PART 1-Miracle of Spanish Harlem- A Talk with Writer Carlos Bermudez

Derek Partridge (Director) and Carlos Bermudez (writer)

"The Miracle of Spanish Harlem" is an independent movie starring Kate del Castillo and Luis Antonio Ramos. I was lucky enough to meet both the Writer Carlos Bermudez and the Director Derek Partridge during last months Hispanicize event held in beautiful Miami.

Their movie,  which was featured as part of the events Latino Film Showcase, won the events "Best of Film" award, and it was well deserved.

Both Bermudez and Patridge are talented latinos that have worked behind the camera for many years, and are examples of how much our community has to give to Hollywood. During a causal conversation during small breaks at Hispanicize, we talked about family, life in general, and best of all, the PASSION we all share in doing what we love doing. 

In this first Part of my Interviews with them, I talk to the movies writer Carlos Bermudez.  If any of you are lucky enough to meet them in person you will see how nice, humble and great they are. 

Directed by Derek Velez Partridge Screenplay by Carlos Bermudez

MY INTERVIEW WITH WRITER CARLOS BERMUDEZ:

NAIBE: In a nutshell what is The Miracle of Spanish Harlem about?

CARLOS: Kate Del Castillo (Eva) gives (Tito) Luis Antonio Ramos a second chance at love but he must first overcome a lie and find redemption. This is an emotional drama about a man that tries to fake his own miracle, only to find a real one. (Florida Premiere)   Cast: Tony Plana, Andre Royo, Fatima Ptacek, Adrian Martinez, Priscilla Lopez, Geraldo Rivera

NAIBE: I understand the story was inspired by true events?

CARLOS: Yes, most of the characters were born from my own personal experience, so I created a story and plug them in it.  

NAIBE: This is an independent movie- how does that effect casting choices?

CARLOS: In a movie with a limited budget, it is very hard to go after A-list talent, but in our case, because of the strength of the script we were able to secure super talent such as Kate Del Castillo, Luis Antonio Ramos, Tony Plana, Priscilla Lopez and Adrian Martinez... We also discovered Fatima Ptacek who is now the voice of Dora the Explorer and someone you'll be hearing from in the near future.  She already did a second movie with me called, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

NAIBE:  Besides writing the script, how else were you involved in the

process of making the movie?

CARLOS: I was on set during production, but as you know, in feature film your baby is handed over to the director and the writer peeks in.  At this stage of the game, I try to help out as much as I can to promote the film and seek distribution.

NAIBE: The movie is written, directed, and is starring Latinos, but its NOT a

"Latino Story"?

CARLOS: No is not... It's a story that happens to take place in Spanish Harlem.  I think it is a universal story.  I'm sure that the frustrations and the elations felt by the characters, because of their circumstances can happen to anyone from any racial background.

NAIBE: At what stage of distribution is The Miracle of Spanish Harlem? When/Where

can Audiences see it? And how can we "spread" the word?

CARLOS:The producers are in conversations with a number of companies, but no decisions have been made yet.

NAIBE: Congrats, you won an award at the Hispanicize film festival in

Miami! Tell us about it!

CARLOS: Because this film hasn't been out in any venues such as festivals yet, it was great to get a win, the first time out.  $10,000 doesn’t hurt either.  I think that the promotional value we have received from the Hispanicize will go a long way in channeling this project and securing maximum distribution.  I want to take my hat off to Manny Ruiz, Bel Hernandez and the rest Hispanicize team for all the hard work.

Watch out for PART 2 of this Entry- when I interview the films Director and self-proclaimed "Greekarican" Dereck Partridge.