VAMOS Brings Hollywood Director to RGV By Robert Longoria Photos by Jose L. Rodriguez
From American Pie to New Moon, director Chris Weitz is no stranger to blockbuster films. Thursday evening, crowds comprised of local filmmakers, scholars, and members of the community gathered at the Renaissance Event Center in Edinburg, Texas to attend a screening of the director's newest film, "A Better Life". Weitz, 44 was brought down by the VAMOS Scholarship program. Maritza Rodriguez, Executive Director of VAMOS said, "The producer [of A Better Life] approached us with the idea of bringing [Chris] down." Founded in 1996 as The Valley Alliance of Mentors for Opportunities and Scholarships, VAMOS has served as an organization providing educational opportunities for Hispanics. Locally, it has served the Hidalgo, Cameron, and Willacy counties in supplying scholarships and mentoring for post-secondary education. "A Better Life" opened to theaters in limited release this past summer. The film follows a gardener in East L.A. who struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents, all while trying to provide opportunities he never grew up with. Rodriguez continues, "We felt this screening would show issues prominent in this area and would spread awareness about the controversy surrounding illegal immigration." For Weitz, this film was a passion project, "Usually, I finish a film and don't look back, with this one, it was special. What attracted me to the script was this powerful story between father and son and the realistic characters. You had characters that were not stereotypical."
Recently, the film has won critical acclaim amongst its modest box office. Star, Demián Bichir has been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award among the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Capitalizing on the critical wave, the film could be up for Oscar nominations if audiences continue to spread the word about Bichir's performance and spread buzz about the movie. When reflecting on the how the Valley could become a filmmaking region for production companies in Hollywood, he mentioned that the local government should offer tax incentives in order to attract the bigger film studios. Of the places that offer tax incentives, he listed Vancouver as the shooting location for many Hollywood films, due in part to tax benefits.
Weitz continued, "Locally, it would be wonderful to have a professional crew that is already familiar with the area here, as that would save costs for per diem rates instead of hiring crews out of L.A." With more independent film productions coming down to the Valley, amongst them "Miracle at Donna" and "The Cloth", it seems the RGV is on its way to gaining more momentum in the film industry. The possibilities of other celebrities coming down for screenings and Q+As is not out of question for VAMOS. Executive Director Rodriguez concluded, “For us this is the first time we’ve done something like this. If this is a success, there might be future events where celebrities visit the RGV. The Valley is a place untapped for Hollywood. We want to show students, future directors, and actors [in the Valley], the opportunity is there.”