Five different teenagers in the U.S. and Bolivia strive to make sense of their sexuality, revealing what is universal about the human experience. These characters from diverse backgrounds – a rich stud, a poor Bolivian school girl, a Colombian boy visiting his Bolivian cousin, an African American college student and a secretly gay football player/model – have nothing in common except the desire to experience true intimacy.

Director

Rodrigo Bellott

Rodrigo Bellott was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in 1978. He has a BFA in Film, Photography and Visual Arts with a minor in Art History from Ithaca College. His first student film, DESTIERRO, was one of five films around the world nominated for a student Academy Award in 2001, and won several student film festivals. His next few shorts won several short film awards and were officially selected to over 50 festivals around the world.

While still attending college, Rodrigo wrote and directed DEPENDENCIA SEXUAL (Sexual Dependency), his first feature film. The film was finished in 2003 and had its world premiere at the 2003 Locarno Film Festival, the very same day of his 25th birthday. At Locarno, the film won the FIPRESCI award, and since then, has received seven other awards on four different continents as well as tremendous critical reception at over 56 festivals, including Berlin, Rotterdam, Toronto, AFI and Telluride. The film was a box office success in Bolivia, and marked the… read more

Rodrigo Bellott was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in 1978. He has a BFA in Film, Photography and Visual Arts with a minor in Art History from Ithaca College. His first student film, DESTIERRO, was one of five films around the world nominated for a student Academy Award in 2001, and won several student film festivals. His next few shorts won several short film awards and were officially selected to over 50 festivals around the world.

While still attending college, Rodrigo wrote and directed DEPENDENCIA SEXUAL (Sexual Dependency), his first feature film. The film was finished in 2003 and had its world premiere at the 2003 Locarno Film Festival, the very same day of his 25th birthday. At Locarno, the film won the FIPRESCI award, and since then, has received seven other awards on four different continents as well as tremendous critical reception at over 56 festivals, including Berlin, Rotterdam, Toronto, AFI and Telluride. The film was a box office success in Bolivia, and marked the re-birth of Bolivian cinema as the country’s first official selection competing for “Best Foreign Language Film” at the 2004 Academy Awards. The Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Time Out NY named DEPENDENCIA SEXUAL as one of the 10 best films of 2003. DEPENDENCIA SEXUAL was the first digital film in Bolivian history and revolutionized the industry by introducing a new aesthetic and visual style, marking the beginning of what numerous critics have called the “new Bolivian Cinema.”

Rodrigo’s screenplay, SOCCER SUNDAYS was finalist at the Sundance NHK Screenplay award in 2005 as well as the Berlin Screenwriting Lab and the Cannes Residence in 2006.

In 2007, VARIETY magazine names Rodrigo as one of the TOP TEN Latin American talents to watch. That same year, he is invited to work as CASTING DIRECTOR of three major international films: La Traque, by French director Laurent Jaoui (starring Franka Potente) as well as CHE Part I and II, directed by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh, starred by BENICIO DEL TORO. This last film premiered in Competition at the 2008 Cannes film Festival and won the Palm D’Or for best Male performance. Between 2008 and 2009, Bellott has worked as Casting Director in seven other international films including CONTRACORRIENTE by Javier Fuentes-Leon (Official Selection San Sebastian Film Festival 2009) and ALSO THE RAIN by Iciar Bollain (Staring Gael Garcia Bernal and Luis Tosar).

In 2010, CONTRACORRIENTE (Undertow), directed by Javier Fuentes Leon, where Rodrigo Bellott was Casting Director wins the Audience Award at the Sundance Film festival. He is currently Casting three international films in Mexico, New York, and LA. —dc4d.net

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