About the Production
As inspirational as the message of BELLA is the amazing saga of its genesis - a story of two remarkable young men from Mexico who pursued their dreams.
Eduardo Verástegui, the son of a sugar cane farmer from the small Mexican town of Xicotencatl, found early success as a teenage recording artist before starring in five popular telenovelas, which led to a starring role in the film "Chasing Papi."
On the precipice of international stardom, Verástegui had a crisis of conscience and realized that he could no longer take roles that contributed to the negative stereotype of Latinos in films.
"I wanted to portray Latinos as everyday heroes who are hard working people of integrity, individuals who are willing to sacrifice for their family and for others," said Verástegui. "Family is the foundation of society for the Latino culture and I want to pursue projects that show how families protect, help and love each other."
After spending three years turning down parts that he felt were culturally demeaning, he decided to form his own production company in order to create the kinds of projects that reflected his values.
Growing up in Tampico, Mexico, Alejandro Monteverde knew from a very young age that he wanted to become a filmmaker. At the age of seventeen, with the support of his family, Monteverde moved to the United States without knowing a word of English to enroll at the prestigious film school at the University of Texas. Denied admission, he attended a local community college and reapplied over and over again until the school finally accepted him.
Once enrolled there, he quickly excelled - but only after overcoming major obstacles. With no money to finance his vision, Monteverde sold his car, gave up his apartment and slept on a sofa at the UT film school in order to buy 16mm film for his first short, "Bocho," which set the school record for most festival wins by an undergraduate.
His student demo reel was impressive enough that Kodak and Panavision both awarded him with sponsorships to shoot his second short, "Waiting for Trains," on 35mm. With production scheduled to begin in New York on September 12, 2001, Monteverde found himself on location without cast or crew as all flights were grounded after the terrorist attacks on 9-11.
Refusing to abandon his vision, Monteverde quickly rewrote the script, asked passersby for help and cast the production's chef in a leading role. Though he believed the film would be a terrible failure given the circumstances, "Trains" won major awards at seven festivals, breaking the record Monteverde set with "Bocho."
On a trip to Mexico after graduation, Monteverde reconnected with Verástegui, a childhood acquaintance, and discovered that they shared the same creative vision and goals. In 2004, Monteverde joined Verástegui and his business partner Leo Severino, a former studio business affairs executive, in Los Angeles and the three established Metanoia Films.
It was during the long drive from Austin to Los Angeles that Montverde conceived the storyline for BELLA. "As I was driving, I started to daydream and the story came to me all at once, pieced together from three different real life experiences that had happened to close friends of mine," Monteverde says. "Their stories just came together as one. By the end I was crying."
With an idea in mind for a first project, they found kindred spirits in entrepreneurs Sean and Eustace Wolfington, who shared their vision for making meaningful movies and agreed to co-finance the film.
When they shopped it around to the studios, not one was interested in making it. Undeterred, they decided they would make it themselves on a shoestring budget, shooting on location in New York City in only 24 days.

Little did they dream that only a year later, their little film, BELLA, would be received so enthusiastically by screening audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival that it would win the highly-coveted "People's Choice Award" over such intense competition as Babel, Pan's Labyrinth, Borat, The Lives of Others, The Namesake, Away From Her, Little Children, When the Levies Broke and The Last King of Scotland.
But even with its Toronto triumph, the film's incredible journey to theaters was far from over. The major studios, all of whom were present at the Festival, were still unconvinced of its marketability.
Disappointed but undeterred, the filmmakers, fueled by the overwhelming audience response to BELLA, decided to take a grassroots approach and put up their own advertising dollars in order to distribute the film. They embarked on a year-long word-of-mouth campaign, screening the film all over the country for community, Latino and religious leaders, schools, churches and influential opinion makers in order to generate buzz and create enough local audience interest in playing the film to offset the costs of shipping a print to their market. Says executive producer Sean Wolfington, "Our mission is to make films that make a positive impact and we need the support of everyone who shares that mission."

NO BUDGET
"I didn't have a big budget. But I had New York City," director Alejandro Monteverede says emphatically. "You can shoot there with 50 million dollars or one million dollars and it's still New York City - the biggest celebrity you can find. I needed that city no matter what."
"And he got it," says actor / producer Eduardo Verastegui. "Alejandro insisted on shooting in New York City even though everyone told him he couldn't do it." For the production team, Monteverde's first pick was cinematographer Andrew Cadelago, a good friend from the University of Texas. The two partnered on student films and developed comfortable shorthand for getting the job done artistically and economically.
To find an experienced production manager, Executive Producer Sean Wolfington sought recommendations from friends in the industry. After interviewing a long list of choices they found Denise Pinckley, whose feature film credits as a production manager include "The Manchurian Candidate," "The Legend of Bagger Vance," "Interview with a Vampire" and "Analyze This."
Pinckley was recommended to Metanoia as a smart producer and a troubleshooter who could make their money go a very long way. At the time, she was considering a job on a big budget film as a production manager that would also shoot in Manhattan. But her meeting with the charismatic Monteverde made the same dramatic impression that it had made on countless others.
"Professionally, it was a choice between something I knew I could do and something I believed I could do and BELLA was where my heart was," says Pinckley. "Alejandro was so committed to BELLA that once we discussed it, I never wavered in the belief that we could shoot it in New York, the way he wanted it, and with the resources we had available."
"Denise was a real gift," Wolfington says. "She and Leo (Severino) created a clear schedule and budget that gave my business partner and I the confidence that they could shoot the film in New York and finish it on time and on budget."

CASTING
The next challenge was casting.
"Suddenly, it was three weeks before shooting and we were still seeing actresses," says Verástegui. "I had been wearing my producer's hat for so long, in lots of meetings, that I had forgotten to concentrate on my role as José. Acting is like a muscle and it has to be exercised so I began to focus on the character."
"In a way, Eduardo is like his character José in real life," explains Monteverde. "I had seen the way he connects with people and I wanted to capture that. Eduardo is also very handsome but I didn't want the audience to be distracted by that so we came up with the idea of a full beard and long hair. I told him that I didn't want to see anything else but his eyes."
"For me, I was eager to erase the last twelve years of my career, the stereotype of the Latin Lover," says Verástegui. "José is impulsive on the day of our story but the thing I like best about him is that he listens. And he is very close to his mother and his family, like I am."
"I know how much Eduardo can communicate with his eyes. And I know that he is a passionate man - but I was very tough on him," admits the director. "Not because he was doing badly, but because I wanted to break him down. I was tougher on him than anyone else on the set. I wanted to break him and capture that vulnerable quality on film."
Looking back on the experience of being directed by his demanding friend, Verástegui says, "Alejandro takes you deep and lets you go, giving the actor the freedom to create. He's my brother."
In the role of Nina, whose wounded spirit touches something deep in José, Monteverde cast actress Tammy Blanchard, who had also recently been hired for Robert DeNiro's big budget feature film production "The Good Shepherd" opposite Matt Damon. An Emmy-Award winner for her star turning role in ABC's telepic "Me and My Shadows: Life With Judy Garland," Blanchard was the first actress to read for the role of Nina. Subsequently, she asked her managers to set up a second meeting with the first-time director.
Monteverde recalls: "She said quite directly 'I want you to know that character is mine.' She was very determined but also very humble. I called her that night and told her that I had faith in her. She had the role."
Blanchard explains, "I don't do a project unless I feel I can put my heart and soul in it. I responded to the brokenness of these people…the city of Manhattan is full of people who are lost and confused and everyone is looking for that saving grace to pull them out of their pain. I thought this was a true, honest story."
"Tammy and I would walk around the set talking about the character," Monteverde continues. "And even though she has quite a few very emotional scenes, she's a one-taker. If we went further, it's because I had other technical things in mind, but she always got it the first time."
"As soon as we started rehearsing, I could see how talented, and how transparent she was," says Verástegui. "She was full of positive reinforcement and I wanted to protect her with mutual support." "Nina is a lost lamb and somehow a shepherd comes along," explains Blanchard about her character.
"She follows José to a safe place where she can express herself. And when he opens up about his life, he practically breathes life into her."
Actress Ali Landry was chosen for the role of Celia, a mother who meets José at the height of his soccer career in one of the film's most emotional scenes. Known for her recurring roles on TV shows like "Eve" and "Felicity", Monteverde insisted that she be given no special consideration, even though the two were dating (and are now happily married).
Landry took the time to prepare her own audition tape.
"And she knocked us out," says Severino. "She had such emotional depth that we had no hesitation about casting her as Celia."
Packed into the tight 24-day shooting schedule were numerous scenes in Manhattan, including the Mexican restaurant scenes which took place at Il Campanello on West 31st Street. José's family home, written as Long Island, was shot in Rockaway Beach, Belle Harbor, Queens and the movie's early scenes which establish Jose as a soccer star were filmed in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Shooting at least six pages a day, well above the average of most feature films, Monteverde encouraged his department heads to move briskly but creatively. Production Designer Richard Lassalle not only helped establish the characters and environments with his artistic input and original ideas, but he gave every set his personal attention including the colorful mural he painted in the restaurant
"Looking back, I can say that this production was blessed," observes Pinckley. "I tried to anticipate the many obstacles that can get in your way, from weather problems to shooting in the crowded streets, but everything went incredibly smoothly."
With just two days of exteriors left to shoot, Monteverde did eventually come to a bump in the road.
Not a drop of rain had fallen in the previous weeks of shooting, but a storm hit the night before and it seemed certain that it would jeopardize two important exterior scenes in Brooklyn.
"On Thursday, Denise had to break it to me that there was a 99% chance that it was going to rain the next day," recalls the director.
"But the weather had been on our side for the whole shoot. So I said let's come out tomorrow and shoot. But everyone thought I was crazy. So I woke up the next day and it was raining like mad. I drove to the set at 6:30 am and here's our gaffer pointing to his computer and all the evidence that it would rain us out. "
"We all stood on a corner with the rain dripping from trees, but the backyard where we wanted to shoot was relatively dry," recalls Pinckley. "So I ordered the crane that Alejandro had his heart set on."
"I was stubborn," admits Monteverde. " I looked up and I saw a hole in the sky - maybe the size of one airplane - and I'm thinking that this hole is going to stop overhead and we're going to be able to shoot. Eduardo and Denise believed me. So we took a big leap of faith and set up. At 9 am, the rain stopped just 2 blocks away. If you had moved one block further in any other direction, it would be raining. And according to the computers, it was even raining in our neighborhood. But we were dry until we finished our shooting at 7 pm, and then it started raining. It was a miracle. I would definitely call it a miracle."
At the end of the shoot, Monteverde returned to Los Angeles where he teamed with editor Fernando Villena to find the visual, emotional story that the filmmakers wanted to tell. To compose the film's original score, Metanoia hired a first-timer Stephen Altman, who not only wrote the music, but personally performed each instrument himself before building a score that evokes hot salsa rhythms as well as quiet themes and intimate musical portraits.

THE TEAM

EDUARDO VERÁSTEGUI portrays José, a former soccer star who has become a chef in a Mexican restaurant owned by his brother.
Born and raised in Xicotencatl, Tamaulipas, a tiny village in Northern Mexico, Verástegui was the son of a sugar cane farmer. At the age of 18, he left his small town and headed to Mexico City to pursue a career in entertainment. Twelve years later, Eduardo had toured the world as a singer in the Mexican pop sensation Kairo and as an acclaimed solo recording artist, performing sold-out concerts in over 13 countries.
Starring in five highly-rated "telenovelas" (Spanish soap operas) for Televisa (broadcast in over 19 countries), he has also been featured on hundreds of international magazine covers including People En Español which voted him one of 50 Most Beautiful People. Verástegi has appeared opposite Jennifer Lopez in one of her most famous music videos "Ain't it funny!" as well as in an international television commercial promoting her self-titled commercial fragrances.
In 2001, Verástegui landed the starring role in 20th Century Fox's "Chasing Papi," the studio's first ever Latino-driven film. He has also appeared in such primetime television series as "CSI:Miami," "Charmed," and "Karen Cisco."
In 2004, following an inspiration to transform his image, Verástegui left his agency and management and teamed with Monteverde and Severino to form Metanoia Films.

TAMMY BLANCHARD portrays Nina, a struggling waitress in a New York City Mexican restaurant. Blanchard's professional acting career started with a three-year stint as Drew Jacobs on CBS's daytime soap opera, "The Guiding Light." Director Robert Ackerman then cast her to play the young Judy Garland in ABC's TV miniseries, "Me and My Shadow: Life with Judy Garland." which earned her much critical acclaim and an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She co-starred with Blythe Danner in Lifetime's "We Were the Mulvaney's, and next took to the Broadway stage in the latest revival of "Gypsy" starring Bernadette Peters, directed by Sam Mendes. For her portrayal of Louise, Ms. Gypsy Rose Lee, she was nominated for the Tony and received a Theater World Award.
Blanchard joined Peter Falk for CBS's "When Angels Come to Town," and in 2005, Robert DeNiro cast her in "The Good Shepherd" opposite Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. She most recently finished CBS's movie for television, "Sybil," where she plays the title role, starring with actress Jessica Lange.

MANNY PEREZ portrays the hot-headed owner of a Mexican restaurant in New York City.
One of eleven siblings, he was born in a suburb of the city of Santiago in the Dominican Republic. At the age of 10, he and his family moved to the United States, settling in Providence, Rhode Island. He majored in drama at Marymount Manhattan College, graduating in 1992. He has also studied at the prestigious Ensemble Studio Theatre and is a member of the LAByrinth Theatre Company, in New York City.
Perez produced, starred and co-wrote "Washington Heights", an independent movie set in his own neighborhood. He starred in Sidney Lumet's critically acclaimed series "100 Centre Street," NBC's "Third Watch" as Officer Santiago, and has appeared in such episodic shows as "Law & Order" and "CSI: Miami." Since filming "Bella", Perez has appeared in numerous other films such as "El Cantante," "Illegal Tender" and "Yellow." At the Santo Domingo Invita: All-Star-Night at Radio City Music Hall, Perez was honored as one of the most prominent Dominican actors in the United States.

Director ALEJANDRO MONTEVERDE was born and raised in the Mexican town of Tampico, Tamaulipas. In 1999, he entered the University of Texas film school, where he went on to win an unprecedented number of film festivals for a student filmmaker while still an undergraduate.
Monteverde sold his car, gave up his apartment and slept on a sofa at the UT film school in order to buy 16mm film for his first short, "Bocho," which was recognized with the most prestigious of all Kodak Awards for Excellence in Cinematography and set the school record for most festival wins by an undergraduate. His student demo reel was impressive enough that Kodak and Panavision both awarded him with sponsorships to shoot his first 35mm short, "Waiting for Trains" (filmed in New York the week of 9-11), which subsequently won major awards in several different festivals and 11 networks, including the Hamptons, Worldfest Houston, Las Vegas and the New York International film festival.
Following his graduation, Monteverde produced several award-winning short films, commercials and music videos. Having reconnected with Verástegui, a childhood acquaintance, Monteverde moved to Los Angeles in 2004 to establish Metanoia Films.

Producer SEAN WOLFINGTON, the co-owner of One Media Group and a partner in Metanoia Films, is an entrepreneur, financier, and real estate developer. Wolfington co-financed "Bella" with his partner, Eustace Wolfington. Wolfington founded and sold two technology and internet marketing companies over the last eight years including BZ Results, a digital marketing company that helped transform the automotive industry and contributes to billions of dollars worth of retail sales a year.
Wolfington's company was recognized as the "Innovative Company of the Year" by the industries leading technology publication and was a finalist in Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He resides in Miami and Philadelphia with his wife Ana and three children.

THE ART OF WORLD CINEMA

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