AËRC-02: Qualified Latin 'Sci-fi' Short Film With Screenings In California And New York

After revalidating his screening at the AMPAS Academy Screening Room, for the fourth time, as well as receiving his first "Best Drama Short Film" award at the Vesuvius International Film Festival in Italy (2023), the independent director, singer-songwriter and actor Ariel Orama López (artistically known as AG Orloz) will begin 2024 with the international circuit of film festivals for his awarded short film AËRC-02, (Orloz's most recent independent film proposal). 93 animated projects from around the World qualified for the 2024 Oscars, including AËRC-02.

It should be noted that at the Academy there is no classification for best foreign short film (with one representation per country) or Latin American category: "create and position four Latin and Caribbean short films that have already won international awards, consecutively, in the ASR, in different classifications such as life action, hybrid documentary/life action and animation, in a period of 4 years has been intense, but very rewarding. Obtaining the "qualified" criterion on four consecutive occasions, in a selection of thousands of short films that compete in so many festivals around the World, many of them also awarded or created in companies such as Disney or Warner Bros., is a step that I celebrate with great joy.

My promise has been that our Latin and Caribbean artistic talents and our human capital can be appreciated at the Academy and can be seen by its voting members from the Academy Screening Room (ASR), particularly through short films that have already been awarded at international festivals, some of them screened in the city of Cannes, in the Cannes Festival. I have already achieved this goal, without government, federal or any other type of agency funds that can be able to appreciate our formula to create purposeful projects that have been valued and awarded abroad, in countless festivals, from 2009 to the present. I am an eternal learner and a young director on the path, so I m have a long way to go. Thank God, I feel very lucky for that," says the filmmaker and actor. The countries, states and continents of official selection and awards for Orloz's short films include France, India, Italy, Venezuela, Spain, Chicago, Belarus, Canada, New York, California, among others. Although most of the projects are in English and Spanish, he has also incorporated other languages in his scripts: French, Italian, Portuguese and Hebrew. This year, AG ORLOZ screened one of his multi-awarded short films (Princëney) at the Grauman Theater In Los Angeles.

AG believes in social and humanitarian causes, one of his priorities as a filmmaker, media psychologist and actor. "I began my steps in directing short films in 2009 and my first project in acting was 22 years ago, adding experiences in advertising, voice-overs, independent film, series, personal coach for reality shows and drama. Since In 2009, I decided to direct significant short films related to climate change, diversity, marginalization in the social sphere, the stigma of HIV/AIDS and risk factors from a psychological point of view, said the artist, winner of the World Prize for Excellence in the Defense of the Planet, in Peru (2022) and nominated for the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Award at George Washington University (2023).

"For this year, I chose an existentialist project, with a spiritual perspective: I believe in the God of the impossible and, in times of uncertainty, at a global level, it was time to take on this challenge," said the director, whose new short film that also includes the climate change topic was presented in Festival of the Sea in California and was selected for the Imagina AniFest, in New York, screened in Queens (December 2023). Having just started 2023, it has just received two Official Selections at the Black Owl Festival in Turkey and Liber Films International Festival in Greece (2024).

"AËRC-02 includes incredible talents from Peru (animator and editor Jorge Cáceres), Italy (composer Daniele Carretta), Spain (composer Rafael Fernández Viedma) and Puerto Rico (executive producer Vivian Orama López, animator José "Joey" Ayala, voice recording in studio by Omar Josué Morales and graphic artist Peter Grossen), along with a great post-production team from Los Angeles that always accompanies me, like anonymous heroes, as well as a special group of emerging actors (Dominican Republic, Colombia and Puerto Rico) who for years have been very eager to work on a new project with me, and we achieved it. It is great to accomplish this beautiful dream with new blood in acting (Diego Colón Santana, Jorge Miguel Bermúdez, Daniel "Danny" Santiago Flores and Luis Fernando Arcila) and a wonderful team, along with my right hand and "my borrowed eyes" in animation since 2020, Jorge Cáceres and the special participation in two "stop motion" scenes

with Puerto Rican animator José "Joey" Ayala. I hope that the recent achievements of AËRC-02 and any future achievements serve as a letter of recommendation for all my wonderful cast and crew, said the director, who also took on the role of lead actor alongside his co-leading protagonist, emerging actor Diego Colón Santana. AG Orloz also appeared as the acting coach, screenwriter, animation supervisor, editing and post-production (sound) in AËRC-02. Puerto Rican distinguished artists Johanna Rosaly, Gilda Haddock, Maribel Quiñones, Sara Pastor, Noris Joffre, Jazmín Caratini, Osvaldo Ríos and Antonio Barasorda have participated in previous AG Orloz projects.

"To AËRC-02 are added a new finished version of the short film presented at Animation in Cannes 2023 (Princëney) and the Andro/ÏD project, in pre-production, therefore, the agenda has been loaded since participation as Ambassador of the Puerto Rican Parade in New York and the two screenings I had in the same state. Since the date of my birthday, in June, which coincided with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, until just days before Christmas, we have not stopped."

During this period, AG Orloz takes a break until the end of January, to continue with his creative journey, with his Puerto Rican flag in hand and his Latin heritage in his heart. "On this festive date and due to the spiritual content that you will discover in the short, it is worthwhile to dedicate this very special project, AËRC-02 to the Virgin Guadalupana, to Jesus and Saint Joseph, to my new cybernetic ally from Heaven, Carlo Acutis, whom I mention in the short, my dear Ángeles, as well as my beloved Orama López family, who have taught me to give, without measures, from the heart. That is the greatest reward in life," AG Orloz pointed out. You can learn more about his other projects on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8472995/?ref_=ext_shr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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