José

José

59th TIFF: Greek Premiere

The film that received the Queer Lion in the last Venice Film Festival is introduced as a “simple story about love.” Yet nothing is really simple in Guatemala city, a capital that sinks due to overpopulation, violence, and poverty. José is 19 years old, he lives with his mother and spends his money on rent-by-the-hour hotel rooms, where he gets physical with the boys he meets everyday through a mobile app. Things will change when he falls in love with Luis, a construction worker that dreams of another life and challenges José with an important dilemma. Shot exclusively with locals that had no prior experience in acting and faithful to the neo-realist tradition, the film is the fruit of the director’s long research on 12 Latin American countries, and the extensive interviews with the local youth.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.


Direction: Li Cheng
Script: Li Cheng
Cinematography: Paolo Giron
Editing: Lenz Claure
Sound: Omar Juarez, Jacob Jimenez
Music: Yao Chen
Actors: Enrique Salanic, Manolo Herrera, Ana Cecilia Mota, Jhakelyn Waleska Gonzalez Gonzalez, Esteban Lopez Ramirez, Cesar Lorenzo Yojcom Candido, Juan Andres Molina Cardona, Alba Irene Lemus
Production: YQ Studio
Producers: George F. Roberson,
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Guatemala
Production Year: 2018
Duration: 85'
Contact: YQ Studio, yqstudiollc@gmail.com
Awards/Distinctions: Queer Lion-Venice Film Festival (2018)

Li Cheng

Originally from China, Li Cheng moved to the USA in 1999 and is now a world-nomad: Latin America, Asia, Mediterranean, Africa. Key references: Italian neorealists, Hou Hsiao-Hsien (The Boys from Fengkuei, 1983). Key themes: struggle, crisis, hope. For his film José (2018) he conducted research in 12 Latin American countries and lived in Guatemala for most of two years – one of the world’s most dangerous, religious, impoverished and socially conservative countries. He uses “Yiqing” as his nickname. Cheng holds a PhD from Rutgers University, USA.

Filmography

2014 Joshua Tree
2018 José