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THIS BOY'S VIDA (MADE IN AMERICA

Director Statement

This film is a short we are looking to develop into a series. Written by Joseph Castillo-Midyett, specifically telling our story through the viewpoint of the "Mezcla"--the mix of all the colors, shapes, and backgrounds of the Latinx community. We “Mezclas” are as much a part of the United States as we are from our other countries, and this film shows a sliver of the Latin-American and immigrant culture that suffers from poverty, violence, and lack of good education.

By telling our stories through this lens we expand what it means to be American, and extend the understanding of the Latinx experience.

To truly tell our story we felt we needed a team that understood what it’s like to be Latinx in America, so our creative team is comprised of over 70% women and an amazing mix from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Ecuador. By redefining who is "American," we are challenging stereotypes and preconceived notions to create a truly inclusive picture of life in the United States. This is what makes This Boy's Vida: Made in America so important.

Adrienne Lovette (CO-DIRECTOR)

Adrienne Lovette is a New York-based director, actor, and writer. She was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and grew up in Orlando, Florida. Adrienne created her own indie company called The Garage Productions, which has created several award winning short films, a feature film, and an Instagram web series, all of which showcase diversity, the LGBT community, and differently-abled people.

Adrienne wrote, produced, and starred in the award-winning feature film drama WHEN I'M WITH YOU (Cinequest, “Best Feature Film” at the Sacramento Film and Music Festival), now on Amazon Prime. Adrienne directed the award-winning short thriller film HIDDEN DAYLIGHT, which won "Best Film" at Phoenix Comicon, "Best Short Film" at Freak Show Horror Film Festival, and earned her the title of "Women in Horror Honoree" at FEARnyc. Hidden Daylight is currently on DirecTV and Amazon Prime.

As an actor, Adrienne has played opposite Naomi Watts, Aziz Ansari, Joaquin Phoenix, Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams. Adrienne’s favorite TV roles include BATTER CALL SAUL (AMC), RAY DONOVAN (Showtime), FOSSE/VERDON (FX), THE DEUCE (HBO), THE SINNER (USA), MASTER OF NONE (NETFLIX), MR. ROBOT (USA), and GOTHAM (FOX), SUNLIGHT JR. (Tribeca Film Festival 2013) playing opposite Naomi Watts, THICK HEART (Montclair Film Festival) Best Actress at the Top Shorts Film Festival.

Most recently, Adrienne has been named “Women Directing Mentorship Semifinalist” through Series Fest sponsored by Shonda Rhimes company Shondaland! She also directed an award-winning female-driven comedic web series called YOU’RE THE PEST, which can be seen on YouTube, won "Best Web Series" at Glowfest and is currently screening at festivals. Adrienne has just returned from Pittsburgh where she directed the horror/thriller THE DARK ROOM, and is currently working on her coming-of-age feature drama with sci-fi/fantasy elements called SEARCHING FOR L.G. WALTERS. For more information, visit her on IMDB, www.AnAdrienneLovetteFilm.com, www.AdrienneLovette.com and www.TheGarageProductions.com

Joseph Castillo-MIDYETT (CREATOR)

Joseph Castillo- Midyett is creator actor, writer, and director. As an actor, he has appeared in various feature films, T.V. shows, and regional and off-Broadway productions.

Joseph’s favorite TV roles include HOMELAND (SHOW), JESSICA JONES (NETFLIX), MASTER OF NONE (NETFLIX), DIVORCE (HBO). For more information, visit him on IMDB, or josephcastillomidyett.com

After attending over 15 schools by the time he graduated High school, teaching himself to read, and being homeless 3 times before he age of 16, he is proud to hold a Master of Fine Arts from the Professional Theater Training Program from the University of Delaware. Si se puede

Gisela Chípe

As an Ecuadorian-American born in Brazil, Gisela is no stranger to diverse and delicious stories. Her producing credits include Dog Days, Black?, This Boy’s Vida, The Graduate Series (which she also co-wrote), Con Dios & Run Carlos Run Documentary.

As an actress her film and television credits include Diving Normal, Paper Cut, Dog Days, Black?, Monogamish, Luz Marina where she plays Luz, CBS’s The Good Wife, and her favorite work in Spanish, Bel Canto opposite Julianne Moore & Ken Watanabe. You may have heard Gisela’s voice in English and Portuguese in the promos for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil on NBC Universal and Univision.

Gisela has appeared Off-Broadway in Emancipation: Nat Turner (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Laws of Motion (PS122), as well as in pioneering theaters all over the nation. A selection of those credits is— Indecent (Guthrie Theater), Actors Theatre of Louisville: Humana Festival, Hamlet: Prince of Cuba (Asolo Repertory Theatre), The Clean House, Blithe Spirit (Syracuse Stage), Water By the Spoonful (Studio Theatre), Bat Boy! The Musical, The Seagull, Comedy of Errors (Great Lakes Theatre & Idaho Shakespeare Festival), 1001, 9 Parts of Desire (Contemporary American Theater Festival), Misalliance, Major Barbara, Barrymore Award-winning Tuesday (PTTP). Gisela received her training from University of Delaware—PTTP (M.F.A.) @giselachipe IMDB

Nicolás López is an award-winning filmmaker currently based in New York City working as a Director and Director of Photography in several mediums ranging from documentary and fiction, to live concerts and corporate content.

Nicolas was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia where he developed his passion for telling meaningful stories behind the camera. In 2013 he attended the School of Visual Arts to get a major in Film with specialization in Cinematography. In 2017, he earned his BFA and an Award for Outstanding Documentary for his short film InSight.

His short documentary InSight was selected to screen in DOC NYC, the largest documentary festival in United States; earning as well a Certificate of Recognition by the State of California at the Los Angeles Broadway International Film Festival. This short documentary was Official Selection at Vimeo. Nicolas was also commissioned by the Ground Zero Museum Workshop to direct a short documentary for them, which screened on the 9/11 16th Anniversary in 2017.

Since 2013, his commitment to tell stories filled with meaningful social and political messages has lead him to work as a Cinematographer on over 38 projects, ranging from short films to episodic television, such as Ayuda, directed by Abraham Rosenbaum, which won Award of Merit at The IndieFEST Film Awards and was selected at The Marbella International Film Festival in Spain. He also shot two music videos for Two Feet; as well as photographing the documentary Cocaspiracy, directed by Emily Simpkins, and filmed in Bolivia. Nicolas has also done second unit photography for the second season of the Emmy Award-winning TV Show “We Are New York”. He has worked in Colombia, Bolivia and United States.

Nicolas was the Director of Photography of the short film Class A “Class A”, directed by Cameron Moir, starring Kristal Joy Brown –nominated for “WhatsOnStage Award for Best Ensemble Performance” and Kieran Mulcare, who has worked on The Black List, Jessica Jones and Gotham amongst others. The film is Official Selection at Calcutta Film Festival. Furthermore, Lopez latest film he shot Cyanide Love directed by Catee Delaloye is Official Selection at Culver City Film Festival.

Currently, Nicolas iss the Executive Producer and Director of Photography House Arrest directed by Camden Gaultney, which deals with the horrible ramifications the immigration detention centers leave on children as they return home. The expected release will be in 2019. Mr. Lopez is in pre-production for a feature documentary as Director of Photography, as well as producing his next film, which will be shot in London, Paris and India.

From the Creative Team

It's simple - Inclusion

We are setting out to challenge stereotypes and preconceived notions about what it means to be an “American” in the United States today.

This series offers reflections and insights on class and the links between violence and education.

How? Inclusion of the marginalized. Woven into Joe’s narrative are the stories and perspectives of family members and individuals that change the course of his life...

...a poor childhood friend lost to addiction, a gay school counselor who gets him into college, a sufferer of mental illness who offers him shelter when faced with homelessness for the 4th time.

(made in america)
Created By
Joseph Castillo-Midyett
Appreciate