Acclaimed Texas Filmmaker David Blue Garcia Nabs Audience Award at 2018 Dallas International Film Festival for TEJANO

In his first feature length directorial debut, Austin-based producer and director David Blue Garcia has taken home the 'Audience Award' for his film Tejano from the Dallas International Film Festival, it has been announced today.

Audiences packed themselves into two screenings of Tejano at the 2018 Dallas International Film Festival, which marked the World Premiere of the film, where Garcia was honored with the 'Audience Award' in the category of 'Narrative Feature Competition.'

"It really means so much to receive this award for Tejano, especially since it was our first screening ever," exclaims Garcia. "After six years of working on this film, I couldn't have asked for a better audience to share it with. They laughed at all of the right moments and cringed during the suspense scenes. One lady even asked me if it was a good time for her to go to the bathroom because she didn't want to miss anything. Tejano was meant to be an engaging movie and from what I could sense in the theater, they were hooked."

With a story by Garcia and a screenplay by Kyle Bogart, Tejano brings to life the thrilling story about a South Texas ranchhand (portrayed by Patrick Mackie) who breaks his own arm in order to smuggle a cast of cocaine across the U.S.-Mexico Border. The reason, to make enough money to save his ailing grandfather of course.

Garcia, who was raised in Harlingen, Texas, shot the film in the period of about five weeks at the tail-end of 2015 in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Using a grassroots method of production Tejano features stirring scenes shot throughout border towns of the Lone Star State, including Harlingen, Brownsville and McAllen. Those who live in the region or have visited will recognize many of the giant wind turbines that now tower over the landscape of Southern Texas, and the expansive fields and canals of the Rio Grande Valley, during the film.

The Spanish-language thriller features an almost entire cast of actors who were born and raised or live in South Texas, giving the film an authentic feel and sense of place. The word Tejano represents the Spanish word for a Mexican-American resident of Texas.

Last year's 'Audience Award' winner in the same category was Bomb City, an AMERICAN CRIME film based on the murder of teenage punk musician Brian Deneke.

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