RITA MORENO:
Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It Premieres at The Sundance Film Festival
Rita Moreno, the first Latina to win an Oscar for her role in West Side Story defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. Over a seventy-year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes. “Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It” premieres at The Sundance Film Festival as apart of the US Competition.
Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera
Executive Produced by Norman Lear, Lin-Manuel Miranda,
Michael Kantor, Regina Scully, Lyn Davis Lear
Produced by Brent Miller, p.g.a, Mariem Pérez Riera
Co-Produced by Ilia J. Vélez-Dávila
Cinematography by P.J. López, s.p.c.
Music by Kathryn Bostic
Edited by Kevin Klauber, ACE, Mariem Pérez Riera
Featuring Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Gloria Estefan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, George Chakiris, Héctor Elizondo, Tom Fontana, Mitzi Gaynor, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Karen Olivo
2021 | USA | English | 89 min
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: MARIEM PÉREZ RIERA
Born in Puerto Rico, Mariem, at age nine, performed in the leading role of the movie The Two Worlds of Angelita. At that moment she decided to become a film director. Her first documentary Cuando lo pequeño se hace grande, about the Puerto Ricans who fought against the US Navy presence in the island of Vieques, was awarded Best Documentary at various international film festivals. She then debuted as film editor of the blockbuster film from rapper Daddy Yankee Talento de Barrio. In 2005 she founded her own production company Maramara Films and in 2007 she co-directed with Carlos Ruiz and edited her first feature Maldeamores (executive produced by Benicio Del Toro). The film won several international awards including Best Opera Prima, Audience Award, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress. Mariem’s other producing and directing credits include the award-winning documentaries De Puerto Rico Para El Mundo, “Diez En La Música, and Emmy®-winner Croatto, La Huella De Un Emigrante. Mariem has a BA degree in film studies from the University of Miami and a Continuation Studies degree with an emphasis on Documentary and Editing from NYU.
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