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You are now watching: Joaquín Goes to Film School

Here’s an early short film I made in school (1998), while in my first year of production. We still weren’t doing sync sound or color film (or neg film), but shooting 16mm silent film and overdubbing it with (non-sync) dialogue and sound effects. These early films were really to teach us the fundamentals of filmmaking, which is why we start without sync and without color. It was a lot of fun, and a number of jokes in this are pretty “inside” ones. But you run with a class for years, and you get pretty tight, and that’s how I was able to make fun of myself and my friends and people enjoyed it, because we were all aware of how vicious competition and critique was in film school, how much some of us were homesick and adapting to NYC, as well as just how pretentious film students could be.

For fun, see if you can catch any references to other films.

To show your great adoration and appreciation for those who clean up your candy wrappers, tip the usher at will.

Made in LA – One Xicano’s Review

A brief review of Made in L.A (Hecho en Los Angeles), the Emmy-winning documentary, below the trailer.
[starreview]

Made in L.A. follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verite style, Made [...]

At the Movies With Nezua: Battlestar Galactica Breakdown Season 2 (a)

DECONSTRUCTING CINEMA continues in this first of two posts breaking down the messaging in Battlestar Galactica (Season 2) through a racial and feminist lens, as well as with commentary on the actual production and post production of the piece. By Nezua.

At the Movies With Nezua: No Cylons Served Here

A DISCUSSION OF THE CYLON character in Battlestar Galactica with an eye on misogynist and racist resonances therein. This post also explores the use of the Science Fiction (TV and Film) genre as it has been used to explore entrenched racist roles in Cinema as well as to reinforce harmful messages already at play in US culture.

At the Movies With Nezua (Defining Review Terms)

FOR PURPOSES OF DEFINITION, let’s consider the post I did on Falling Down a “Full Analysis,” the post on Grave of the Fireflies an “Analysis,” the post on Pan’s Labyrinth a ”Character Study,” and The Host a ”Review.”
One distinction is that Analysis (and Full Analysis, of course) will be strewn with “spoilers.” These would only be for people who don’t mind poring over every single [...]

At The Movies With Nezua: Falling Down

written Jan 26 2007
[starreview]
To show your great adoration and appreciation for those who clean up your candy wrappers, tip the usher at will.

At the Movies With Nezua: The Host

[starreview]

AND NOW, a review of The Host, a Korean film by Bong Joon-Ho.
I’ve tried my best to avoid giving too much away, and in fact, I purposely don’t show even one image of THE HOST (the monster in this movie, that is). And in case you click no further, know that I heartily recommend [...]

At the Movies with Nezua: Grave of the Fireflies

written mar 03, 2007
[starreview]
In this installment of At the Movies With Nezua I’m talking about a 1988 animated WWII film made in Japan called Grave of the Fireflies. I don’t know that I would call it a “children’s film” so much as a “war film,” so don’t let the cartoons fool you. This is [...]

At the Movies With Nez – Pan’s Labyrinth [i.]

Not since watching Tool videos, or seeing Sauron in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings have I seen such a creepy character as this one that guards a table of food in Pan’s Labyrinth, the Pale Man. Beautiful. He sits at the head of a sumptuous meal that our protagonista, Ofelia, is told she [...]

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