A Short Film by Zahida Pirani
SYNOPSIS
Nelly lives alone with her elderly father. The only way she makes ends meet is by working as a street vendor from dawn to dusk. Nelly has learned not to trust anyone until one day she is forced to take a leap of faith or be resigned to her position forever.
TRAILER
DIRECTOR'S BIO
Zahida Pirani is a writer/director based in Los Angeles and New York City. She is the recipient of the 2021 Princess Grace Award in Film. Her short film, EL CARRITO, was an official selection of AFI FEST 2021 and SXSW 2022. Before becoming a filmmaker, she worked as a community organizer and was the director of a grassroots nonprofit organization in New York. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Film Directing at UCLA.
MAIN CAST
Eli Zavala - Nelly
Eli Zavala is a NYC based actress and producer who was born in Mexico. She began her training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, continuing at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and The Linklater Center. After a few roles in the Asian and Latin American industry, she starred in the feature film Still the Earth Moves, directed by Pablo Chavarría Gutierrez, which is considered one of the best films of the year by the British Film Institute’s (BFI) Sight&Sound.
Idalia Limón – Lucia
Mexico native Idalia Limón started her acting career in theatre and has slowly been transitioning into TV and film. She can be seen in Orange is the New Black, New Amsterdam and Tommy. Her training includes the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, The Gaiety School of Acting, The Freehold Theatre and most recently the Scott Freeman Studio in NYC where she resides.
Jose Febus - Rico
Jose Febus is a New York City based actor from Puerto Rico. Jose has been a proud actor in all aspects of the arts including theater, voice-over, television and film. TV credits include Law & Order, The Path and Manifest.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
In this film, I want to challenge the concept of the American Dream and provide an alternative narrative of the immigrant experience. Nelly’s isolated daily existence shows how unattainable the American Dream can be for people like her. It also influences her view that the world is a competitive, ruthless place where no one can be trusted. With the help of the other vendors, she discovers a new way of seeing the people and world around her. In the communities where I grew up, supporting one another was the only way one could thrive. While this film is about the struggles of an immigrant woman street vendor, it is also a more universal story about discovering human connection in what sometimes can feel like a harsh, dehumanizing world.
With this story, I also bring a real, complex woman of color character to the screen who is unapologetically flawed. Nelly is based on the many strong, low-income immigrant women I’ve known throughout my life. Like them, Nelly’s circumstances are difficult, but she is not a victim and instead exercises agency in her life.
We shot this film in my neighborhood and the surrounding areas in Queens, New York which represent some of the most vibrant immigrant communities in the city. It was important to me to include local community members in the making of this film. We partnered with street vendors who worked as creative consultants both in pre-production and production. The film is shot entirely on location thanks to residents who welcomed us into their homes and businesses. Half of the crew and many of the non-professional actors came from the local neighborhoods. Part of my intention for this film was to bring viewers into a world they wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to experience and to capture the spirit of my community on screen.
