Winner “Best documentary” at CORTISONANTI 2021
Best cinematography at STORIE PARALLELE 2022
New York Short Documentary Film Festival 2021
The film follows a day in the life of Angel, a 19-year-old Latinx of Dominican descent from Queens.
From dawn until evening, Angel’s routine unfolds across New York: starting from Queens, where he lives, to the streets and restaurants of Brooklyn where he collects bottles and takes them to a redemption center, to a deconsecrated church in the Upper West Side, where he performs as Herod in a Generation-Z-inspired rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Angel interacts with, and reacts to, the world around him in a proud and playful way: he’s confident in his skills and comfortably wears all the hats he - or life itself - has chosen for him, while incessantly humming or singing the songs that represent and move him the most, like Hamilton’s rap or the theme from Kinky Boots. His journey across New York is physical as much as symbolic: he moves through streets and subway cars as swiftly as he does through different social classes and opportunities.
From Ridgewood to Sure We Can, the redemption center where people who have little, or nothing, to live on can redeem the bottles and cans they collected for 5 cents apiece (the estimated number of NYC canners is 10,000) to the upper class apartment buildings and boutiques surrounding the theater where he is trying to make his acting career come to life.
Starring: Angel Rafael Tavarez
Written by Francesca Berardi
Directed, shot and edited by Alfredo Chiarappa
Produced by Angelo Troiano, Francesco Lattarulo
Executive Producer: Caterina Clerici
Co-producer: Joseph Matantuono, Ellie Foumbi
Distribution: Pathos Distribution
Original soundtrack: Ludovico Schilling
Graphic: Martìn Caezza
Production: Mediterraneo Cinematografica Co-production: Solid Stripe Film