RECENT WORK

Connecting

 

Logline

In Mexico City renowned for harshness and chaos where judgments reigns supreme, two blind prison psychotherapists navigate physical, sociological and psychological perils. They weave intricate, empathetic connections between lives inside and beyond the prison walls, playing a tender resilient melody of vulnerable humanity.

Synopsis

“Connecting” features blind protagonists, Erika and Uriel, intimately exploring unique ways of perception, vulnerability and connection. Set amidst the harsh, urban chaos of Mexico City, their exterior worlds presents a sharp dissonance to their vulnerable, resilient inner worlds and relationships. As the film immerses into their dynamic lives and work as psychotherapists in Reclusorio Preventive Varonil Oriente prison in Iztapalapa, they demonstrate connection through intuitive feeling, energy and intention beneath the surface. Amidst a society that judges and labels, they share a struggle with their clients to be seen and felt for who they are.

Erika, 34, is an integrative therapist, playwright, actress, aerial dancer, and braille teacher who lost sight at age 12. Uriel, 28, is a reinsertion therapist, singer, performer, and pole-dancer born with glaucoma, lost left eye at 4 and a father who abandoned him before birth. Erika nurtures relationships with therapy outside prison whiles navigating complexities of a romantic relationship with an inmate-assistant recently transferred to a new facility. Additionally she copes through melancholy with the recent death of service dog, Dowser, and anticipates to receive a new service dog. Uriel despite coming from poverty and facing stereotypes as a homosexual is full of energy and expression, regularly performing live in public spaces or with mariachi bands, other artists and an infamous transsexual artist. Uriel is also amidst recording his first full-length original album and a life decision to remove his right eye.

Uriel maneuvers through a dangerous, chaotic metropolis everyday 2 hours each way by foot, subway, and metro-bus to his work at the prison, guided solely by his walking stick and support from fellow humans. Erika rides on the back of a tandem bicycle pedaled by her father, feeling the wind and tuning into the sounds and vibrations of the city. Inside and outside prison walls, Erika and Uriel foster intimate, joyful relationships with each other and those around them. Full of empathy and non-judgment, each sense their way through each and every precarious moment, demonstrating fearlessness, vulnerability and relentless independence. Together they bring their capacity for connection and awareness to every moment, every situation, and every human with intimacy, depth and a profound sense of connection. This film has wide appeal for global audiences through its expression of universal language in connecting. Human rights and social impact topics delve into stereotypes, disability, trauma, addiction, rehabilitation, and gender stereotypes.

                                         Morin Khuur “The Horsehead Fiddle” Teaser

Childhood friends are united by a horse passed on between them as a prize after a wrestling match at Naadam Games. Years later, as adults, their nomadic community faces an urgent water shortage and their beloved horse falls ill from digesting plastic. Confronted by recent droughts at a community meeting, it emerges how differently they evaluate the problem. Batu is a man of tradition and status-quo who decides the solution as always in the past is to dig a new well. Dovchin considers the worsening impact of climate change upon their livelihood, requiring a different way of thinking with a longer term solution. Ultimately a job offer in the city lures Dovchin’s family away, but not before he creates a transformative gift for Batu out of the fallen horse who bound them together.

 

“BOUNDARIES” is a short film about borders: geographic, psychological, and spiritual. The film explores these boundaries within self, decoding the refugee crisis by probing questions of trust, prejudice, and fear that invoke the culprit in another, different and unknown. Lead actors are children, from Bosnia and Iran cast in a refugee border camp. The story follows a border policeman’s son and a refugee boy who intersect in the forest over a lost kite. After a skirmish, the kite breaks and children overcome challenges and differences to construct a new kite.
Juxtaposed is their parent’s search to find them, which unveils suspicion, buried fear, and surfaces with an unexpected bloody note.

          A White Horse For Batavia Mood Teaser

“A White Horse For Batavia” is our current feature film in production, based on the real story of Beno Sternlicht. The film is set at beginning of WWII and follows Beno, a young boy and his adventures as a refugee escaping Poland and ending up in India over three-years on the run. The latter part of the film intersects and relates Beno’s story with a contemporary refugee boy, Adnan, from Syria and his journeys to Germany. Themes include displacement, interconnectivity, tolerance and human behavior.