Week Uno Closing - Los Shorts & Comedy Lounge
Week Uno of PHLAFF is almost over! Our closing block will feature our ¡Hay Que Reírse! Los Shorts block & a comedy lounge.
What films are being shown in the ¡Hay Que Reírse! Los Shorts block?
Tirria*
Manu, recently suffering from heartache, has a drink at a bar with his friend Picky, who’d just hit a mayor milestone in his life.
Esmeralda
Esmeralda, an observant dry cleaner by day and amateur sleuth by night, suspects that one of her customers may be involved in a local arson case. She has 24 hours to uncover the truth.
Key Lime Pie*
Sergio, a hardworking Hispanic busser at an NJ diner, is wrongfully accused of stealing a watch due to his limited English, line of work, and rugged appearance. An arrogant Brandon gives Sergio until he receives his slice of key lime pie to find that watch or "there will be trouble". Enlisting the help of his fellow co-busser Mauricio, Sergio goes on a wild goose chase throughout the diner in search of the watch, interacting with a moody waitress Jess, two goofy teens, an intimidating family of chefs, and a quirky old lady. Will Sergio find that watch or will he find the respect he deserves?
The Real Big Brucey*
"The Real Big Brucey" is a quirky comedy that delves into the life of a former children's TV entertainer known as "Big Brucey." Now in his deep 30s, Bruce is on a quest to reinvent himself after a failed romance with Hannah, who couldn't separate him from his beloved puppeteer persona. The story oscillates between past and present, showcasing Bruce's struggle to move beyond the shadow of his famous alter-ego.
Stitched
Leela, a South Asian diaspora woman without a hometown or fixed identity, struggles to find love. A string of lackluster dates produces disappointing results. Upon learning that her former classmate, Kelly Kelley, is engaged to their childhood sweetheart, Leela decides to take action. Convinced that happiness lies in meeting the ‘right’ person—someone perfectly calibrated to her ever-changing sense of self—she decides to literally “frankenstein” together the ideal partner, Sai.
At first, the plan works. Over the course of a tricky dinner, Sai wins over Leela’s wildly different family and friends. But things nosedive when he demands that Leela start changing some aspects of herself to suit him better. They argue. Sai leaves.
Leela is distraught. Her sister offers some sage advice: that relationships aren’t built on compatibility, they’re built on patience, effort and compromise.
Leela doesn’t listen. Instead, she starts building a second, “improved” Sai. Before she can awaken the body however, she bumps into Kelly Kelley, now divorced mere months into her perfect marriage. Leela sees the woman she always envied struggling, and finally starts to understand that relationships cannot be gamed into success.
She returns to her apartment, and cuts the power to her experiment.
Angel y Perla
Paula, a neurotic 35 year old real estate agent, launches a crazy plan to avoid breaking up with her boyfriend. The plan? To bring together their respective psychologists to solve their problems.
Fast Food
When a teenage girl in love expects a fun night with her boyfriend, she winds up on an emotional roller coaster that only friendship can save.
*LOLA Nominee Films
Who is going to be performing at the comedy lounge?
PHLAFF is excited to showcase two creatives as a part of our comedy lounge.
Angelina Villapiano
Miss Angelina is a comedian, filmmaker and content creator based out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her signature style fuses comedy, music, and Latino culture. Her stand-up comedy show Sorta Rican features her own original music, and has been touring across the country in major cities such as New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and San Juan in notable venues such as Improv Olympic, Broadway Comedy Club and Hard Rock Cafe. She is currently adapting the live show into a comedy feature film, and a scene from the screenplay was featured in the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) Latinx Stream Showcase. Her short film Loko was featured in PHLFF 2023, and has won Best Comedy at several film festivals nationwide. Her comedy web series Pandemic and Chill has been nominated for various awards internationally, including Best Comedy Series and Best Ensemble Cast. Her documentary music series ¡GLOBAILE! was featured on the television program American Latino and streamed in partnership with John Leguizamo’s NGL Media. She was named an Emerging Content Creator by the National Association of Latino Producers (NALIP), and her viral TikTok comedy songs have been featured on accounts such as the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Billboard Music, and Reggaeton legend Ivy Queen.
Che Guerrero
Che Guerrero has spent 16 years tackling race, politics, and family through stand-up comedy. Che's style is rooted in his experiences growing up undocumented. A revolutionary voice on the modern comedy scene, His sense of humor and command of the stage is the result of obstacles often unseen by the average American.
Che also hosts the My Undocumented Ass podcast. In facing his undocumented problem for 30 years, Che uses his podcast to talk to other undocumented people about their personal struggles with the immigration system in a funny, revealing, and humanizing way.
Where is the event?
The screening of the ¡Hay Que Reírse! Los Shorts block and the Comedy Lounge will be held in the CBS Auditorium, Dorrance Hamilton Hall, 320 South Broad Street at The University of the Arts.
How can I get tickets for the event?
Tickets for all our Week Uno events, and six weeks of programming, in-person and virtual, can be found on our Eventive page. Tickets for the ¡Hay Que Reírse! Los Shorts are FREE, but registration is limited. Be sure to grab your tickets before space runs out.
To learn more about our additional offerings on Saturday, June 1st, check out our Week Uno schedule on our website.
