Story by: Christopher Michael Smith
It is 2016 and a teenage couple steps onto a Metro Rail in Los Angeles. Young Amelia and her boyfriend August are making their way to Planned Parenthood. On the way, they learn more about each other and themselves. It is a simple story, brought to life with a strong and emotional screenplay. Written and Directed by Jorge Xolalpa, Blue Line Station was a 2016 Dramedy that was shot on an iPhone with a mere $100 budget. While the 90’s indie scene was dominated by rags-to-riches stories about films that were made on low budgets – which are still far higher than the average aspiring filmmaker can scrounge together to make a feature – Jorge fully economized an art medium notorious for being prohibitively expensive.
By no means did Blue Line Station look like a movie that was filmed on that low of a budget. Even in his first feature, Jorge showed a keen filmmaker’s eye, an ability to bring out the best in his actors, and the ability to write gorgeous, natural dialogue. Blue Line Station was raw, sweet, funny, and emotional. But best of all, it felt real. We knew people like the characters onscreen. Watching it, one cannot help but think of the 90’s Indie scene. The gritty, low-budget generation that gave us Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez. Today, we have Jorge Xolalpa.
It wasn’t long before I was invited to the set of his follow-up feature, Valentina, where I got to watch him work. By this time, Blue Line Station had made its rounds at the festival’s circuit and picked up considerable attention. In this film, he teamed up with cinematographer Vito Huizar, working with a more traditional camera. What struck me about his process, even this early on, was that Jorge knew what he wanted, and knew how to communicate that to his actors. He got into a creative zone, and watching that process unfold was a very cool experience.
This translated into the final product beautifully. In a full genre pivot, Valentina was a Suspense-Thriller about a mother fighting like Hell to save her daughter from kidnappers. The scene I got to watch being filmed was one where Valentina, played by the incredibly talented Victoria del Rosal, robs a pawn shop. She brought a tremendous intensity to that scene that was evident throughout the entire film.
The magic behind Valentina was that like Blue Line Station before it, it was made at a far lower budget than you would expect for a film in that genre, but I couldn’t tell. It was so expertly crafted. Jorge’s writing and direction, mixed with Victoria’s stunning performance gave us a strong, bad-ass character who you can’t help but feel for, and root for. It reminded me of the excitement I felt watching Jodie Foster kicking butt in The Brave One. If Blue Line Station was the work of a promising new filmmaker, Valentina backed that promise up.
This modest success and international exposure offered Jorge a little more artistic freedom, with which he chose to make Sweet Caroline. This can be best described as an experimental, somewhat surrealist Psychological Drama – something in the vein of Black Swan. While it featured a strong performance from Summera Howell, and Jorge showed a natural proficiency in film language to full effect, the film itself didn’t reach the narrative heights of his previous two. As Jorge himself would later put it, “it’s about nothing.” Of all the films he has ever made, he considers it his least favorite; a vanity project from a filmmaker who tasted prestige.
I remember watching Sweet Caroline, feeling generally uncomfortable with it. Much of this was intentional – the film places the audience right in the middle of the title character’s full mental breakdown. But there was something else off about it. Perhaps it was too ambitious, too off-kilter, too uncomfortable. The artistry of it was undeniable, but what was it trying to say? I appreciated what he was going for, but it didn’t quite land.
Sweet Caroline was not a complete bust. Aside from winning Best Feature at the Sunscreen Film Festival (a win that even Jorge was surprised by), Sweet Caroline succeeded in ways that at the time were not immediately obvious. Number one, it was a very humbling learning experience. Jorge, who by this time had been releasing one feature film a year, took a year off to reconsider his approach. This would force him to look inward and pushed him towards the most successful film of his career. The second thing was that it served as an indication that Jorge is not afraid to take risks and try new things. To date, he has never made the same type of movie that he has made before. He is constantly trying different genres, tones, themes, yes always keeping his style. Still, quiet, impactful.
After taking a year off and taking in the lessons from Sweet Caroline – good and bad, Jorge decided to tell a much more personal story. His mother, Teresa, had written an autobiographical short story, which Jorge chose to adapt. This was her journey, after coming to the United States, raising her kids in an environment that presented numerous challenges. From Jorge’s perspective, it is a sincere and poetic tribute to mothers.
When describing Your Iron Lady, it would be easy to jump to like-minded slice-of-life films, such as Roma or Boyhood. But this doesn’t accurately describe the film. I was actually racking my brain for a film I could compare it with and came up short – because there is nothing like it. This film, a masterful labor of love, tells a story that is unique to what Jorge himself has known and experienced. His deeply personal vision came together with a sharp, emotional screenplay, confident direction, and another stunning performance from Victoria del Rosal.
Jorge has had successes before, but nothing like this. Having released a very personal and ambitious film during a global pandemic seemed like a step towards failure until things drastically changed when Your Iron Lady became eligible for a Golden Globe Nomination, creating awards buzz that not even Jorge had imagined could happen with a $1500 Feature Film. Although the nomination didn’t come thru, this small bit of recognition from one of the biggest Awards bodies in film showed that he can aim for it, and very likely achieve those top prizes.
While all this was going on, Jorge was putting the finishing touches on his fifth and most recent feature, MELANCOLíA. For the first time since Valentina, I had been invited to the set of this film and seeing his progression from the small-scale production of Valentina – only himself, his DP, and his Leading Actress in a small pawnshop – to an entire Production Team. I noticed the camera he was using, in a small and restrictive space and the portable device through which he could see the shot from another room. He was working with Music and Television sensation Alessandra Rosaldo, returning to the screen after a six-year hiatus, and bringing a raw, emotional, heart-wrenching performance with her. I was also struck by Jorge’s laser-sharp focus. He wasted no time, no energy. This was a tight production, which worked to his benefit, as he completed it just before COVID-19 shut everything down.
I was fortunate enough to catch a private screener, and just as I suspected, it is a masterpiece. Not only is it a relentlessly tragic exploration of grief, but tremendous proof of Jorge’s growth. On its own, the screenplay is solid. Jorge had previously explored the human psyche with Sweet Caroline, but this time around he was working with a steadier, more experienced hand, which made for a far more satisfying film. This film is a spectacular showcase of electrifying talent, which could potentially generate some serious Awards Buzz for both Jorge and Alessandra. MELANCOLíA will be released later this year.
Last month, Jorge completed production on his latest film. From his humble beginnings, shooting an indie feature with $100 and an iPhone, now helming a high-profile project with a substantially higher budget. SVGS is a Drama featuring Vadhir Derbez and Elyfer Torres – two performers known for Rom-Coms, playing against type in a tense Drama inspired by Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. A point of pride Jorge takes in this Production is that the film’s cast and crew are by-and-large Latinx, and many of them, women – staying true to Jorge’s desire to lift up voices that might not otherwise be heard.
While much of the information about the film is being kept under wraps, I happen to have read the screenplay. The thought that crossed my mind while reading it, is that this is either going to be really, really bad, or really, really good. The screenplay leaves a lot of room for interpretation, and its success depends on the way Jorge directs it – and equally important – the performances of his two Leads. Having watched Jorge work – both at the very beginning of his career, as well as in one of his more recent projects, I can confidently say he is a filmmaker who knows what he wants and how to make that happen. With his focus, his clarity, and a genuine love for what he does, I have no doubt in my mind Jorge is going to make something unforgettable. SVGS will likely be released sometime in 2022.
All these films are productions of Mighty Aphrodite Pictures. Jorge himself established this company in 2014, just before beginning production on Blue Line Station. At its inception, it was a small operation. Over time, as Jorge made more films and gained publicity, Mighty Aphrodite grew and expanded, all the while living up to its Mission Statement: “…to create high-quality films that might otherwise be deemed risky by Hollywood studios, because at the end of the day, here at Mighty Aphrodite Pictures we believe and understand that diversity is universal!”
In 2019, Mighty Aphrodite Pictures started acquiring and optioning material. Just recently, it was announced that they acquired the rights to the novel La Casa de Los Secretos (The House of Secrets), by Maria de Lourdes Victoria, which is currently being developed as a series for a streaming platform. Recently, Sara Seligman, Director of HBO’s Coyote Lake, joined Mighty Aphrodite Pictures as their Head of Development. Jorge’s humble beginnings as a guy who made a movie with $100 and an iPhone have started a rewarding creative journey that is leading him towards being the head of his own production company, still making his own projects on his own terms.
Jorge once asked me what filmmaker he reminds me of. I did not have an answer for him then, and I do not have one now. Jorge has an adventurous spirit and creative energy, unlike anything I have ever seen before. Every feature he makes, he challenges himself and he makes it with love. Granted, he has received a lot of hate for the way he gets things done. He does not say it, but I have been a witness myself. And I get it, how do you not envy someone as talented as Jorge who can make a film with $100 and do it right and on top of that, makes it look easy. He does something completely different from what he has already done. Blue Line Station, Valentina, and Your Iron Lady are such vastly different films from each other – the only consistent thing is his focus on strong female characters.
From all that, who do I compare him with? No one. Jorge is his own filmmaker. A proud DACA recipient, who is proud to represent DACA recipients in an industry that hasn’t yet put their stories front and center. He gives opportunities to cast and crew who might not otherwise receive them. He gives actors a chance to branch out or break free from typecasting. He kicks doors open and holds them for others to walk through with him. He is a Dreamer, yes, but above all else, he is a Maker. The Iron Maker if you will. Jorge is not, nor is he interested in being, the “Latino” version of any established filmmaker, or the “next” anyone. He is the first, and only, Jorge Xolalpa.