Original Production
Trailer Close to Blanks (Cierre a Blancas)
Dramatic Feature Film (52 minutes length); In Spanish, with English subtitles.
A film by Luis Martin Flores Director – Producer – Editor
This is a free adaptation of the short story “Cierre a Blancas” by Mexican writer Javier Flores Carranza. The film is the story of Richard and his gambling problem. Addiction is the theme of the film, the compulsion to win and escape from his reality are the key elements of the story.
What begins as an innocent game of dominoes has become the worst hand of Ricardo’s life! How far can a player go when the addiction for one more game is the only thing in his mind?
In one night, Ricardo will have the game of his life. Literally he can win or lose it all! How can a compulsive gambler stop if he is not aware of his passion-addiction? Even when his whole life is seen falling in front of him?
Cast: Raul Kennedy Cabildo, Lizbeth Vázquez Candanedo and María del Carmen Suárez Flores
Luis Martin Flores Filmmaker Aztlan Productions Toronto ON, Canada
Many new immigrants come to Canada every year; a large number of them are professionals. Some of them have years and years of work experience in their backgrounds (careers), and others are masters in specific areas.
However, all of them have the same desire and in almost all cases the same difficulties and problems. These newcomers want to work in their professions, to participate in the Canadian Economy and to be part on the Canadian work force. But, most of them do not have Canadian work experience in their professions; consequently they need an open door to integrate them selves into the economy and lose the stigma of being an immigrant to become a Canadian.
The newcomers soon realize that getting Canadian work experience is an important step to achieving their goals in Canada. In some cases they choose to go back to school, to re-validates their studies, to take a new course, to improve their English, and to take a co-op program that gives them the opportunity to gain the needed Canadian work experience to fulfill their goals.
To sum up, I would like to tell the stories of professionals’ newcomers to Canada and their progress into the “CanEx Co-op program at the City Adult Learning Center”. I would like to see the stages of professional immigrants solving difficulties, complications, bridging the gap between co-op students to become professional worker. As a result of this experience that the newcomer face, realize and assimilate the Canadian work environment; now she or he is ready to be part of the Canadian work force.
I will put especial attention on their experiences and their feelings of confronting themselves with the jobs and interviewers, because in some cases this is a new and totally different way of doing things, as well as forming new teams and structures in a different work environment. Eventually, I will to show how they interact with the work place and co-workers to illustrate the challenges of have new tasks in their carers and their progress. And so far, how the newcomers improve and speed their adaptation to the Canadian culture when he or she is taking places at their professions.
LuisMartinFlores 