Casi Casi

Infobox Film
name = Casi casi


caption =
imdb_id = 0820042
writer = Jaime Vallés Tony Vallés
starring = Marian Pabón
Mario Pabón
Irene Lucio
Fernando Castro - Álvarez
Alexis Arce
Ricardo Arias
Marisa Gómez
Maite Cantó
Manuel Benítez
Albert Rodríguez
Tino García
director = Jaime Vallés Tony Vallés
producer = Jaime Vallés Tony Vallés
distributor =
released = 2006
runtime = 93 minutes
language = Spanish
country= Puerto Rico
awards =
website = http://www.casicasi.com/
imdb_id = 0820042|

"Casi casi" (in English, "Almost") is a 2006 Puerto Rican film, written and directed by brothers Jaime and Tony Vallés.

The film takes place in a Catholic school in Puerto Rico where the main character, Emilio, is infatuated with Jacklynne, the most popular girl in school. In an attempt to win her over, he decides to run for Student Council President to impress her, only to discover that Jacklynne herself will be his adversary. Emilio then devises a plan, together with his friends, to rig the election and lose on purpose. All this without being caught by strict school Principal Richardson (Marian Pabón).

Title

Casi [cah'-se] , adv. means: Almost, nearly, somewhat more or less; just. Casi que or casi casi, Very nearly.

Plot

Emilio is a normal teenager who somehow finds himself being sent to the principal's office every other week. He has a crush on Jacklynne, the most popular girl in school, so he decides to run for Student Council President in order to impress her. After announcing his candidacy, Emilio discovers, to his horror, that Jacklynne herself will be running for office against him. Emotions fly high as campaign fever intensifies. Not wanting to lose his chance to win her heart, Emilio devises a risky plan that could come to a disastrous end if the tyrannous school principal gets wind of his scheme.

Cast

* Marian Pabón - Principal Richardson
* Mario Pabón - Emilio
* Irene Lucio - María Eugenia
* Fernando Castro - Álvarez - Ángel
* Ricardo Arias - Alfredo
* Marisa Gómez - Natalia
* Alexis Arce - Mónica
* Maite Cantó - Jacklynne
* Manuel Benítez - Manolete
* Albert Rodríguez - Sr. Bismark
* Tino García - Don Paco

Production Details

First-time directors, Jaime and Tony Vallés, had some experience working in theater. However, they had never made a movie before. They then set out to learn everything they needed about it through books and the Internet [cite web|author=Mariela Fullana Acosta|date=January 11, 2007|url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia.asp?guid=FB5530FE53E6414D9C28FF54EA7EF002 |title=Primera Hora: "Casi casi" producto del ingenio de dos hermanos|accessdate=]

To achieve this, they approached the members of their own family for help, among them Puerto Rican actress, Marian Pabón, and Mario Pabón. Most of the cast are unexperienced actors taken directly from school with the intention of giving naturality and spontaneity to the film [cite web|author=Mariela Fullana Acosta|date=January 10, 2007|url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia.asp?guid=331C963E0CBE46A5B8CC6862FB2B376C |title=Primera Hora: Marian Pabón sirve de guía a su hija y sus sobrinos|accessdate=] .

The auditions for the teenage cast were held in three private schools from San Juan, Puerto Rico:
* Academia del Perpetuo Socorro (both of the directors graduated from this school)
* Commonwealth High School
* Saint John's SchoolNone of the actors chosen for the parts had any previous experience in films. The directors had some troubles with some of the actors. For example, Ricardo Arias originally didn't want to do the film. The directors, however, managed to persuade him. Also, the role of María Eugenia was given to another actress who left the film a few days after filming began. It was then that Marian Pabon suggested Irene Lucio to audition and play the role.

To minimize expenses, all of the cast had to provide their own wardrobe, except for the school uniform shirts.

Reviews

Despite being a low-budget film, it has received much critical praise from audiences around the world. Ronnie Scheib ("Variety magazine") gave the film a very favorable review [cite web|author=Ronnie Scheib|date=August 21, 2006|url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117931325.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2562 |title=Variety Reviews: Casi Casi|accessdate=] . Joe Baltake, of the Philadelphia Film Festival compared it with "Mean Girls" and "Clueless" [cite web|author=Joe Baltake|date=2006|url=http://bside.phillyfests.com/?_view=_filmdetails&_template=phillyfests&filmId=310756& |title=2006 Philadelphia Film Festival|accessdate=] .

Awards

* San Diego Latino Film Festival - Audience Award [cite web|author=Media Arts Center|date= 2006|url=http://www.mediaartscenter.org/site/c.dfLIJPOvHoE/b.1312735/k.9C4B/Media_Arts_Center_San_Diegos_San_Diego_Latino_Film_Festival.htm |title=San Diego Latino Film Festival Awards|accessdate=]
* Philadelphia Film Festival - Third Place
* Chicago Latino Film Festival - Third Place
* New York International Latino Film Festival - Official Selection
* Vistas Film Festival - Official Selection
* Boston Latino Film Festival - Official Selection

ee also

*Cinema of Puerto Rico
*List of films set in Puerto Rico

Notes

External links

* [http://casicasi.com/ Official Site]
*
* [http://www.phillyfests.org/pff/templates/film_details.cfm?id=5094 Film Details at the Philadelphia Film Festival]