SABADO F I L M S I N C .

PRESENTS

Sabado Morning (The Short)

“The Street’s got beauty and dignity, man, that others have looked at with scorn. And though sometimes it dies at night, it's born anew with each morning’s light.” Piri Thomas

Martín has recently starred in the independent film short Sabado Morning, written by young Puerto Rican film maker Ramon Ricard and based on the work by renowned writer and Spanish Harlem poet Piri Thomas. Sabado Morning has won First Prize for “Story Telling Within a Short Film” at the Latin USA Film Festival which took place at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The film has also been inducted into The New Film Makers Anthology and was screened at the 2002 New York International Film and Video Film Festival.

THE P R O J E C T

This short is the beginning of a much bigger project, a feature length film based on the poetry of Piri Thomas. With this short piece I hope to uplift consciousness, open up doors and raise funds the feature version.

SYNOPSIS

Saturday morning, Eddie is shot. Saturday morning, Eddie is performing a poem on stage. The distinctive visuals juxtaposed, the poetry narration and the revelation following the shooting forms the unique vision that is Sabado Morning.

NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR

I read Down These Mean Streets when I was 14 years old. It changed my life. It filled me with a passion and love for my heritage, my community and more importantly, myself. Because of that book, because of Piri Thomas, my life took a positive turn. If it weren't for him, my path in life would have been an unrighteous one. When I became a filmmaker, making a Piri Thomas project was always a dream. Now I am in a position to make this dream a reality. I want to show the world the magic and passion of Mr. Thomas’s words. With a positive, realistic and visually poetic focus on the Nuyorican community my film will have a magic and a passion all its own. And maybe, when all is said and done, put another child back on the path of righteousness.

T H E PEOPLE

Ramón Ricard, Writer, Producer, Director

Ramón Ricard, a New York born Puerto Rican, has extensive experience in all aspects of the film industry. For the last four years, Ramón was head of production at The Family Productions, Inc., a micro-budget production company, emphasizing high production value.

Recent projects include working as the line producer on the film The Gothic Line at Hit and Run Productions, Fire with D&C Productions, and supervising producer for La Muñeca and The Artist (short films produced by The Family Productions).

Ramón was the line producer and production manager for the Spanish digital feature length film Time's Up! produced by The Family Productions, in association with Concepto Barriga, and Sunshine Deli & Grocery, a film produced by The Family Productions in association with Step One Productions, Inc.

Ramón was also a co-producer on About Flamenco; a Spanish documentary on flamenco dance around the world, produced by The Family Productions in association with Omnibus, and supervising producer on a documentary on the life of French painter Antoine Knibly.

He was an assistant director for the following films: From A High Place, a feature length film for High Place Films; Friends First and Foremost, a feature length film for Green Grass productions, and Bad Day for a Tow, a short film for Waxman Inc.

Ramón was producer and co-director on a music video for Conjuntos Antibalas, and creative consultant for The Traveling Man, a music video for DJ Honda and Mos Def and Money is the Root of All Evil for Dead Prez.

Recognizing the lack of Latino films in today’s film market, Ramón decided to develop the project Sabado Morning.

Piri Thomas, Producer, Writer

Born Juan Pedro Thomás in Harlem in 1928 of a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father, Piri’s background growing up dark-skinned in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s shaped his literary talent. He became the well-known author of Down These Mean Streets, which after 30 years in print is now considered a classic. In the novel Piri makes El Barrio (the neighborhood) a household word to multitudes of non-Spanish-speaking readers.

Piri also wrote Stories from El Barrio, and Seven Long Times, both, which have received wide critical acclaim. He travels the world as a spoken word artist and has been the subject of two documentaries about his life, World of Piri Thomas and Every Child Is Born A Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas.

Ever since the publication of Down These Mean Streets, Piri has been talking to people, young and old, about his struggle for survival and identity and the effects of racism on our children. He also speaks about himself as a Latino and a person of color. In his writing, he speaks strongly against racism while at the same time putting forth a vision of unity.

Piri is involved in the project as consultant and writer and he even has a small role in the film.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
e-mail: martinsola@aol.com
Telephone (917)721-0060