Monday, October 09, 2006

NEW FILM ABOUT COMING OF AGE IN THE BRONX
SCHEDULED TO BEGIN SHOOTING
FUNDRAISING RECEPTION

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 6PM – 8:30PM AT PRDREAM

New York City, October 9, 2006 – Bx3M begins shooting at the end of October. Written and directed by Judith Escalona, the film is the story of three Latino youths coming of age in a city going up in flames. Think the Bronx circa 1978 or Manhattan 2002. The comparison may not be immediately apparent but urban blight and human suffering are as common today as they were then. So are the youth growing up during those confusing, turbulent years who must make choices that will change the rest of their lives.

The “3M” stands for Maria’s Birthday, Mona’s Move and Michael’s Revenge – the three interlacing stories that together make up Bx3M. Escalona is actually returning home to the “Boogie Down” to make this feature-length movie after spending most of her adult years in Manhattan and abroad. It is her way of coming to terms with what she left behind, according to the director, the “friends who never made it out when the Bronx was burning. And I don’t simply mean the tenements that were torched.”

Real life experiences inform the lives of Maria, Mona and Michael, the fictional characters Escalona has created. She previously wrote and directed The Krutch, a surreal narrative about a Puerto Rican psychoanalyst with an identity problem. The short film stars veteran film actor Jaime Sanchez and is currently on the film festival circuit. Sanchez is Executive Producer of Bx3M. Clarisel Gonzalez and Izzy Ruiz-Calaf are the film’s producers. They grew up and currently live in the Bronx.

Filming is expected to be completed by early next year and post production by early Spring.

Bx3M is sponsored by PR Project Inc., a 501 ( c ) (3) not-for-profit, new media enterprise located in Spanish Harlem. Its mission is to empower community through technology, documenting the Puerto Rican/Latino experience in the U.S. Donations to Bronx3M are welcomed and fully tax-deductible. Visit their web site at www.prdream.com and click on the donations button. By mail, make checks or money orders payable to PR Project Inc. (Bx3M). The mailing address is: Bx3M c/o PR Project Inc., 161 East 106th Street, First Floor, New York, NY 10029.

On Thursday, October 19, between 6PM and 8:30PM, a fundraiser for Bx3M will take place at PRdream, 161 East 106th Street, First Floor, between Lexington and Third Avenues. For more information, call 212.828.0401.

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