A standing ovation for the protagonist and co director Paola Mendoza, who was in attendance at the screening

By Rainier Maldonado

“Pedro of Bellavista,” Rodrigo Montealegre’s short about a shoeshine boy who yearns to be a filmmaker, was the appetizer before the arrival of the main course, “Between Us,” a story of strong emotion and sympathetic characters which won prizes at the Newport Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival.

“I am Supermom, your brother is Superman and you are Supergirl.” This is the sad answer given by Mariana to her children to explain how they are going to survive extreme poverty and homelessness, wandering around an unfamiliar city and sleeping in the park with nowhere better to go.

Based on a true story, “Between Us” portrays the struggle of a Colombian mother and her two small children in New York after her husband abandons them for Miami, leaving them alone and penniless.

The film, which lasts 81 minutes, kept the audience in their seats this Thursday, November 19th, in the Manuel Cabral auditorium of the UASD. After the screening, Paola Mendoza, the co-director on whose life the girl’s character is based, was given a standing ovation by the audience.

Immigration, poverty and hope are the themes that run through this feature film which took 18 days to shoot among New York’s Colombian community.

In the question/answer session following the screening, Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte said they auditioned around 500 children for the parts, finally choosing two Colombian American children with no previous acting experience.

“It’s our first time speaking to an audience in Spanish and we are very proud to be doing so,” the co-directors expressed to the audience.

They said the film will be available on DVD by the beginning of next year.

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