A MOVING PICTURE INSTITUTE ORIGINAL GRINGA

ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT LOGLINE

In the dramedy short GRINGA, an overworked millennial clashes with her eccentric Abuelo when he hijacks her day hours before their flight to Havana.

SUMMARY

This bilingual short follows an overworked Cuban-American millennial rushing to pack for a trip to Havana. When her eccentric Abuelo drags her on a last-minute hunt for a rare car part, she confronts her own privilege in a race against the clock.

Featuring a diverse cast and filmmaking team, this film about a girl trapped between two worlds tells a universal story about family, priorities, and not playing into others' superficial expectations.

GringaShort.com KEY CAST

" V a n e s s a " Played by Anna Cecilia

As seen in: THE 2017 CBS DIVERSITY SKETCH COMEDY SHOWCASE THE FUTURE RICHARD DENISONS THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN CANNONBALL AVERAGE ADVICE FROM AVERAGE JOE IF WAITERS WERE HONEST SUPER-VILLAIN LOVE ADVICE TENDING WITH NICOLE ETIQUETTE: A SUPRINGLY RELEVANT GUIDE TO GOOD MANNERS IN THE MODERN WORLD KEY CAST

" A b u e l a " Played by Lidia Porto

As seen in: GET SHORTY ICIOCRACY EXTRACT THIS IS US FRESH OFF THE BOAT WILL & GRACE MAJOR CRIMES BETTER THINGS JANE THE VIRGIN SCARY MOVIE 5 DOPE KEY CAST

" A b u e l o " Played by Ruben Rabasa

As seen in: JACK ANDJILL FAIR GAME POLICE ACADEMY 5 WRECKED THE PRINCE OF OLD HAVANA AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. SÁBADO GIGANTE THE LOST CITY MIAMI VICE KEY CAST

" J u l i o " Played by Fernando Martinez

As seen in: THE MICK BLOODLINE WHITE FAMOUS BROOKLYN NINE-NINE COLONY ATLANTA THE AFFAIR SCANDAL ALSO STARRING

Jose Sarduy Mario Barra Jorge Emanuel Barrios DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

I confuse people. I’m half Cuban, half Southern, and I look and sound midwestern, even though Spanish is my first language. When I met Lana (co-writer and producer of GRINGA), who is also multi-ethnic, we bonded over our common outsider status and how much we challenged others’ expectations.

This film started as a series of conversations between us about my experience as a light-skinned Cuban-American. My grandfather was almost executed by the Castro regime, but he escaped and fled to the and freedom. Here, he cut sugar cane in fields for a living -- a far cry from the law he practiced in .

My family’s story -- of political imprisonment, of generational divides, of immigration and adaptation -- is everyone’s story in my hometown of Miami, but (as I quickly realized after moving to Los Angeles) is rarely told outside of Florida. We made GRINGA to help change that.

Growing up in Miami, you’re never far away from the reality that your extended family is living in Cuba. In GRINGA, Vanessa faces that fact in a direct way. She learns, as every Cuban-American eventually does, to appreciate what her family is going through and how she fits into their struggle.

GRINGA is a story of love for family. We made the film totally bilingual so that families like Vanessa’s would be able to watch it together. I am devastated that my abuela, who passed away during production, won’t be able to see the finished film. But I’m thrilled to be able to share it with others who risked everything to create better lives for their families and those -- like us -- who appreciate them. -- Claudia S. Murray CLAUDIA S. MURRAY LANA LINK WRITER/DIRECTOR WRITER/PRODUCER

Lana Link is a writer/producer, Fulbright grantee, and Claudia Murray is a Cuban-American writer/director. like Claudia, a former civil-rights attorney. Lana is the Originally a civil-rights attorney from Miami, Florida, VP of Talent Development at the Moving Picture Claudia took her sweet time becoming a filmmaker, but Institute, where she writes and produces films, and she now she can’t imagine doing anything else. Claudia has has years of experience mentoring and creating been an impact producer on several documentaries, as programming for filmmakers. She is an associate well as an associate producer. GRINGA is her first member of the International Academy of Digital Arts narrative project and her directoral debut. and Sciences. RYAN PATCH BENJAMIN GASKELL PRODUCER/EDITOR DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Ryan cut his teeth telling campfire stories in the Benjamin has photographed several short films, award- mountains of his native Colorado, attended NYU winning documentaries, and advocacy films. His first Tisch, and holds a Master's in Screenwriting from feature film broke the world record for "the largest film University of London. He works as a director, screening in history." His work has been featured in producer, writer, and story consultant on narrative, the TIMES and on THE DAILY SHOW WITH commercial, and documentary projects through his JON STEWART and has collectively tallied several production company Storytellers Ink. million views on YouTube. ABOUT THE MOVING PICTURE INSTITUTE

The Moving Picture Institute is a modern-media production house and talent incubator that creates and supports high-impact film and video content designed to entertain, inspire, and educate audiences with captivating stories about human freedom.

MPI is a tax-exempt nonpartisan nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with over a decade of experience supporting independent films and filmmakers from concept development through distribution. Our in-house experts specialize in storytelling and scripting, producing, marketing, distribution strategy, and more.

Moving Picture Institute films include:

BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN, a documentary feature that was shortlisted for a “Best Documentary” Oscar nomination and won numerous festival awards. 2081, a short adaptation of ’s story, “Harrison Bergeron.” This film stars Armie Hammer. DREAMING AGAINST THE WORLD, a short documentary short about a Chinese artist. Directed by an Oscar nominee, this film premiered at Telluride. FREEDOM'S FURY, a documentary feature about a bloody 1956 Olympic water polo match. Executive producers included Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu.

Learn more about Moving Picture Institute films at TheMPI.org. BEHIND THE SCENES BEHIND THE SCENES BEHIND THE SCENES CONTACT

@GRINGAFILM

GRINGASHORT.COM THEMPI.ORG

FOR PRESS & INQUIRIES: [email protected]