A Gritty and Raw Insider Film
New York City Filmmakers "Cati and Mike Gonzalez" bring us a new insider Film that focuses on the journey of a teenager who runs away from home and ends up homeless on the streets of a city that most times can be ruthless and unforgiving. The teenager who goes by the name "Ekaj" played by (Jake Mestre) meets an well seasoned and experienced street hustler (Badd Idea) who takes him under his wing. They both wander the city streets of The Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn and the Lower East Side of Manhattan trying to find ways to make money in order to survive another day. Feeling rejected and discarded by society, they lean on each other for survival. Ekaj makes the decision to go into prostitution as a way to make a coin or two against the advise of his new friend. He ends up meeting a successful Painter who he thinks will take care of him but he soon realizes that everything he thought was true was always a lie. The story touches on real life issues that many youth face on a day to day basis and raises awareness on Youth Homelessness, Drug Abuse, Rejection, Bullying, Survival Sex, Physical Abuse and HIV/AIDS. The Director Cati Gonzalez specifically chose to use non-actors in the Film because she wanted people who lived similar experiences as the characters played in the script. The Film was shot in a Docu/Guerilla style having a very 70-80's grit with raw feeling that is rarely seen in Films today. It's definitely a must see for those curious to see an inside view of what these youth go through on the streets, and the many dangers they face while trying to survive in their environment.
Ekaj is currently doing it's Film Festival run in the US and in Europe. It can be seen at these Festivals:
San Francisco Latino Film Festival (USA)http://maxitmagazine.com/2016/09/19/ekaj-premieres-at-cine-mas-san-franc...
Charlotte Film Festival (USA) https://www.ticketriver.com/event/21198
Guam International Film Festival (USA) http://www.guamfilmfestival.org/
Thessanoliki LGBT International Film Festival (Greece) http://lgbtq-iff.gr/en/home/
No Gloss Film Festival (UK) http://www.noglossfilmfestival.co.uk/watch-ekaj-usa-trailer/
Lisbon International Film Festival (Portugal) http://www.lisbonfilmfestival.com/
Pembroke & Taparelli Art and Film Festival (USA) http://www.ptaff.org/
Directed by: Cati Gonzalez
Produced by: Cati Gonzalez, Mike Gonzalez
Cast: Jake Mestre, Badd Idea, Scooter LaForge
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4938292/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
What people are saying about EKAJ...
"A truthful film, well shot, edited, with good performances" - Peter MacNicol (Ghost Busters II, Bean, 24, CSI: Cyber Crime)
" A truly powerful film" - Paul Calderon (Pulp Fiction, Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, The Castle, 21 Grams)
"It truly captures the sense of an Independent Film" - Oscar Torre (Hangover III, Ladrones, Pretty Rose Bud, The Boatman)
“EKAJ is a film that embraces a slice of life that is rarely seen on the screen" - Nicole Gomez Fisher (Sleeping with the Fishes)
Reviews,etc:
HuffPost- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-c-frank/ekaj-more-than-a-movie_b_961...
BrendanNaicker.org - https://brendonnaicker.org/2016/09/20/ekaj-how-reality-became-real-on-sc...
MoviesOverTheRainbow - http://www.moviesovertherainbow.com/gay-films/ekaj/
You can Follow and Like #EKAJ on Social Media:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/EkajTheMovie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CatiandMike
Tumblr: ekaj-the-movie.tumblr.com/
Website: http://info58201.wixsite.com/ekajthemovie
Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/ekajthemovie
