TAFFNY HONORS CITY COLLEGE'S MFA IN FILM
SHORT FILM SHOWCASE
Instituto Cervantes New York: Tuesday, June 20 @ 5:30PM
Followed by a Q&A with directors
THE (OTHER) 700 CLUB
Juan Blanco Garcia | US | Documentary | 2022 | 10 min
On a corner in Brooklyn, a loose community of delivery workers gathers to discuss their beliefs, goals and motivations while waiting for the next job.
Juan Blanco Garcia is a Spanish producer, director and editor based in New York. His short documentary "The (Other) 700 Club" premiered at DOC NYC and, since then, it has been selected at numerous international festivals. In 2022, he graduated from the MFA in Media Arts Production at The City College of New York as a Fulbright scholar. His work focuses on portraying his generation's emotions using a contemporary film language. Regardless of the nature of his projects, Juan’s work inquisitively seeks opportunities to approach the line between fiction and documentary.
CUANACAQUILITL
(DANDELION)
Lorena Valencia | US | Fiction | 2022 | 17min
A teenage girl who lives in a small town in Mexico, is helped by her best friend in her search for home remedies to stop an unwanted pregnancy. Together they discover that in spite of the vulnerable situations society places women in, sisterhood can help them flourish.
Lorena R. Valencia is a Mexican filmmaker based in New York City. Her directorial debut and MFA thesis film Cuanacaquilitl (Dandelion, 2022) received the 2022 National Board of Review Student Award and is currently an Official Selection at various film festivals such as the Morelia International Film Festival (Mexico), Atlanta Film Festival (USA), and the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival (Australia). She is also a member of the New York Women in Film and TV organization (NYWIFT) and was a nominee for the 2021 BAFTA-NY Jeff Hunter Charitable Trust award as well as a recipient of the 2020 Dr. David M. Milch Foundation award and the 2021 Bert Saperstein Communication award. Lorena holds an MFA in Film from the City College of New York and a BFA in Design and Visual Communication from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Her storytelling addresses issues such as reproductive rights, identity and belonging, and motherhood.
EL BASTÓN
(THE BATON)
Nemo Allen | US | Documentary | 2022 | 15 min
Two filmmakers, one mother and one son, find answers and strength as they document the struggles of Colombia's Indigenous Nasa, decades apart.
Nemo Allen is a Colombian-American filmmaker from New York City. An editor and cinematographer by trade, Nemo holds an MFA in film from The City College of New York and a BA from Wesleyan University, where he studied literature and dance.
EL CHUZALONGO
Julie Neira Campoverde | US | Fiction | 2022 | 14 min
Set in Ecuador, Ofelia’s eyes are opened to what it means to become a young woman in society as she is stripped of her voice, power and freedom by her overbearing father while on a family camping trip to celebrate her 15th birthday. But Ofelia’s greatest threat may not even be human.
Julie Neira Campoverde is an Ecuadorian award-winning filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. She won the BAFTA NY 2021 DLT Entertainment Scholarship with her short horror script for “El Chuzalongo” as well as “Best Editing” at the CityVisions Film Festival. Julie uses the horror genre as a platform to create awareness of worldwide issues like the obsession with social media (“The Crossroads”), dating apps (“Just My Type”) and toxic masculinity rooted in Latinx and Hispanic culture (“El Chuzalongo”). Julie is a sound recordist and aims to continue creating content based on the Ecuadorian lore she heard growing up.
THE MONK AND THE REBEL
Prabhat Gurung | US | Fiction | 2022 | 15 min
The Monk and The Rebel, set in rural Nepal during the Nepalese Civil War, is the story of a Buddhist monk who survives a deadly shootout that destroys his temple. He sets out on a journey to find another monastery, but his morality is challenged when he encounters an injured Maoist rebel on his way.
Prabhat Gurung (b.1997, Nepal) is an independent writer/director born of the Gurung indigenous tribe. Gurung’s rural upbringing in Nepal inspires his meditative filmmaking style, with a focus on mankind’s relationship to nature. His short film, The Monk and The Rebel, was awarded the 2022 National Board of Review Student Grant. His script is also the recipient of the Chantal Akerman Student Award 2021. He holds an MFA in Film from The City College of New York, and a BA from Caldwell University, where he studied Communication and Media Studies