Nobody’s Watching, the third feature film by distinguished New York-based Latin American director Julia Solomonoff, will have its world premiere as part of the official competition at the 16th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, running April 19-30 in New York City.
As the national debate on immigration focuses on border crossing, Solomonoff presents an original take on Latin America-U.S. emigration in which her protagonist overstays his visa—a phenomenon that accounts for 40 percent of the undocumented immigrants in this country. Moreover, in this story, the journey is not to get a Green card but confronting the true reasons for leaving home, and redefining one’s identity in one’s own terms.
In Nobody’s Watching, Nico, 30 years, leaves a promising acting career in Argentina after a romantic break-up with his male married producer. He lands in New York City, lured into believing that his talent will help him find success “on his own” and prove his self-worth. But that’s not what he discovers.
Too blond to play Latino and his accent too strong to play anything else, Nico falls through the cracks, and must juggle odd jobs to survive. Unwilling to return home and be seen as a failure, Nico manages to stay afloat thanks to his ability to pretend to be something he isn’t. But he gets lost in his own lies. Theo, the baby he cares for, becomes his only genuine bond of affection. His fragile world is shaken when he receives a visit from his former producer/mentor and ex-lover.
As both director and producer, director Solomonoff has played a key role in the revitalization of Latin American cinema. Her films have been featured at the most important international film festivals including Toronto, Sundance, San Sebastian, Berlinale, and New Directors/New Films. She has directed the feature films Hermanas (2005), and The Last Summer of la Boyita (2009), co-produced by Pedro Almódovar and winner of 20 awards. Her producing credits include Cocalero by Alejandro Landes, Found Memories and Pendular by Júlia Murat, the Viggo Mortensen starrer Everybody Has a Plan by Ana Piterbarg, The Third Bank of the River by Celina Murga (executive produced by Martin Scorsese), and the highly anticipated Zama by Lucrecia Martel.
Along the lines of recent films by Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha) and Ira Sachs (Little Men), Solomonoff offers a smart, of-the-moment portrait of New York City—an exhilarating place that’s energizing when doors open but isolating when they don’t. Starring Guillermo Pfening and Elena Roger (who played the title role in the 2012 Broadway revival of Evita), Nobody’s Watching is an international co-production that uniquely occupies the creative border between American independent filmmaking and Latin American cinema.
