Soy Nero

  • a film by Rafi Pitts
  • Feature film
  • 120 min
  • 2016

Nero, a 19 year old Mexican, dreams of immigrating to the U.S. He joins the U.S Army as a Green-Card soldier and is shipped out to fight in the Middle East. Fighting for nationality, he gets lost in a violent maze.

Trailer
Info

  • Genre

    • Drama

  • Countries of Production

    • Germany / France / Mexico

  • Language

    • Spanish / English

  • World premiere

    • 16th February 2016 – 66. International Film Festival Berlinale – in competition

  • German cinema release

    • 10th November 2016

  • a production by

    • Twenty Twenty Vision

  • in co-production with

    • Senorita Films, Pimienta Films, Pallas Film

  • in association with

    • ZDF / ARTE

  • with the support of

    • Eurimages, FFA, MBB – Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, CNC - Centre National du Cinéma et de L´image Animée Cinéma du Monde

  • World Sales

    • The Match Factory

  • Distribution

    • Neue Visionen Filmverleih
Synopsis

Two young men, Nero and his brother Jesus, are running in the desert. They are trying to escape. They are running from the US border patrol. Nero is captured and sent back to Mexico while Jesus gets away. After several attempts, 19-year-old Nero finally manages to go beyond Mexico and make his way into the Promised Land. He follows the trail of his brother in his dream city, Los Angeles, where he finally finds his older brother Jesus. Meanwhile Jesus has settled into a new life, living with a girl named Mercedes but Nero begins to realize that as an illegal immigrant, his chances of leading a regular life will not be easy to come by. In an ultimate attempt to escape his desperate reality, Nero decides to enlist in the U.S Army as a “Green-Card soldier. This will enable him to obtain US citizenship, once he returns from a designated front line. Nero is shipped out to fight in the War zones of the Middle East. He gets lost in a maze, a desolate landscape, where the boundaries between the immigrant in uniform and the US soldier are difficult to perceive. Although it soon becomes clear that while a soldier fights for the nation, the Green-Card holder, Nero, fights to obtain nationality… Soy Negro.

 

Cast

  • Nero

    • Johnny Ortiz

  • Sergeant McLoud

    • Rory Cochrane

  • Bronx

    • Aml Ameen

  • Compton

    • Darrel Britt-Gibson

  • Seymour

    • Michael Harney

  • Jesus

    • Ian Casselberry

  • Mercedes

    • Rosa Frausto

  • Policeman

    • Alexander Frost

  • Denham

    • T.J. Linnard
Crew

  • Written by

    • Rafi Pitts
    • Razvan Radulescu

  • Directed by

    • Rafi Pitts

  • Producers

    • Rita Dagher, Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel

  • Co-producers

    • Nicolás Celis, Sebastian Celis, Georges Schoucair

  • Director of photography

    • Christos Karamanis

  • Editor

    • Danielle Anezin

  • Set design

    • Max Biscoe, Malak Khazai

  • Casting

    • Lisa Essary, Heidi Levitt

  • Music

    • Rhys Chatham

  • Costumes

    • Alexis Scott

  • Make-up

    • Kim Garcyk, Jorge Fuentes

  • Sound Design

    • Daniel Iribarren
Festivals
  • Intl. Film Festival 'Berlinale' - in competition / world premiere
  • Champs-Elysées Film Festival
  • Transatlantyk Festival
  • Melbourne IFF
  • Locarno FF
  • Aspen FF
  • Bergen IFF
  • Athens IFF
  • Festival du Nouveau Cinéma
  • Film fra Sør
  • Film Fest Gent
  • Miami IFF
  • São Paulo IFF
  • CPH PIX
  • American FF / Polen
  • Diaspora FF / Kanada
  • Los Cabos IFF / Mexico
  • Kolkata IFF / India
  • Festival Autorskog Filma / Serbien - "Aleksandar Saša Petrović" Grand Prix (Belgrade)
  • Les Journées du Film Engagé / DZ
  • Festival International du Cinéma d'Alger / Algerien
  • La Habana IFF
  • IFF of Kerala
  • American Film Institute
  • Festival de Cinema de Guerra da Raia
  • Cleveland IFF
  • Milano Festival dei Diritti Umani
  • Festa Cultures Diversitat Barcelona
Awards
  • Best Film / Bucharest IFF
  • Best Film / Auteur FF, Serbien

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