Last month, The Black List and other orgs (including Remezcla) announced The Latinx List, a compilation of promising scripts written by Latinx writers. Now, some of those same screenplays are heading into production, and the first out of the gate is Blast Beat.
Directed by Esteban Arango and cowritten by Arango and Erick Castrillon, Blast Beat started out as a short financed via a kickstarter campaign. A coming-of-age drama, the short followed 17-year-old Carly and his 15-year-old brother Mateo. The brothers and their mother move to the US from Colombia only to find their father is suddenly deported. Mateo then comes up with a plan to be reunited with their father, leading to all types of trials and tribulations. Though plot details of the feature-length film have not been confirmed, it’s safe to assume that because it found its origin as a short that part of the story will remain the same.
Macro, who is financing and producing the feature, describes the longer version of Blast Beat as an “energetic, youth-driven, metal-blasting coming-of-age story that follows two Colombian brothers as they adjust to life in the USA.” Macro’s Charles D. King and Poppy Hanks are producing alongside Erick Castrillon and Ty Walker. Greta Fuentes and Yira Vilaro of Macro will serve as executive producers.
Colombian-American actors (and real-life brothers) Mateo and Moises Arias will star as Carly and Mateo, reprising their roles from the short film. Wilmer Valderrama is confirmed in a co-starring role. The most interesting addition is Kali Uchis. Blast Beat will be the Colombian-American singer’s big-screen debut. Here’s hoping Uchis records a song for the soundtrack.
A release date remains unknown. In the meantime, here’s a look at the trailer for the short.
[h/t: Deadline]