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| (Photo courtesy of Macro Ventures) |
Gentrification in the Los Angeles neighborhood known as Boyle Heights, "Gente-Fied" takes a comical look into the lives of seven characters in Boyle Heights.
The series of shorts will have it's world premiere on Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. at the Sundance Film Festival in the Egyptian Theater in Park City, Utah.
Director and Co-creator Marvin Lemus said, "I wanted to make something that felt Chicano or Mexican-American. I can't speak to any other experiences."The writing duo spent time in Boyle Heights getting to know the area better and the people of the area better.
The area is changing and gentrification may seem like its making things better, but the response from the people who live there is mixed.
Some people are welcoming, mostly the millennials, some are struggling, these are older people, not just to keep up with the time, but to keep up with the cost of living going up.
"To me it's important to speak to my truths, to my experience, and be as specific as possible," Lemus said. "I chose Boyle Heights because I was familiar with the changes that was happening in the area where I was living, the Hollywood area. At the time I learned about 'genie-fication' which was happening in Boyle Heights."The chance to tell stories from the perspective from several different people that can be found in the Boyle Heights area.
It's seven stories which help people not in Boyle Heights understand the difference in opinion people of the area are having and how diverse this community is.
"There's so many latino projects which come out and they don't work, they try to make latino communities one community and that still doesn't work, that's just not the case. Latino identities are many," Lemus said.Lemus is thrilled to be having Macro Ventures support the project and executive producers Charles D. King, Aaliyah Williams and America Ferrera supporting the project, but hopes that after Sundance there could be a possibility to expand on the project and develop it into a series or a film.
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