Our Collaboration with 826 Valencia – “MILES AWAY” – A New Short Film
November 22nd, 2011 by Ariel Dovas
Coming in early 2012, MILES AWAY is the seventh short film produced by BAYCAT”s Community Cinema Program. The program employs three aspiring digital media producers from the Bay Area community each term. In addition to the three interns, the program engages youth from BAYCAT’s educational program, local actors, filmmakers, businesses, non-profits and artists to create grassroots media that allows them to share their community’s stories, and to highlight local issues.
MILES AWAY was originally written as an autobiographical short story by Julio Espinoza, a high school student at June Jordan School for Equity through 826 Valencia’s Young Author’s Book Project, then adapted into a screenplay by Bay Area poet and author Chinaka Hodge. It stars Ricardo Chang, a Bayview resident and student in our youth programs. The short is directed by longtime BAYCAT team member Ariel Dovas and former intern and current BAYCAT team member Jose Alfaro.
When a single mother originally from Guatemala (Lucia) moves her teenage son (Julio) from San Francisco across the Bay to Richmond, he has a hard time adapting to his new environment. He sits alone in his room, refusing to unpack, drawing pictures of the things he left behind. But when he realizes that the trinkets his mother has placed around the house were made by her family long ago in Guatemala, Julio begins to see the bigger legacy of their migration. Through animation, beautiful cinematography and original music, we get a glimpse of a mother and her son unpacking their differences and discovering a new home together.
Check out the Miles Away teaser below or on our Community Cinema Vimeo page.
