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Red Cockroaches
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Directed by Miguel Coyula Written by Miguel Coyula Produced by Miguel Coyula Suzana Dejkanovic Steve Pieczenik Adam Plotch Genre Runtime: 82 min Release Date: March 2008 Advisory: Nudity Filmmaker's Website Send to Friends |
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Plot Outline
Set in a New York of the near future, complete with flying cars and glowing red cockroaches, "Red Cockroaches" is a mind bending and morally ambiguous astounding visual experience.
A man in his twenties meets a mysterious young woman who disrupts the banality of his day-to-day existence. Together, they will embark on an obsessive-destructive journey revealing dark family secrets and forbidden desires.
Mysterious and seductive, often disturbing, this unclassifiable piece of cinema offers very few answers as it plays with our genre expectations, taking us on a surreal journey with a devastating climax.Miguel Coyula has created a work that is completely unexpected both in form and content. By using a different camera setup for every shot, and carefully planned transitions, he has created a visual feast in which no moment is like any other. This is the result of a two-year effort on a budget of $2,000 and a passion for filmmaking. Shot entirely using a portable digital camcorder and edited on a home computer, Red Cockroaches pushes to the limit the notion of what a "no budget" film can offer.
Awards
Narrative Grand Prize - GreenCine Online Film Festival, US, June 2005
Best Editing - San Francisco Fearless Tales, US, April 2005
Special Mention for Visual Concept - Festival Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, Argentina, Nov 2004
Special Mention - SciencePlusFiction, Italy, Nov 2004
Gran Premio Plaza (Top Prize), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Sound - Festival Cineplaza, Cuba, Oct 2004
Best of Fest, Best Director, Best Science Fiction Feature, Best Actor, Best FX, Best Editing - Microcinema Fest, US, July 2004
Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Special Mention (Narrative) - Encuentro Nacional de Video, Cuba, June 2004
Grand Jury Prize - Digital Independent Film Festival (DIFF), US, May 2004
Special Award of the Jury - Muestra de Nuevos Realizadores, Cuba, Feb 2004
Best Feature, Best Editing, Cineam Award - Festival Almacen de la Imagen, Cuba, Oct 2003
Reviews
"An undeniably inventive, visually stunning sci-fier, made for a reputed $2,000, "Red Cockroaches" reps a triumph of technology in the hands of a visionary with know-how, Miguel Coyula." Ronnie Sheib, Variety
"'Red Cockroaches' has been garnering some acclaim of late at festivals . . . folks who are looking for something odd and different are highly recommended to check this out." Mike Watt, Film Threat
"The controversial fave of film festivals around the world proves that even existential ennui can be interesting in the right hands" Michael Marano, Sci Fi.com
Filmmaker Notes
Red Cockroaches explores the dark side of human nature and the
mysteries of an alternative reality. I'm interested in creating a
sensorial experience while asking questions that haunt you and not
killing the mystery by answering them. If you try to explain a dream it
will stop haunting you, and that feeling can be beautiful, even if its
a nightmare.
The strategy was not to have the same camera angle used twice in the film.
I believe that every moment in a film has its own meaning and therefore
I don't believe in cutting back to the same angle. Instead a different setup
should be used to express a different message. With this in mind I storyboarded
the aproximately 1500 shots of the film.
I think I am one of the biggest fans of Digital Video. It has allowed
me remain creative without having to worry too much about the financial
resources. There was no other way since no producer would ever want to
invest in a project like this. However, growing up and learning
filmmaking in Cuba provided excellent training in achieving great
results under the most difficult conditions.
About the Filmmaker:
Miguel Coyula was born in Havana, Cuba in 1977. He is part of a new
wave of independent Cuban filmmakers working outside of the mainstream
using digital technology on shoestring budgets. He has garnered many
awards at film festivals with short films such as: Dancing on needles
(1999) Nice Going (1999), Clase Z Tropical (2000), and The Plastic Fork
(2001). After graduating from the prestigious International Film School
of San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba, in 1999, Miguel Coyula came to New
York on an invitation from the Providence Latino Film Festival to show
one of his films.
While in New York he met Anna Strasberg of
the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and was offered a scholarship. It
was while attending the Strasberg Institute in New York on his second
trip to the U.S, that Coyula made Red Cockroaches.
Currently he is filming his next project, “Memories of Overdevelopment” sequel to the 1968 Cuban classic. Red Cockroaches represents his first full-length feature production. It is also the first of a trilogy.
See the video of the director's "making of Red Cockroaches".
Castlist
Adam Plotch - Adam Zarrasky
Talia Rubel - Lily Zarrasky
Diane Spodarek - Krista Zarrasky
Jeff Pucillo - Nick
Limor Shopen - Monica Zaister
Stephanie Sloane - Laura Zaister
James Hollands - William Zaister
Stu Richel - Bill Harris
Leila J. Babson - Doris
Music
Miguel Coyula
Cinematographers
Miguel Coyula
Film Editors
Miguel Coyula
Screenings
Istanbul International Film Festival
Skip City International D-Cinema Festival (Japan)
Fearless Tales in San Francisco
GreenCine Online Film Festival
Kansas International Film Festival
Cucalorus Film Festival
No Budget International Film Festival (Cuba)
Science+Fiction Film Festival (Italy)
Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre Film Festival
Festival Cineplaza 2004 in Havana
Calgary International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Scotland)
Microcinema Fest in South Dakota
Digital Independent Film Festival
Havana New Directors Film Festival