Indie filmmaker has his birthday wish come true as his award-winning film screens at the Regal LA Live theater 2 days after his birthday

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, December 9, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- After being officially selected and winning 10 awards and 5 honorable mentions in film festivals all around the world including; Chile, Venezuela, Italy, Vermont and New York, “De La Cruz” will screen in Los Angeles for the very 1st time Sunday, December 15th, at 2 pm at the Regal LA Live movie theater in Downtown L.A., just 2 days after the filmmaker’s birthday. “I’m thrilled to be celebrating my birthday by showing my movie up on the big screen. It truly is a dream come true”, writer/director/producer/editor, Michael Baez says.

Michael shot his ultra-low budget indie feature entirely in Mexico City as a result of the pandemic, soon followed by the strike in Hollywood. “I was tired of waiting around for someone to make my movie, I decided to take matters into my own hands and pursue my passion”, says Michael.

Born and raised in the Bronx and Queens, New York, Michael was naturally inspired by legendary and fellow New York filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Francis Ford Copolla and Stanley Kubrick, but it was Austin, Texas born filmmaker Robert Rodriguez that gave Michael the idea to shoot “De La Cruz” in Mexico. “I can’t tell you how many times I watched ‘El Mariachi’ and read Robert’s book ‘Rebel Without a Crew’. Robert gave us his exact formula and most importantly his mindset. So I followed it, wrote a low-budget indie feature screenplay in 7 days, packed my bags, raised a little bit of money and went to Mexico with the full intention of shooting my film as Spike Lee often says ‘By any means necessary’. Even if I had to shoot it on my iPhone - I was gonna shoot it once and for all!”

Luckily he didn’t have to shoot it on his iPhone, he was able to get his hands on 2 RED Komodo cameras, hire a local crew and local actors. “We shot my movie in 16 days, which is nuts! I wanted 25 days but we needed to wrap before the holidays. And we did. I finally made my movie.”

“De La Cruz” has gone on to win awards in several international film festivals for “Best Cinematography”, “Best Editing”, “Best Screenplay”, “Best Art Direction”, “Best Fight Choreography” and a few for “Best Leading Actress”. Sofía Diaz plays the lead role of “Yoli De La Cruz” a young teen who wants revenge after she is sexually assaulted by the son of corrupt police captain. Realizing she will never get the justice she deserves, Yoli learns how to fight by training with “Lobo” a former hitman/cage fighter, who left the life of crime after he experiences a divine intervention with “La Santa Muerte” - a Mexican folklore saint who spares Lobo’s life during the middle of a shootout.

“What I love most about this story is it combines many different types of genres: drama, crime, action and the supernatural. But at the heart of the story it’s a ‘Revenge Thriller’. I believe it will inspire the women in audience to study martial arts and train hard so they can learn how to defend themselves too”, says Michael. “That’s my goal”. Michael is a 2nd degree black belt and now a yoga teacher and the founder of the Awakened Warrior Yoga Teacher Training.

And training hard is exactly what leading actress Sofía Diaz did. “Sofi”, as Michael calls her “She trained for 3 years for this role with Luis Grasso, the father of the very first Mexican-born UFC champion Alexa Grasso. Luis said ‘Sofi is ready to fight if she wants to get into the cage for real.’ Of course I don’t want her to. It was just for the role. But I am so proud of her. She gives an incredible performance! And I’m also proud of my entire cast and crew. I am incredibly grateful to my girlfriend and my family for all their continued support. And especially grateful to my investors/Executive Producers and our distributor Buffalo 8 for believing in me, believing in my vision and in De La Cruz”.

Be sure to catch “De La Cruz” Sunday, December 15th at 12 pm at the Regal LA Live theater in Downtown LA.

Michael Baez
Baez Entertainment inc.
baezentertainmentinc@gmail.com
+1 8186687654

De La Cruz Trailer for the Culver City Film Festival

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