Varsity Punks World Premiere

Director Anthony Solorzano looks on as Actor Andy Bueno talks about how he got the co-lead in the film. (Cody Esquivel & Producer Brandon A Lopez also pictured). 

       Varsity Punks had its world premiere at The Egyptian Theatre on February 28, 2017 to a sold out crowd. The cast and crew plus invited guests walked the red carpet before the film, with the filmmakers, cast and crew specially excited to share their movie with the public, expressing their love for the film during the interviews. Varsity Punks was shown as part of Apertura Showcase, which features a slate of monthly Latino lead films at the Egyptian.

It was nice to see a sold out crowd for an almost all Latino cast film. Varsity Punks deals with high school football star AJ Montolla (Cody Esquivel), whose game injury forces him to take a break from football and ends up reluctantly joining the "geeks" at the cross country team. The team, lead by Rosie (Andy Bueno), which is everything Montoya isn't, the "punk" in the title, clashes heads with the jock Montolla, who now has to decide whether to stay with them or go back to his old team.

After the movie, director Anthony Solorzano was joined by leads Andy Bueno and Cody Esquivel along with Producer Brandon A Lopez, told the sold out crowd about making the movie.


All in all, Varsity Punks has its moments and it's always good to see a more realistic take on high school life in "the hood", as it's tiring to always see an all white cast even when movies take place in areas that are mostly Latino. The question becomes, is there then a need for Latinos to make their own films in order to be represented in the media? As long as there are opportunities there for Latino made movies that show how "the other side lives" there is a chance for representation. Let's hope studios realize that it's not always about the "sure thing" and keep misrepresenting people of color...

Cody Esquivel (AJ Montoya)

Orien Richman (Coach Klingerman)

Adam Weber (Chad)

Vivian Lamolli

Douglas Spain

Juan Gomez (Young Ryan)

Ysidro Aleman (Tito)

Erick Chavarria

Andy Bueno (Rosie)

For more photos, go to our Facebook website:
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The Vessel Premiere

The Vessel, or El Navio, its original title in Spanish (which is relevant, since there are two versions of the film -or four, if we're technical) had its world premiere at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. The main cast attended the premiere, with a very notable absence, its main supporting character (and poster boy) Martin Sheen, who along with producers Terence Malick & Sarah Green were missing. Granted, Sheen isn't the lead, but his support would've made the night complete. The rest of the cast posed for photos and stayed for a Q&A after the film.

The Vessel is a film by first time director Julio Quintana, starring his brother Lucas Quintana, Jacqueline Duprey, Aris Mejias, Marise Alvarez and Martin Sheen. The Vessel is the story of a small town in Puerto Rico which had all of its children killed by a tsunami that destroyed their school. A decade has passed and the town's school remain in shambles, the residents still suffering after their loss. Leo (Lucas Quintana) is planning on leaving the town, but an accident drowns him and his best friend, only to have Leo wake up three hours later and start rumors amongst the townspeople about him. Father Douglas (Martin Sheen) quickly sees this as an opportunity to reinvigorate his position in town by using Leo's if-you-build-it-they-will-come contraction in his backyard (the title's vessel) and make this so-call miracle and act of God's will. The movie itself it's well shot and keeps you interested, but there is nothing that you haven't seen before, its motifs and situations have all been done before, but the cinematography by Santiago Benet Mari and the acting saves the film from mediocrity. The most interesting aspect of the film is that there are two versions that were shot at the same time, an Spanish version which is the one screened, and an English version. One of the troubles Quintana had was to make his Cuban accent sound more Puerto Rican, as he told us in the Q&A following the film.

The Vessel is now playing at The Laemmle's Music Hall in Berverly Hills.

Director Julio Quintana, Actress Jacqueline Duprey, & Producer Marla Quintana

Director Julio Quintana, Actress Marise Alvarez, & Producer Marla Quintana

Actors Aris Mejias, Ismael Criz Cordova, 

Mario Lopez

Director/Actress Yareli Arizmendi, Director Sergio Arau

The Vessel Premiere was presented by Outsider Pictures, The American Cinematheque & Apertura with support from Mucho Mas Media