Season 9

El Paisa

Daniel Eduvijes Carrera, Miguel Angel Caballero, Sandie Viquez Pedlow

After being rescued by a stern vaquero on the streets of East LA, gay goth skater Fernando must put an end to closeted young love, leading to a newfound connection to familia.

⚠ Content Warning

This film opens with a moment of brief physical violence, which some viewers may find upsetting.

Live Action

Difference

LGBTQIA+

Suspenseful

Why we chose this film.

This film captures a young man's journey from loneliness to connection as he embraces his identity, finds community, and lets his mother into his world.

Filmmaker

Inspiration

Filmmaking empowers me to break a tradition of silence and relate stories that speak passionately—not only toward my immigrant heritage—but toward my queer identity as well. In our current political climate, these stories are needed more urgently than ever, but they must be approached with authentic insight and born from the very communities they represent. I have overcome great odds to achieve higher education and I continue to make great sacrifices for a career in film precisely because I am committed to developing these stories—our stories, stories like EL PAISA. Indeed, this is at the heart of my life’s mission: to create compelling films that not only represent my Latine community with nuance, complexity and heart, but that also encourage cross-cultural understanding and promote social change.

Meet the Filmmaker

Daniel Eduvijes

Writer/Director

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