Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hot” Among SXSW Film & TV Festival Audience Award Winners

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria’s latest project is a flamin’ hot hit in Texas…

The 48-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and director’s directorial debut feature Flamin’ Hot was among the audience award winners revealed Monday for the 31st SXSW Film & TV Festival.

Flamin’ Hot, which stars Jesse Garcia in the sometimes true tale of the man behind the “flamin’ hot”-branded chip revolution, was named the Audience Award winner in the festival’s Headliners section. The film, from Searchlight Pictures, will debut June 9 on both Hulu and Disney+.

Julio Quintana’s The Long Game won for Narrative Spotlight, Rocío Mesa’s Tobacco Barns won the Visions Audience Award Winner prize.

Today’s awards were handed out across 10 film lineups, three Episodic sections for TV content and six short film sidebars.

Among the TV-side winners is the Season 2 premiere of Rafael Casal’s Starz’s Blindspotting was tapped as best of in TV Spotlight.

Here’s the complete list of Audience Awards winners:

Film Program

HEADLINERS
Audience Award Winner: Flamin’ Hot
Director: Eva Longoria; Producer: DeVon Franklin; Screenwriters: Linda Yvette Chávez, Lewis Colick

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Mustache
Director/Screenwriter: Imran J. Khan; Producers: Christina Won, Jessica Sittig, Christopher Storer, Tyson Bidner

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life
Director/Producer: Dan Covert; Screenwriters: Erik Auli, Dan Covert, Amy Dempsey, Tara Rose Stromberg

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: The Long Game
Director: Julio Quintana; Producers: Javier Chapa, Ben Howard, Marla Quintana, Dennis Quaid, Laura Quaid; Screenwriters: Julio Quintana, Jennifer C. Stetson, Paco Farias

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: The Herricanes
Director: Olivia Kuan; Producers: James Lee Hernandez, Brian Lazarte, Lisa France, James Short, Olivia Kuan, Justin Baldoni, Andrew Calof

VISIONS
Audience Award Winner: Tobacco Barns
Director/Screenwriter: Rocío Mesa; Producers: Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo

MIDNIGHTERS
Audience Award Winner: It Lives Inside
Director: Bishal Dutta; Producers: Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick; Screenwriters: Bishal Dutta, Ashish Mehta

GLOBAL
Audience Award Winner: Ek Jagah Apni
Directors: Ektara Collective; Producers: Ektara Collective, Lotus Visual Productions; Screenwriters: Rinchin, Maheen Mirza

24 BEATS PER SECOND
Audience Award Winner: Louder Than You Think
Director: Jed I. Rosenberg; Producers: Jeffrey Lewis Clark, Brian Thalken, Kelly Thomas; Screenwriters: Jed I. Rosenberg, Greg King

FESTIVAL FAVORITES
Audience Award Winner: No Ordinary Campaign
Director: Christopher Burke; Producer: Tim Rummel, Christopher Burke

Shorts Film Program

NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Closing Dynasty
Director/Screenwriter: Lloyd Lee Choi; Producers: Jon Hsu, Lloyd Lee Choi

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)
Director: Sean Wang; Producers: Sean Wang, Sam Davis

ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Sandwich Cat
Director/Screenwriter: David Fidalgo; Producers: Daniel Rodriguez, Laura Doval, Gonzalo E. Veloso

MIDNIGHT SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Dead Enders
Directors: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker; Screenwriters: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker, Jordan Michael Blake, Conor Murphy; Producers: Raven Jensen, Amanda Crown, Gregory Barnes, Conor Murphy, Nico Alvo, Jordan Michael Blake, Eduardo Ruiz-Healy

TEXAS SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Breaking Silence
Directors: Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein; Producers: Monique Walton, Amy Bench

MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Drew Ashby – ‘HER’
Directors: Chris Scholar, Bevin Brown; Producer: Bevin Brown

TV Program

TV PREMIERES
Audience Award Winner: The Luckiest Guy in the World
Director: Steve James; Producers: Zak Piper, Steve James

TV SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: Blindspotting Season 2 Premiere
Showrunner: Rafael Casal, Directors: Rafael Casel, Jess Wu Calder; Producers: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Emily Gerson Saines, Ken Lee, Tim Palen

INDEPENDENT TV PILOT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Notarize Me
Director: Erika Rankin; Screenwriters/Producers: Erika Rankin, Brigitte Valdez

XR Experience

XR EXPERIENCE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: JFK Memento
Director: Chloé Rochereuil; Producer: Victor Agulhon

XR EXPERIENCE SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: MLK: Now is the Time
Director: Limbert Fabian; Producers: Matthew O’Rourke, Sulivan Parker; Screenwriter: Andrina Wekontash Smith

XR EXPERIENCE SPECIAL EVENTS
Audience Award Winners (tie):

Neo-Wulin: The Era of Black Ark
Director/Screenwriter: Guanyu; Producers: Chenchenchen, Bingbing Wang

Ristband
Directors: Anne McKinnon, Roman Rappak

Soundwaves: A Metaverse Music Concert
Directors: YOOM, Active Theory

Rafael Casal Lands Major Role in Second Season of Disney+’s Marvel Series “Loki”

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Casal is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

The 36-year-old part-Spanish and Cuban American actor will appear in a major role in the upcoming second season of Disney+’s Marvel series Loki.

A representative for Marvel declined to comment on the casting, but word of Casal’s addition started trickling out when a photo from the set of Season 2 leaked online.

It features Casal walking alongside Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson, who are back, reprising their roles as anti-hero Loki and Mobius, respectively.

Details about Casal’s character are being kept under wraps; online speculation includes a hypothesis that he could be playing Zaniac.

Following strong reviews and record viewing numbers for the original installment, Loki became the first Marvel series for Disney+ to get a second season.

Loki is set in a Marvel Cinematic Universe-adjacent world, in which the God of Mischief is a fish-out-of-water when he lands in trouble with the bureaucratic TVA (Time Variance Authority) after absconding with the Tesseract.

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are co-directing a majority of the episodes in the new season. Hiddleston and Michael Waldron, who wrote and served as showrunner in Season 1, executive produce. Eric Martin is penning all six episodes.

Casal, along with Daveed Diggs, co-wrote, produced and starred in the 2018 movie Blindspotting.

The two co-created and executive produce Starz’s Blindspotting series spinoff, which debuted earlier this year, with Casal as showrunner and reprising his role from the movie.

The series, which has been renewed for a second season, earned an Indie Spirit Award and Gotham Award nominations for Best New/Breakthrough series.

Casal’s acting credits also include Good Lord Bird, Bad Education and Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Jared Treviño Wins “Ya Tu Sabes Monologue Slam” Acting Competition

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Jared Treviño is slammin’…

The Latino actor/photographer is among the winners of Nosotros and Comcast NBCUniversal’s 3rd annual Ya Tu Sabes Monologue Slam.

Treviño took top honors in the acting competition for his monologue, “Reaching the Moment.”Acti

Meanwhile, Jorge J. Calderon won the writing competition for his monologue titled, “The Puerto Rican With The Mets Hat.”

The competition showcases a diverse group of Latinx writers and actors with original monologues and performances from different perspectives of the Latinx/e experience while using universally relatable themes.

The actors were coached by This Is Us director and star, Jon Huertas. Writing judges included Kenan’s Vanessa Ramos and Blindspotting‘s Rafael Casal. Huertas was joined by In the Heights star Melissas Barrera and The Sex Lives of College Girls star Vico Ortiz as acting judges.

“Ya Tu Sabes is a platform where Latinx/e creatives have the opportunity to have their work viewed by network executives and casting directors from the beginning of the competition when one first submits until the end when the finalists are shown,” said Mariana Anaya, Vice-Chair for Nosotros. “I am extremely proud and blown away with the talented writers and actors that joined us this year. Our work and fight for the Latinx/e community is necessary not just today but for generations to come. Congratulations to all of our participants on being part of a movement for representation in the entertainment industry.”

Calderon and Trevino will receive exclusive VIP meetings with talent agencies, casting directors, major network and studio creative executives as well as upper lever series writers and producers, among other prizes.

Starz Orders Second Season of Rafael Casal’s “Blindspotting” Series

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Casal is still blindspotting…

Starz has ordered a second season of the 36-year-old part-Spanish and part-Cuban American actor, writer, producer and showrunner’s Blindspotting.

The first season of the television spin-off sequel of Casal’s acclaimed film premiered in June.

The series centers on Ashley, played by Jasmine Cephas Jones, who was nipping at the heels of a middle class life in Oakland until Miles, her partner of 12 years and father of their son, is suddenly incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis when she’s forced to move in with Miles’ mother and half-sister.

Casal, who created the series with Daveed Diggs, plays Miles in addition to serving as showrunner.

Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron, Candace Nicholas-Lippman, and Helen Hunt also star.

Casal also exec produces alongside Diggs.

“The award-worthy artistry and creativity that Rafael, Daveed and the entire Blindspotting team poured into the series took the comedy genre to a new level and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for season two,” said Jeffrey Hirsch, President and CEO at Starz. “The series deservedly garnered critical acclaim and is a wonderful example of our programming mandate focused on unique, authentic stories by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.”

“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for season one and have been hard at work for the last few months crafting the next chapter of this Bay story. We are so excited to bring the next season to life with the incredible artistry of our cast and crew, and our partners Starz and Lionsgate. They done fucked around and gave us more runway, so welcome back to the ordeal,” added Casal and Diggs.

Rafael Casal to Reprise His Role in Starz’s TV Adaptation of His Acclaimed Film “Blindspotting”

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Casal is ready for a repeat performance…

The 35-year-old part Spanish and Cuban American writer, performer and producer will reprise his role in Starz’s television adaptation of Blindspotting, the 2018 feature film from Casal and Daveed Diggs.

The series, a spinoff of the film written and produced by Casal and Diggs, is being turned into a half-hour dramedy. Jasmine Cephas Jones, who starred in the Lionsgate film, will reprise her role and also will serve as a producer. Casal serves as showrunner.

The series centers on Ashley (Cephas Jones), who was nipping at the heels of a middle-class life in Oakland until Miles (Casal), her partner of 12 years and father of their son, suddenly is incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis when she’s forced to move in with Miles’ mother and half-sister.

Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron and Candace Nicholas-Lippman will also join the cast of the eight-part series. Casal will appear on a recurring basis, while Justin Chu Cary, who starred in the film, will play Rob.

Produced by Lionsgate Television, the series will start production in Oakland and Los Angeles.

“Diggs and I are thrilled to continue our partnership with Lionsgate by expanding the Blindspotting world as a series on Starz,” Casal said. “This story, the incredible cast and the production are a dream. We are making the kind of show we have long hoped to see on television, centered around just some of the amazing kinds of characters the Bay Area has to offer.”

Added Diggs: “Figuring out a way to bring The Bay to life in a half-hour comedy space has been so rewarding. Ultimately, this is a story about how a broken prison system affects all of us and, like the film, we’re using comedy to talk about very real systemic effects in the country with the largest prison population in the world.”

Good Deed Entertainment Acquires Rights to Carlos López Estrada’s “Summertime”

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

There’s no Summertime sadness for Carlos López Estrada…

Good Deed Entertainment has acquired the North American distribution rights from Los Angeles Media Fund to the 31-year-old Mexican-American music video, commercial, and film director’s Summertime, which was the opening film of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Summertime chronicles the intersecting stories of 25 young spoken-word poets over a day in Los Angeles.

Estrada directed from a script written by 27 poets from the literary organization Get Lit, who also star in the film, and playwright Dave Harris. The film marks Estrada’s follow-up to Blindspotting.

Kimberly Stuckwisch, Jeffrey Soros, Alisa Tager, Simon Horsman, Diane Luby Lane and López Estrada produced the film. In addition to producing, Los Angeles Media Fund fully financed the project.

“It’s rare these days to find something so impactful and wholly unique,” said Scott Donley, CEO and founder of Good Deed Entertainment. “But Summertime is just that. We’re beyond excited to be able to share this heartfelt viewing experience with audiences across the country.”

Lopez Estrada made his feature film directorial debut in 2018 with Blindspotting.

In 2018, he directed the music video for Billie Eilish‘s “When the Party’s Over.” He earned a Latin Grammy for directing Jesse & Joy’s “Me Voy” music video.

Rafael Casal to Write & Direct Lionsgate’s Sci-Fi Rom Com “First Sight”

Posted on October 7, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Casal is has set his (first) sights on a new project…

The 33-year-old half-Spanish American actor will write and make his feature directorial debut on Lionsgate’s First Sight, a sci-fi romantic comedy about falling asleep to find the person of your dreams.

Casal will join forces with his Blindspottingco-writer, producer and star Daveed Diggs, and the film’s producers Snoot Entertainment, on the project.

Casal, a musician and poetic who appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry, was recently added to the cast of Bad Education starring Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney.

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