Alonso, The Dream, and the Call
 Main Actor |
 Nurse & Daughters |
 On the Set |
 Directing |
 Esperansa & Sons |
 J.Minoso & K.Fost |
 Outdoor Shoot |
 Playing on Set |
 Camera & Lighting |
 Tim Kazurinsky |
 On the Set |
 Waiting |
Synopsis:
Alonso, The Dream and The Call explores themes of hope and expectations through the use of humor and irony in today’s America seen through the eyes of an illegal Mexican immigrant, Alonso.
Waking up with an aggravated, cough he informs the viewer of his personal and professional dreams and hopes. We learn about his family and his difficulties at work.
Driving to work his cough worsens. He goes to the emergency room, but knowing that it takes hours to be seen, he registers and returns to work. Eventually his cough is too much for him to bear. He returns to the emergency room where he is told to wait. Frustrated he waits.
As he is waiting hour after hour, his wife calls him. She tells him that he bought the wrong toy for his son’s birthday. Only one store has the right one left, which they will not hold. Knowing that he may loose his place in the emergency room, he gives the triage nurse his cell number and races to get the toy.
Success, he buys the toy and the triage nurse had not called! He feels proud of himself.
Speeding back to the emergency room happily and hoping to finally see a doctor, the unexpected happens. Alonso is forced to accept the inevitable. It is a bittersweet ending. It reminds us that it is our dreams and hopes which makes the difficulties of our life worth living.
Director’s Statement:
While teaching English as a Second Language, one of my students recounted an incident in his life in which he registered at the emergency room, went to work, returned, and still had not been called. As he told the story, he had us all laughing hysterically. While laughing, I thought of the tragedy of his story. What if he had been seriously ill? Not to mention the tediousness of the wait.
I was struck by both his and our laughter. At times we laugh at our tragic moments and continue with life. Knowing many people without health insurance I sought to make a film that critiqued the healthcare system.
Yet, filmmaking is a journey in which the outcome evolves from the collaboration of many and the director, hopefully, grows in the process and finishes not with the film that was on paper, but the film that the collaborative process present to him or her. If everyone is sufficiently invested in the project, the outcome will reveal more than its initial intent.
As I began production my views grew and changed. Alonso is coming to grips with the tragedy of his life. He recognizes not only the faults of the system, but his own and he is able, at the end, without bitterness, to pass on his dreams and hopes to his children. The film is, therefore, not solely a critique of the healthcare system, but a view of Alonso’s life as he struggles to attain his dreams. It is a film about hope and expectations in a dynamic and ever changing world.
Stylistically, it was important for me to have fun with the form, experimenting with different kinds of formats, stocks, and aspect ratios for the feelings that each emote.
“Life is made up of little moments.”
Alonso Esperansa
(the main character)
CAST
Alonso ……………………….....……………………………………...... Joe Minoso
Store Patron …………….…………………………………………..Tim Kazurinski
Esperanza …………………………………………………………... Kanisha Foster
Sons ………………………....………………………………………...... Jovad Uribe
& Anthony Lopez
Boss ………………………...……………………………………....….. Carter Martin
Katicha …………………………………………………………….....Tamberla Perry
Daughters ……….......…………………………………………………..Coco Sharp
& Madeleine Fister
Emergency Room Patients …....……………………………Victor Nordlund
Trevor Nordlund
Virginia Maravillas
John Griffin
Yubiana Monarrez
Emergency Room Nurses ……………………………. Claudia Woerheide
Vivien Lamadrid
CREW
Written, Produced, and Directed by ……………………..Ben-Hur Uribe
Associate Producer ………………………………………………Gail Sonnenfeld
Director of Photography ………………………...……………………Pete Biagi
Edited by …………………………………………….......………………Lucy Munger
Production Designer ………………………………………………..Victoria Chan
Original Music by …………………………………………………..Joe Cancellaro
Sound Design by ……………………………………………………Diego Trejo Jr.
Colorist ……………………………………………………....………..Jeremy Sawyer
Makeup Artists…………………………………………...……………Alexx Bonovich
Megan Corrigan
Zsofia Otrovos
Costumes Designer……………………………………..……….Christine Pascual
Wardrobe……………………………………………….....……………Amanda Sharp
Line Producers…………………………………………….………Kimberly Huggins
James Leonardo Pinto
Production Managers………………………………………….Caroline Graciano
Kathe Telingator
Assistant Directors……………………………………………….Kimberly Huggins
Myra
Location Mixers………………………………………....…………….America Salas
Ryan James
Re-recording Engineer…………………………………………...Diego Trejo Jr.
Sound Editor………………………………………........………………..Richard Roy
Assistant Sound Editors………………………………………….Brian Kristmann
James Weiss
Gaffer……………………………………………………….....………Marcin Szalkowski
Super 8 Camera Operator…………………………………………..Janina Maria
First Assistant Camera………………………………….…………..Wes Gathright
Nicole Crivlare
Justin Watson
Charlie Anderson
Jenny Stole
Second Assistant Camera……………………………………. Mike Stanislawski
Janina Maria
Jacob Stahlman
Still Photographer………………………………………………. Dorota Szalkowski
Key Grip……………………………………………………....………Michael Olszewski
Grips…………………………………………………...........……………..Dave Pawela
Tommy Maneykowski
Dylan Gunnett
Best Boy…………………………………………………......…………Brandon Wilson
Production Assistant…………………………………….………..Jonathan Garda
Script Supervisors………………………………………..…………. Shannon Grilli
Laura Solomen
Storyboard Artist………………………………………...……………John Coxworth
Head illustrator & Craftsman………………………..………….John Coxworth
Toy Car Modeler………………………………............……………………Ron Getz
Catering Provided by:
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
The Cast and Crew
Charles Celander, Emily Reible, Diego Trejo Jr., Stefan Sonnenfeld, Ericka Frederick, Rogelio Quintana, Torsten Reiss, Michael Canady (Le Chocolatier), Viviana Bohorquez, Lucy Mathews,
Maria Uribe, Joan Conover, Maria Coyne, Amanda Sharp, Virginia Maravillas, Steve Perkins, Dennis Hills-Cooper, Manolo Rodriguez, Melanie Delbridge, John Szymanski, Anne Brandt, Terry Schy, Flashes Hair Designs, Johnny Bash, Sue Baugh, Vanessa Rich, Mary Messuer, Wahabi G. Tijani, Pat Coffey, and Katherine McHenry.
Building Blocks Toy Store, Vision Construction, Winfield Moody Health Center, Chicago Photography Center, Benito and Elba Ramirez, and Karim Habassi,
Columbia College Chicago, Company 3, MX Foundry, Kodak.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.