Review Fix Exclusive Queens World Film Festival Coverage: Inside EKAJ

March 23, 2018 Patrick Hickey Jr. Film 2

Review Fix chats with EKAJ director Cati Gonzalez, who lets us know all about the creative process behind the film and what to expect from it at this year’s Queens World Film Festival.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for your film?

Cati Gonzalez: I have always loved underdog story’s and I was originally inspired by the film “Midnight Cowboy” were the characters are drifters, homeless trying to make a buck to survive.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself while making?

Gonzalez: About myself not much, since I am an old dog lol! Perhaps about filming I learned the importance of good sound. I have been a photographer for over 20 years and since this was my first film I realized how crucial are the different layers to a film like sound, music, graphics and how crucially important they are to tell the story. For example depending on what music you put on your project it can change the feeling of it.

Review Fix: What was the most challenging part of making it?

Gonzalez: The post production, editing, etc… I had no idea of the time it would entails and how overwhelming it can be. I think most of us first timers don’t realize and don’t want to know since it could give you cold feet. The second thing that was challenging was the Film Festivals and the promoting part of it, another year of post work. You sort of learn as you go. Surprisingly most of the help you get is from other filmmakers that have gone thru it.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Gonzalez: As a story of love between friends. As a warning to drug abuse.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of the festival?

Gonzalez: Love it! The lead actor Jake Mestre is from Queens, it doesn’t get closer than that. It’s very special to all of us. I believe he is going to be there for the screening.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Gonzalez: Working on a documentary right now sort of top secret right now lol! Hope to come back to Queens once is done.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Gonzalez: I loved working with Jake Mestre. Not only is he super talented without any prior training but I believe he can be a superstar if he wants it, along the lines of River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Leonardo de Caprio.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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