Longoria’s feature film debut tells warmhearted tale of popular snack’s origin
Richard (Jesse Garcia, l.) and Clarence (Dennis Haysbert) celebrate the production of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Actress Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives fame made her directorial debut last year with La Guerra Civil, a thoughtful and well-told documentary about Mexican-American boxer Oscar de la Hoya. She’s now helming her first feature film, and the results are more mixed. With Flamin’ Hot, Longoria tells an inspiring rags-to-riches story that, while a bit cliched, features enough strong performances and heart to recommend it.
The 65th SFFilm Festival opened on Thursday and will run through Sunday, May 1st, so there’s still plenty of time to check out some new films this weekend and through next week. Here’s a look at four more offerings.
1.) NAVALNY (USA/Germany/Russia, 2022. 98 min)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Back in late January, nobody knew just how relevant this documentary about Russian opposition leader, poisoning victim, and current prisoner Alexi Navalny would be just a few weeks later, as the Russians invaded Ukraine. Nominated for Sundance’s Documentary Grand Jury prize and winning both the Festival Favorite Award and the Audience U.S. Documentary Award, this portrait of courage is as relevant as it is intriguing. An eye opening look at Russian politics, director Daniel Roher’s film shouldn’t be missed.
Screenings (click here for tickets): – Sat., April 23rd, 4:30pm at the Castro
– If you miss Saturday’s screening, the film is also available on CNN.
