From Here And There

Two Latino films open this month. One of them is from the Bronx, New York. The other one is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although the stories are very different —even the genres—, both main characters share an important condition: the need of a change.

Falling Awake (2009), written and directed by Cuban born Agustín (El Vacilón, 2009), tells the story of a young Latino musician in the Bronx, who struggles to find his identity. It's a story about survival beyond class and condition, and the possibilities to live a life outside poverty and violence.

The Paranoids (2008), by Gabriel Medina, stars Berlin Silver Bear winner Daniel Hendler (Lost Embrace, Whisky), as a guy who works in birthday parties and writes his first feature and will engage in a conflict with a friend and his girlfriend.

Falling Awake's trailer:

The Paranoids' trailer:

Photo: Daniel Hendler, Jazmín Stuart and Walter Jakob (The Paranoids)