Hello all –
Thanks to Google, we know a little more about “Mission Street Rhapsody,” a film in the works written and directed by Peter and starring Benjamin:
1) The nuts and bolts are described on the IMDB website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1200272/combined
2) SFMission.com also shared the basics at http://www.sfmission.com/cgi-bin/gallery/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=San_Francisco/Mission_District?=ben-bratt.jpg&img=&tt= :
Throughout the month of March and April a feature film called “Mission St. Rhapsody” is shooting on location. It is about a traditional ex-gangbanger Latino father in San Francisco’s Mission District who discovers and comes to terms with his son’s homosexuality. MISSION ST. RHAPSODY a 2008 feature film starring Benjamin Bratt and directed by Peter Bratt is the story of Jes Rivera: 16-20 Male Latino. A straight up San Francisco mission homeboy. He’s an all around good kid who has a loving relationship with his Father. He works hard to get himself out of the Mission and to hide his homosexuality. When his Father discovers the truth their relationship may never be the same.
3) Two bloggers have shared their experiences as part of the recent casting call for extras.
Here’s part of the first — from http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=141722371
Joey and I participated in the “gay bar scene” Monday.
“Mission Street Rhaspody” tells the story of Che (Benjamin Bratt), a older Latino man who still kicks it with San Francisco’s low riders.
When his son begins to have feelings for other men, Che’s relationship to his friends and culture unravels.
Our scene takes place as the son first discovers Sf’s gay night life.
When we arrived at the Kat Klub the set was still being lit.
Sarah, the casting director, suggested the extra list needed more population and asked us all to get on our cell phones and call anyone willing to dance around all day.
Director Peter Bratt (Benjamin’s brother) greeted us and explained his vision for the film and why he felt it important for independent Hollywood to address homophobia within the Latino community.
Promptly at 10:30 craft services arrived with plates of food. All the utensils, cups, and plates were fast compostable. The crew wants to keep down the amount of landfill-based trash.
The second is from http://maskedcongressman.blogspot.com/2008/03/this-weekend-was-interesting-one.html
Yesterday was filming for Mission Street Rhapsody. I met Benjamin and Peter Bratt, as well as the two people starring in the film. They are all very nice people who are deeply involved in this really nice project.
Finally, this mini-bio of Peter from IMDB.com notes a MacArthur award … not sure if it’s the same of the famous genius ones, but still!!!:
Aside from being Benjamin Bratt’s brother, Peter Bratt is a growing force in his own right. With his critically acclaimed independent first feature film Follow Me Home (1996), he dared to explore race and identity from the multiple and intersecting perspectives of Chicanos, African Americans, and Native Americans. When no major studio would distribute this film, Henri Norris, an African American woman who was an attorney then engaged in malpractice litigation, created New Millennia Films so that Bratt’s film and message could reach a significant audience. Bratt was honored for his artistic genius with a 2000 Rockefeller Foundation Film/Video/Multimedia Fellowship, further demonstrating that he is poised to become one of the twenty first century’s major filmmakers.