2023 LOLA Award Winners — Los Shorts
Congratulations to our 2023 LOLA Award Winners in the Los Shorts category!
For the PHLAFF 2023 season, LOLA-nominated films highlight collaboration and/or interdisciplinary practices. Read more about the LOLA Shorts winners and watch their trailers below.
- 2023 lola Shorts winners -
Ro & the Stardust
Ro & the Stardust
United States // 2022 // Drama // 16 minutes
Director: Eunice Levis
Producer: Rachel K. Ofori, Elvis Nolasco, 50 East Collective LLC
A free spirited teen and her terminally ill grandmother build a rocket ship they plan to launch into outer space.
Daughter of the Sea
Daughter of the Sea
Puerto Rico // 2022 // Drama // 19 minutes
Philadelphia Premiere
Director: Alexis C. Garcia
Producer: Debora Perez
After the death of her grandfather, a young woman experiences a spiritual awakening when she is called by Yemaya, the orisha Goddess of the Sea.
Ritmo
Ritmo
United States // 2022 // Drama // 16 minutes
World Premiere
Director: Stacy Pascal Gaspard
Producer: Josh Tyler
Growing up, Ricky Moreno always loved to dance salsa — especially with his go-to dance partner, Samara Castillo. When Ricky and Samara dance together, it’s magical and magnetic, for both the two amorous salseros and their spectators. Just as their young love was beginning to bloom, Ricky’s Abuela forbade him from going out with her, “Hay que mejorar la raza.” (In order to improve the race.) Out of her rage, a rivalry was formed between the Morenos and Castillos, and these lovers never had a chance to make amends.
At the grand opening of his nightclub, Ritmo, Ricky is surprised to find himself face-to-face with Samara. His old feelings flood back into his new world, and he risks the ideal future his family wants for him when he asks her to join him on the dance floor.
The hour has come for Ricky’s redemption. Will the prince of Miami nightlife rise to the occasion or find himself crushed by the weight of his crown?
- 2023 LOLA shorts HONORABLE MENTIONs -
La Capa Azul (The Blue Cape)
La Capa Azul (The Blue Cape)
Puerto Rico // 2019 // Drama // 5 minutes
Director: Alejandra López
Producer: María José Delgado
In hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, medicine can be hard to come by. A little boy has to grow beyond his limits if he is to help his grandfather.
SPIC
SPIC
United States // 2022 // Drama // 17 minutes
East Coast USA Premiere
Director: Heidi Miami Marshall
Producer: Mathia Vargas, Carlos Ibarra, Johnny Sánchez
JOHNNY is a 12-year-old Latino boy whose mom, an undocumented immigrant, has been arrested by I.C.E. She needs an immigration lawyer, but a good lawyer costs $5K.
EMILIO, Johnny's dad, asks ÁLVARO, a drug dealer, for a loan. But Álvaro knows Emilio can't repay $5K. So Álvaro offers Emilio a job instead -- work for his drug enterprise and Álvaro will give him the money he needs. But Emilio hesitates at the offer.
With the clock ticking, Johnny decides to do the job on his own, and sneaks away to work in Álvaro's enterprise. When Emilio discovers Johnny has done this, he rushes to get his son back. On this fateful day, both father and son learn the realities before them and the choices they must make to survive.
When Mama and Me Lived Outside
BronX BandA: Arturo O'Farrill & The Bronx
United States // 2022 // Animation // 8 minutes
Director: Peter Menchini
Producer: Peter Menchini
Tiny Gray-Garcia's heartbreaking story about growing up on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco & Oakland. Based on her children's book of the same name with illustrations by Ace Robles.
¡Dímelo Rapeando!
¡Dímelo Rapeando!
Cuba/Germany/Puerto Rico // 2022 // Documentary // 9 minutes
USA Premiere
Director: Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
Producer: nexofonia e.V. , FistUpTv, Eli Jacobs-Fantauzz, Ani Petrossian, Kerim ButzProducer
Where daily practices become ritual, repetitive, looped, and sequenced. A transatlantic, experimental Hip-Hop collaboration between Germany & Cuba.
The LOLA Awards were established in 2014 to recognize and honor cinematic achievements in filmmaking in the Latine/x/a/o creative community. Films that receive the LOLA Award accordingly feature strong artistic direction, moving performances, and compelling storytelling.
