

United States, 2020
DocuDrama
7 min, Color
English, Spanish; English subtitles

Austin Premiere

A young student from El Paso, Texas brings back memories of her love story on the US-Mexico border.

Sergio Eduardo Muñoz Esquer is a filmmaker born in Delicias, Chihuahua, México. He lives in Austin, TX, where he studies for his MFA in Film Production at the University of Texas. He has worked with different companies in El Paso, Texas, such as DoubleScope Films and PBS. In addition, he worked for Lincoln Square Production and ABC News in New York City. His short films have been selected and awarded at different festivals around the world.

 

 

Down for Dee 

A film by Ximena Alvarez

United States, 2022
Comedy
6 min, Color
English, No subtitles

World Premiere

A young schoolteacher named Ellie Dee tries to navigate her many possible matches in the world of superhero fetish matchmaking.

Ximena Alvarez (she/her) is a director and producer based in Los Angeles, California with experience in both the theatre and film industry. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Ximena is a 2019 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts. She currently works for NETFLIX’s documentary division in Los Angeles, California, and also previously worked for A24 Films’ documentary production division. She is also a film programmer for the El Paso Film Festival.

 

 

Dream Carriers 

A film by Esmeralda Hernandez

United States, 2021
Short, Drama, Family
7 min, Color
English, No subtitles

Austin Premiere

Framed through the migration of monarch butterflies, a college-bound Chicana reflects on the generations of women before her.

 

 

Game Point 

A film by Anthony B Najera

United States, 2022
Sports, Drama
7 min, Color
English, No subtitles

Game Point is all about the love of the game. Although Jonathan is not destined for basketball greatness, we see how a “mamba-mentality” can still be applied to ourselves.

 

 

Lift a Weight 

A film by Maximiliano Benitez

United States, 2022
Documentary
5 min, Color
English, No subtitles

World Premiere

With the ceaseless expansion of gentrification in East Austin, this feature follows a new gym owner through their personal experience with such an abrupt phenomenon.

Chicago native and Austin creative, Max Benitez, is known for constructing emotional work by telling the tales of those who are brave and innovative day in and day out. Freshly recognized and honored through his inclusion in the SXSW Faces of Austin showcase and the Tribeca Film Institute, IF/THEN program.

 

 

Pieces of Life 

A film by Margaret Sanchez

United States, 2021
Drama
11 min, Color
English, No subtitles

World Premiere

A middle-aged Hispanic woman has built a successful life and marriage, with her caring husband and stepdaughter, both being a foundation of stability and unconditional love. Yet she’s never come to terms with a previous life of addictions, reckless behavior, and abandoning a young child.

 

 

Save the Block 

A film by Elias Posada

United States, 2021
Documentary Short, Social Issues
14 min, Color
English, No subtitles

World Premiere

The Valdez family has lived in East Austin for generations. Over decades and with their hard work, they have acquired most of the properties on their street. Now, along with the rest of East Austin, they are in a fight to keep their culture and family together.

 

 

Solamente

A film by Carolina Bayón

United States, 2021
Coming of Age, Drama
11 min, Color
English, Spanish; English subtitles

World Premiere

Carmen repeatedly struggles to cope following a heartbreak. In search of solace, she questions her ability to be transparent with her father — as she has concealed a secret that needs validation from him in order to move forward in her journey towards self-acceptance.

Carolina Bayon (she/her) is a Colombian-American director located in Austin, Texas. She is a recent graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin. A multilingual and multicultural filmmaker born in Bogotá, Colombia, and raised in Miami and Washington, DC, she is dedicated to telling the stories of those who do not often get told.

 

 

Tejano Night 

A film by Alexander Rosales

United States, 2022
Drama, Comedy, Latinx
13 min, Color
English, Spanish; English, Spanish subtitles

Austin Premiere

Tejano Night follows an evening in South Texas with Mijo, a Mexican-American who is visiting his estranged family when his worst nightmare of being seen as “not Latino enough” comes to fruition. The surrounding members laugh at his lackluster pronunciation of ‘tamale’ at the dinner table. Mijo escapes with his cousin to a local bar with the promise of getting a ride back to his hotel afterward. While he’s stuck, Mijo’s awkward run-ins with the other patrons reinforce a similar feeling of being out of place until he begins exchanging waves with a friendly couple on the dance floor.