RICARDO remix (feat. COVID-19)

WHY DO THEY NEED MONEY?

RICARDO remix (feat. COVID-19) is a film thesis project from the University of Mexico's National Film School (better known by its old name CUEC).

Our School supports us by lending us the equipment to film (which is a lot), but the rest of the expenses come out of the pocket of the student author of the film.

The film already has many personal and in-kind contributions from the students and graduates that take part in it, but there are still some remaining expenses like transportation, food, fees for third-party collaborators that aren't university students and the health measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 contagion.

This is where this campaign can make a difference. If we succeed, it would allow us to finish the film in a satisfactory way and without drawbacks.

WHAT'S THE MOVIE ABOUT?

A comedy feature-length film that tells the story of Ricardo, a 26 year-old graduand* whose girlfriend breaks-up with him right before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the film Ricardo deals with the heartbreak caused by his break-up while he thinks of ideas for his graduate project and clashes with his family because of the forced-constant interaction caused by the quarantine. He escapes his problems and the general ennui caused by the quarantine through his cellphone screen.

*someone who is eligible to graduate, but has not yet graduated.

CAST

JUAN ORDORICA is RICARDO, a 26 year-old graduand dealing with a heartbreak during the pandemic . He dodges his problems and thesis project procrastinating by stalking his ex girlfriend's social media and sinking in his grief.

Despite of not having formal acting studies, the director decided to give it a go believing he could pull it off in his own film. He has taken a couple of acting workshops here and there, nevertheless to avoid problems, the director wrote the character very similar to himself. We're not going to praise or disparage his acting here. You can see the teaser trailer of this campaign and judge for yourselves.

MARÍA CID is EVA is Ricardo's ex girlfriend that break-up with him before the start of the pandemic when she realizes that the path her life has taken has distanced her from Ricardo and their relationship no longer has the same meaning for her. She enjoys sharing sporadic and funny moments of her life on her social media.

María Cid majored in acting at the Casa del Teatro. She has participated in various national and international projects.

She has worked on many plays like the tour of Teatro Rocinante (2019) and Resfebber (2021) of the theatre company La Maniobra Teatro.

Her filmography includes short-films and medium length films like Morra (2021) directed by María Lopez and Ingrid (2021) directed by Albert Pons.

She has worked on International feature-length projects like Witney Horn and Lev Kelman’s Two Plains and a Fancy (2016) and mexican films like Emiliano Rocha’s Tenemos la carne (2014) and her more recent main role in Caballero Aguila (2021) directed by Alejandro Blázquez.

VICTORIA URIBE is LU, Ricardo’s sister with whom he has a rocky relationship. Like Ricardo, Lu is having a hard time with the pandemic which she deals by abusing of prescription drugs for anxiety.

Victoria majored in Theater at Mexico’s University Theater Center, she has participated in various plays like the musical play Ya No SÉ Qué Hacer Conmigo directed by Hugo Arevillaga with music from rock Group El Cuarteto de Nos. Her filmography includes award-winning short-films like The Two Claudias, winner of the public’s prize at the Cuorum Morelia film festival 2019 and winner of the LGBTQ+ tutorship at the Watersprite Studednt Film Festival 2020.

VALERIA LORDUGUIN is MARIANA, Ricardo’s mother. By her mid-twenties she was already a mother of two. She divorced Ricardo’s father when her kids were very young and she raised them practically by herself. She’s a psychotherapist who fears for her children because she sees they are having trouble stepping into adulthood.

Valeria Lorduguin is a uruguayan actress and tango dancer living in Mexico. She is known for her versatility. She has a worked on more than 30 plays, soap operas and series for TV Azteca, Telemundo, Televisa and Netflix. Her filmography includes Narcos, La Doña, La Bella y las bestias, El Secreto de Selena, La Teniente, among others. She has performed in the Mexico’s main tango shows. She has also starred in music videos from music artists like Aida Cuevas, Pablo Ahmad and Elefante. She’s currently mother of two and a psychology student.

BALU is GATEKE, Ricardo’s family pet and narrator of the film. Both the character and the actor share a complete indifference for humanity and only stay with the Family for the conveniences it brings. Nobody resents him because he’s extremley handsome.

Abandoned in the streets of Mexico City when he was just a few months old, Balu was found in the middle of the street near an Argentinian restaurant by the director’s mother during the pandemic and was adopted by the family.

His parents abandonment and his days in the streets marked him deeply, because despite having a more accommodated lifestyle, Balu has never stopped being a rebel cat.

Some of his stand out work from his oeuvre includes numerous preys like birds and lizards, as well as uncountable insects and scratches in the director’s extremities.

CREW

JUAN / Director and screenwriter

Scholarship recipient of a one year program in screenwriting at the Vancouver Film School.

He studied filmmaking at the University of Mexico's National Film School (ENAC-UNAM).

Director, screenwriter and editor of films and short films which have been selected at various international film festivals.

His short film VERA received a special mention from the jury at the Morelia Film Festival in 2020.

ULYSSE / PRODUCER

He obtained a BFA in Film Animation from Concordia University (Montreal) and is in the process of getting his BA in Filmmaking at the University of Mexico's National Film School (ENAC-UNAM), formerly known as CUEC.

During his studies in Canada, he was the recipient of an academic scholarship in animation, offered conjointly by the University and the BMO Financial Group.

His short animation How are you spending your time? was rewarded at the 9th International One-Minute Short Film Festival, organized by the Autonomous Metropolitan University. He served as an animator in the short Pozolli, national first place at Nespresso Talents 2019, and in the short film A Wooden Toy Dreamed of Paper Boats, recently nominated to the Ariel Awards 2021.

He was executive producer for the short film At last, the sea, produced by the Mexican Cinematography Institute, and winner of Best Narrative Short at the San Diego Latino Film Festival.

EMILIO / Director of photography

Specialized in cinematography at the University of Mexico's National Film School (ENAC-UNAM).

He has been director of photography of many short-films that have been selected and recognized at international film festivals in Argentina, England, China, and France.

“I take cool pics”

DANNY / Production designer (Historian medium)

Person form the State of Mexico whose sensibility resides in video art and experimental cinema. She believes that comedy, apart from being her own defense mechanism, is a very complex and personal tool for understanding the reality she inhabits.

She has worked in different productions as Production Designer and as Art Director. Those films have been selected in multiple national film festivals.

SEBASTIÁN / Assistant director

Filmmaker from the University of Mexico's National Film School (ENAC-UNAM).

He has written and directed the short films Valhalla (2019), Potocine (2018), Y el Verbo se hizo carne (2018) among others. He has also participated as assistant director, producer, editor and sound disigner in short films like Vera (2019), The Two Claudias (2019), La Mariachi (2018), among others. He is currently preparing his final student film project.