The Mexican short film Ratitas / Scoundrels (pictured) by David Figueroa García was the winner of the Best Narrative Short Award at the Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF). Starring Kristyan Ferrer, Jorge Adrían Espíndola and Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Figueroa García's film tells the story of Paco and Memo, two brothers living in Acapulco that break into an empty house with a group of friends. Instead of finding a night of fun and debauchery they were looking for, they stumble upon a home owned by enforcers of a crime organization and their bond is quickly put to test.
According to the director, the project came to be because of a news report on a French news agency about a YouTube video, in which a group of teenagers were made to confess petty crimes and then they were physically and psychologically abused on camera for them. "We found the story was a way to explore dynamics of power between friends, family and ultimately in a society plagued by violent behavior where only the strong one survives", says Figueroa García.
Figueroa García is a writer-director born in Mexico City. He graduated from Computer Science at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, and later from the City University of New York in Classic Literature and Film production. He is currently in his final year at Columbia University's Film M.F.A program in directing. His work has received awards from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Directors Guild of America, the National Board of Review, IFP, HSF McNamara Grant for the arts among others, and screened in festivals around the world.
Produced by Juan Aura and Gerry Kim, and written by Figueroa García and Mauricio Leiva-Cock, Ratitas had its U.S. Premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival, which took place May 31-June 9 in New York City.
Watch the trailer:
