Tag Archives: Tribeca Festival

Rudy Valdez Signs with Inspire Entertainment

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Rudy Valdez is under new management…

The Latino Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker  has signed with Inspire Entertainment for management.

Rudy ValdezMost recently, Valdez served as director, executive producer and cinematographer of the six-part docuseries Choir for Disney+, as well as Carlos, the Carlos Santana doc from Sony Pictures Classics and Imagine Documentaries.

Both films were official selections of the 2023 Tribeca Festival, with Carlos earning a 2023 Critics’ Choice Documentary Award nomination for Best Music Documentary.

Valdez’s documentary short Translators, produced in partnership with U.S. Bank, also recently debuted as an official selection of LALIFF and the Tribeca Festival, winning the Tribeca X Award for Best Short Documentary.

The filmmaker’s breakthrough project was The Sentence, the HBO doc marking his directorial debut. Shot over the course of a decade, the film watches as Valdez unpacks the aftermath of his sister Cindy’s 15-year sentence for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her deceased ex-boyfriend. Following its world premiere at Sundance 2018, where it won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award, the doc went on to win an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, also securing Valdez a nomination for Best New Director at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.

Valdez is at the helm of Bluff Road Films, an independent production company focused on creating meaningful social, cultural, and political stories while championing equity both on screen and behind the camera.

Currently, the company is teaming with Inspire to produce the feature doc Places, centered on Pacific Northwest artist Ben Joyce and his personal journey to expand his horizons of art, people, and family. In addition to directing, Valdez is producing the pic alongside Jason Spire and Meghan Schale.

Founded in 2002, Inspire Entertainment is also known for its work on the hit Netflix pic Outside the Wire and Peacock/Sony’s video game adaptation Twisted Metal, which is currently prepping to shoot its second season, among other projects.

Gabriella A. Moses Signs for Representation with Gersh Agency

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Gabriella A. Moses has new representation…

Gersh Agency has signed the Dominican-Guyanese American writer and director, an up-and-coming filmmaker whose debut feature Boca Chica is set to have its world premiere in the International Narrative Competition at the 2023 Tribeca Festival.

Gabriella A. MosesAn indie coming-of-age drama set in the Dominican Republic, Boca Chica follows Desi (Scarlet Camilo), a 12-year-old who spends her days dreaming of becoming a famous singer, finding her goal threatened by lies, the ever-presence of child prostitution, and looming, sinister betrayal from those who should protect her most.

Moses is on a mission to share stories with underrepresented protagonists that test viewers’ perceptions of identity and their imaginations.

Her work has received support from the Sundance Institute’s Creative Producing Lab, the Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access Lab and Creators Market, IFP/The Gotham’s No Borders Film Market and the Los Cabos Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund programs.

The Brooklyn-based artist, who graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, has participated in workshops including the Sundance Screenwriter’s Intensive, the NYWIFT “From Script to Pre-Production” Workshop, Tribeca and Chanel Through Her Lens, the AT&T Untold Stories program and the annual Black List Screenwriters Lab, most recently being selected for the inaugural WScripted Cannes Screenplay List, the LALIFF & Netflix Inclusion Fellowship and The Black List Latinx List.

Moses’ El Timbre De Tu Voz won the Fresh Voices screenplay competition’s prize for Best Drama screenplay, also there claiming the Diversity & Inclusion and Culture & Heritage Awards.

The multi-hyphenate, who has also written and directed the shorts Sin Raíces, Milk, Sticky Fingers and Las Mañanitas, continues to be represented by AAO Entertainment.

HBO Max to Release “Menudo: Forever Young” Documentary This Summer

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Here’s your chance to relive Ricky Martin’s breakthrough moments…

HBO Max will release Menudo: Forever Young, a new documentary about the Latin American boy band that helped make the 50-year-old Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor a star.

Ricky Martin, MenudoHailing from filmmakers Angel Manuel Soto and Kristofer Ríos, the documentary will be released on June 23.

The premiere will follow the project’s debut at the 2022 Tribeca Festival on June 11.

Menudo was formed by producer Edgardo Diaz in 1977 with five original members: Ricky Melendez, brothers Carlos and Oscar Meléndez, and the Sallaberry brothers, Fernando and Nefty. The group changed members often mostly after the pre-teen and early teenage boys aged out around age 15 or 16. Two of its most famous members include Ricky Martin and Draco Rosa (as Robbi Rosa).

Diaz, who served as the band’s manager, was accused of sexual abuse by multiple members beginning in 1991. He denied the allegations that same year on El Show De Cristina, a popular talk show at the time hosted by Cristina Saralegui.

Menudo disbanded in 2009 though reunion tours and performances have taken place with various former members.

The four-part documentary will deep dive into the rise and fall of the boy band, including the allegations against Diaz.

“The Puerto Rican diaspora in New York played a critical role in the success of Menudo and its crossover in the US, shutting down traffic for blocks surrounding the band’s hotel and selling out Madison Square Garden on multiple occasions,” said Soto in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to premiere this series in their backyard at TriBeCa and honor their contribution to the band’s legacy.”

Menudo: Forever Young is executive produced by Cristina Costantini and Jeff Plunkett of Muck Media, Alex Fumero of Trojan Horse, Bryn Mooser and Justin Lacob of XTR, and Soto.

Costantini and Fumero most recently collaborated on the popular Netflix documentary Mucho, Mucho Amor following the life of Walter Mercado.

 

Jennifer Lopez Documentary “Halftime” to Open This Year’s Tribeca Festival

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Here’s your chance to relive Jennifer Lopez’s Super Bowl moment…

The 52-year-old Puerto Rican superstar’s Netflix documentary Halftime will kick off the 2022 Tribeca Festival on June 8.

Jennifer LopezThe film, directed by Oscar nominated Tribeca alum Amanda Micheli, will host its world premiere at the festival before premiering on the streamer on June 14.

Halftime follows J.Lo’s rise to international stardom as the “Marry Me” star reflects on her milestones, evolution, and legacy as she navigates the second half of her iconic career.

Shakira & Jennifer Lopez

Tribeca will host the film’s premiere at the United Palace in Washington Heights, just a few subway stops away from Lopez’s native Bronx.

Per the festival, Halftime offers an “intimate peek behind the curtain revealing the grit and determination that makes Jennifer Lopez the icon she is, from her performances onscreen and on stages around the world, to her Super Bowl Halftime show, to the recent Presidential inauguration. The documentary focuses on an international superstar who has inspired people for decades with her perseverance, creative brilliance, and cultural contributions.  And it’s only the beginning. ‘Halftime’ serves as the kickoff to the second half of Lopez’s life, as she lays bare her evolution as a Latina, a mother, and an artist, taking agency in her career and using her voice for a greater purpose.”

The 2022 Tribeca Festival will feature 12 days of events and experiences across New York City with a curated lineup of films, live concerts, performances, talks, and demonstrations. Venues include the Beacon Theater, the United Palace, Pier 57, Spring Studios, BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, SVA Theatre, Village East by Angelika, Cinépolis Chelsea, Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place, and Battery Park City.

The 2022 Tribeca Festival will take place from June 8 to June 20.